The ancestors of the Padberg family are among the oldest families in the Northwestern part of what is Germany today. Of our known ancestors, the earliest was Clovis, the Riparian (466-511), Chief of the Riparian Tribe of the Franks and his father, Childenic, the King of the Salian Franks. Through the years the number of our known ancestors continued to grow not just in number, but in connection with many additional families many of whom were leaders of the Franks and the Saxons.

One of the most famous of these ancestral families was the Frankish family first made famous by Karl Martel (688-741) and his grandson, Charlemagne (742-814). The major military record of this family began with Karl Martel’s victory that stopped the Saracen invasion into Europe through southern Spain. Charlemagne continued the effort of his grandfather through victories over the Saxons and the spread of Christianity through the Roman Catholic Church. His influence became even more powerful after 800 when he was named the First Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Subsequent Emperors, most relatives of Charlemagne, but all followers of Charlemagne’s goals.

One of Charlemagne’s Saxon relatives was Count Ekbert of the village of Geseke who in the late 700’s was awarded 10 Fiefs to be controlled as a Saxon. One of his descendants, Hahold I, in 930, was instructed by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I to build a castle fortification from which three strategic roads could be protected.

The three important roads were the old military road (Heerstrasse) that ran from Eresburg into the Ruhr Valley, the wine road (Weinstrasse) that ran from Frankfurt to the North Sea, and the king’s road (Konigstrasse) that ran from Eresburg to Paderborn, the seat of the bishop and location of one of the castles of Charlemagne. The Weinstrasse was the road used by Charlemagne on his first military campaign through Westphalia in 772.

Count Haholde and his knights selected a nearby mountain, roughly 1700 feet in height for the construction of the castle. The mountain called a “berg” (probably originally berch) was an excellent strategic point for visual surveillance of all three roads or “paths”. The mountain eventually was called “Pathbertch” or “Pathberg” or “Padberg”. In the old Saxon language, the letters th were pronounced as “d” or “t”. Along with general inconsistencies in spelling, the name was spelled with all possible consonant variations such as th, dr, d, t, and tt.

The castle construction began in 936 and was completed in 972. Hahold III, grandson of Haholde I, was the first to use the family name calling himself Count Haholde, Lord of Pathberch.

Haholde III died in 1029 and left the Padberg family county to his son, Count Bernard von Padberg. However, the wife of Haholde III was declared illegitimate. Which meant that the children of Haholde and his wife were illegitimate. Therefore, Count Bernhard von Padberg was illegitimate and did not have the rights of an heir. Bernhard was disinherited. The Bishop of Paderborn brought a suit for the Church at Paderborn to acquire the Padberg property. The case was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor Konrad II. This is significant because a document from 1030 shows that Konrad gave the Padberg property and ten surrounding estates to the Bishop of Paderborn. It is the first time that Padberg is mentioned historically in any document. (see Landmarks and Documents). However, the Bishop of Paderborn apparently did not have enough power and influence to assume control of the property. Bernhard von Padberg refused to relinquish control, threatened rebellion, and was able to maintain control of the Padberg territory.

The line of counts became extinct with the death of Count Erpo von Padberg in 1113. Beatrix, the widow of Count Erpo, donated the hereditary estates of Padberg to the Archbishop Friedrich I of Koln (today Cologne). Through this donation, the archbishop had rights of jurisdiction over the Castle Padberg and all the property that was part of its estates with all of it being in the dominion of the archbishop. He was successful in establishing his authority over the family as he installed a ministerial generation of Padbergs which called themselves “Lords von Padberg”. The family was then subordinate to the archbishop.

By the end of the twelfth century, in 1196, the Lords von Padberg began construction of a second castle, the New Castle. It was completed in 1220. In 1254, for the first time, two brothers were named Lords of the Castle Padberg, Johann and Gottschalk.

The town of Padberg is recorded in documents as early as 1201. In 1204 there is a reference to the market in the town and in 1217 there is reference to the village being adjacent to the castle. There is a mention of the Parish Padberg in 1255 and 1256 indicating a church in the town.

By 1263 the power of the Archbishop of Koln had weakened. The Lords of Padberg considered themselves independent Lords with extensive territory rights. Johann and Gottschalk made significant changes in governing the citizens of Padberg, making public laws and granting citizenship and rights to the people of the town. These rights included an appointment of a judge and town council to solve disputes between citizens and promote proper enforcement of the rights of the citizens. All citizens were required to pay taxes to the Lords von Padberg. These rights were reconfirmed several times in the fourteenth century.

From 1300 until the mid-sixteenth century there was fierce fighting and feuding between the Padberg family, the Archbishop of Koln, and the Waldeck family, another powerful family with their own dominion or county. In the two and a half centuries of fighting and feuding, the town of Padberg suffered much destruction. It was burned in 1394, and then rebuilt. Records from 1397 indicate the rebuilt town had a thick wall and fortifications, two gates and a moat and stockades. It was referred to as the Ring Padberg indicating the wall surrounding the town. However, there was more extensive fighting, the town was burned again in 1414. The castles were attacked many times as well and were also destroyed. Today, only the foundation of the second castle can be seen.

The Padberg dominion was greatly reduced and the Waldeck family gained control of much of the Padberg dominion but was unable to reduce or renounce the rights of the citizens of Padberg. The rights given to the citizens of the town by the Lords von Padberg in 1263 had been in existence for 300 years.

Beginning in the 1500’s, the residents of the Ring of Padberg tried repeatedly to become independent of the Lords von Padberg. The residents wanted free access to the forests to cut down trees for firewood and to make charcoal, and to graze their animals. They refused their payments and service to the Lords and also drove the Lords and charcoal makers out of the Forest. The conflict between the residents and the Lords continued intermittently from 1552 until 1806 when it was finally settled. Residents were allowed all necessary wood for building and charcoal and use of the fields for animal grazing. Pastures remained open and residents of the community of Padberg received a large portion of the forest wealth.

In 1816, the duchy of Westphalia became part of Prussia. At that time the Ring Padberg had 562 inhabitants. There were 494 Catholics, 2 Lutherans, 2 Reformed, and 64 Jewish citizens. Jews were mentioned in the Dominion of Padberg for the first time in 1672 but had likely settled there much earlier. Jews had protection which meant they were not considered citizens but were protected by the Lords and were permitted to reside and conduct business in the dominion. In 1847 all Jews were given full citizenship by the Prussian government. There was a synagogue in Padberg as well as in the nearby town of Berninghausen. By 1841 each town in Prussia was self-governed with a town council and mayor or director. In 1820 the first school was built in Padberg but soon became too small. A larger school was built in 1865. A still larger school was built in 1925. The Fire Department was formed in 1821. In 1871 the German Empire was formed under Otto von Bismark, with the unification of the German states. By 1900, Germany was the most powerful country in Europe.

Immigration information here and also information on the Sieperting and Kustelberg branches. And development of the German branches

During World War I, many citizens of Padberg served in the German army. Thirty-five were killed in action. During the 1930’s all Jews left the town of Padberg. Some were able to emigrate. Others were deported to concentration camps. In World War II, 24 residents were killed in action and 16 were missing in action. At the end of WWII, in March 1945, air attacks were frequent in the area of Padberg. By Easter, April 1, 1945, US tanks and trucks rolled through the town. German soldiers were taken as prisoners and sent to France. Homes were searched for weapons. After a few days the Americans left the area. In 1946 during the reorganization of West Germany, the Province of Westphalia became North Rhine-Westphalia.

*Based on the book The Changes Through Time The History of the Community of Padberg
English edition by Daniel L. Padberg, 1986