Lippe bei Paderborn-Sande

The Lippe has given its name to an entire region: Westphalia-Lippe. The former principality of Lippe was named after it, and some towns such as Lippstadt or Lippetal also have the river in their name.

The Lippe rises as a karst spring in the middle of Bad Lippspringe at the foot of the Teutoburg Forest and Eggegebirge mountains. From there, it flows via Lippstadt, Lippetal, Hamm, Werne, Lünen, Datteln, Olfen, Haltern, Marl, Dorsten, Schermbeck and Hünxe until it flows into the Rhine at Wesel after around 220 kilometers. Tributaries of the Lippe include the Pader and the Alme. As these are only small watercourses that carry little water into the riverbed, the Lippe remains a rather "leisurely" river until it reaches its mouth, but this does not diminish its importance for the region.

If you want to discover the entire length of North Rhine-Westphalia's longest river, we recommend a cycle tour along the Roman Lippe Route from Bad Lippspringe to Xanten.