Previous structures Today's cathedral is located in a position that has been occupied by churches for hundreds of years.
Charlemagne had a
Kaiserpfalz built near the sources of the
Pader river. As early as 777 this palace had an attached church, dedicated to Christ (Salvator Mundi) and
Brigit of Kildare. This church, located north of today's cathedral, served as chapel to the court as well as a basis for missionary work among the Pagan
Saxons. Rebellious Saxons repeatedly destroyed this first church. After the locals converted to Christianity, the first cathedral was built.
Pope Leo III met Charlemagne at Paderborn in 799 and consecrated an altar to
Saint Stephen, depositing some relics of that saint in it. The first cathedral of the newly established bishopric was a three-aisled
basilica, dedicated to Mary and
Saint Kilian. After the See was initially administered from
Würzburg, in 806
Hathumar became the first Bishop of Paderborn. The second bishop,
Badurad, asked the Bishop of
Le Mans for the remains of a saint, to help with consolidating the faith of the local Saxons. In 836, the remains of
Liborius of Le Mans were handed over to a delegation from Paderborn and
translated back to the cathedral. A fire destroyed the first cathedral in 1000 AD. Bishop
Ratherius began with rebuilding, but his successor
Meinwerk had the previous work destroyed and started over, building a three-aisled church with a
transept and
crypt in the east. This (second) cathedral was consecrated in 1015, but destroyed in a city fire in 1058. Meinwerk's nephew, had the cathedral rebuilt on a significantly larger scale (third cathedral). This building, with two transepts, already was very similar to today's cathedral. Today's crypt was built around 1100 AD. Similarly, a chapel to
St. Bartholomew, connected to the cathedral, would be built after 1015 by Greek monks. Another fire in 1133 damaged the church, but its core survived.
Bernhard I. von Oesede had the building strengthened and extended (fourth cathedral); it was reconsecrated in 1144/45.
The current cathedral In the 13th century, the cathedral was reconstructed, not due to damage but to bring it up to then current artistic and ecclesial standards. Construction likely began at the western end of the building (late
Romanesque basilika, before 1220). The nave followed in the form of a
hall church (i.e. with three aisles all reaching to the height of the central roof) in early
Gothic style. It was completed in the late 13th century with High Gothic elements. In the 17th century, Prince-Bishops
Dietrich Adolf von der Recke (1601-1661) and
Ferdinand von Fürstenberg (1626–1683) replaced the Gothic interior features with
Baroque artworks. In 1930, the Diocese of Paderborn was promoted to
Archdiocese. Repeated Allied bombing of Paderborn in 1945 resulted in severe damage to the cathedral and the loss of irreplaceable works of art, including all the historic glass windows. On 22 March 1945, fourteen people were killed by a
blockbuster bomb in the
cloister. Reconstruction took until the 1950s. From 1978 to 1981, a major restoration was undertaken. == Bells ==