Papenburg (German pronunciation: [ˈpaːpm̩bʊʁk]; East Frisian Low Saxon: Papenbörg) is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems.

Papenburg is subdivided into 6 urban districts, Papenburg-Untenende, Papenburg-Obenende, Herbrum, Tunxdorf-Nenndorf, Aschendorf and Bokel.

Matthias von Velen and his wife Margartha Anna, born von Galen, endowed the oldest church in Papenburg on 7 December 1680, dedicated to Anthony of Padua, making him its patron saint.

From 1933 to 1945 a series of 15 moorland labor, punitive and POWs-camps were active in the districts of Emsland and Bentheim.

The central administration was set in Papenburg where now a memorial of these camps, the Dokumentations- und Informationszentrum (DIZ) Emslandlager, is located.