A paper cup of surface-protected paperboard and an apparatus for making the same, with the paper cup including a wound cup wall and a cup bottom inserted therein. Ends of a wall blank forming the cup wall are overlapped after a winding of the wall blank, and an inner cutting edge is covered by a protective strip welded together with the cup wall. The protective strip is fashioned as a sealing strip in flat contact with the inner surface of the cup wall and is welded to the cup wall on both sides of the overlapping point. The apparatus includes a winding station wherein the wall blank is wrapped onto a winding mandrel and is welded together at the overlapping zone in a subsequent welding station. With further devices being provided for inserting a cup bottom in the thus manufactured cup wall. A positioning device for the sealing strip is associated with the winding mandrel with the positioning device lying in front or preceding the winding station.