DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Nordrhein-Westfalen	North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk: Detmold
Kreis: Höxter

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Bad Driburg is situated at an elevation of 220 m at the foot of the Eggegebirge in eastern Westfalia. The municipality has a population of about 18,900 (2020).

Shortly after AD 772 a church dedicated to St. Peter was built at castle Iburg. This is one of the oldest churches in historic Saxony. The former monastery Neuenheere was founded in 868 by the bishops of Paderborn. When the administration of the bishopric was rearranged, Driburg became the seat of an archdean. At that time the first "Driburger Pfennig" was minted here and Driburg also became a town; the original charter is missing, the oldest document mentioning Driburg as a town dates from 1290. Dringenberg also was chartered as a town in 1323. The town charter of Driburg was confirmed by the bishop of Paderborn in 1345. In 1803, when the ecclesiastical states were dissolved, Driburg came under Prussian sovereignty (province Westfalia). During World War II the town luckily suffered only little damages. In 1970 Driburg was merged with the neighbouring communities of Alhausen, Erpentrup, Herste, Langeland, Pömbsen and Reelsen. In 1974 Dringenberg and the communities of Kühlsen and Neuenheerse also were incorporated into Bad Driburg.

The oldest mention of the use of the mineral waters for therapeutic purposes dates from 1593. The spa was founded in 1782. After World War I, in 1919, Driburg received the official recognition as a spa town, followed in 1974 by the recognition as 'Heilbad' (therapeutic spa) and now was called 'Bad Driburg'. In 1987, a new, thermal, spring was developed by deep drilling.

The neo-Gothic parish church St. Peter and Paul [background right] was built in 1894–1897. The Romanesque baptismal font of around 1260, two Baroque sculptures of 1676 and a tombstone of 1463 had already been part of the previous church. The organ was built in 1901, the wall and ceiling paintings were completed in 1906.

The Trinkhalle (pump room) [near left, no. 4037] was built in 1822 in Classicist style by the architect Peter Krahe.

The Militär-Genesungsheim (military convalescent home) [near left, no. 4045] opened in 1875 as spa hotel Kaiser-Wilhelm-Bad, as such the oldest such institution in the town. In 1897 it was sold to the German Empire and was then used as a military reconvalescent home. In 1926 it was renovated and opened again under the name Versorgungskuranstalt. After World War  it was briefly used as a home for people persecuted by the Nazi regime. Further modifications to the structure were made in 1956–1959. Re-opened in 1960 it was renamed Eggeland-Klinik. Before plans for a reuse as a geriatric clinic could be realised, the establishment was closed in 2008. Today, the building is owned by the municipality of Bad Driburg.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Driburg, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Driburg; https://www.lwl.org/marsLWL/de/instance/picture/Altkreise-Hoexter-und-Warburg-1950er-bis-1970er-Jahre.xhtml?oid=37697; https://www.unser-bad-driburg.de/news/historisches-bad-driburg/100-jahre-bad-driburg---bad-driburger-kurkliniken-2]