Koblenz
Koblenz (also
Coblenz in pre-1926
German spellings;
French Coblence) is a city situated on the left bank of the
Rhine at its confluence with the
Moselle, where the
Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its
monument (
Emperor William I on horseback) are situated.
As Koblenz (
Latin (ad) Confluentes, "
confluence" or "(at the) merging (
rivers)", Covelenz, Cobelenz; local dialect "Kowwelenz") was one of the military posts established by
Drusus about 8 B.C., the town celebrated its 2000th anniversary in 1992.
After
Mainz and
Ludwigshafen am Rhein, it's the third largest city in
Rhineland-Palatinate (german
Rheinland-Pfalz),
Germany. Koblenz lies in the
Rhineland, 92 kilometers (57 miles) southeast of
Cologne by rail, the population grew from 31,669 (1885) and 53,902 (1905) to 107,064 (2005),
|
Map of the Koblenz region |
Its defensive works are extensive, and consist of strong forts crowning the hills encircling the town on the west, and of the citadel of
Ehrenbreitstein on the opposite bank of the Rhine. The old city was triangular in shape, two sides being bounded by the Rhine and Mosel and the third by a line of fortifications. The last were razed in 1890, and the town was permitted to expand in this direction. Immediately outside the former walls lies the new central railway station, in which is effected a junction of the Cologne-Mainz railway with the strategic line Metz-Berlin. The Rhine is crossed by a road bridge and, a mile above the town, by a beautiful bridge of two wide and lofty spans carrying the Berlin railway referred to above. The Moselle is spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, erected in 1344, and also by a railway bridge.
The city, down to 1890, consisted of the Altstadt (old city) and the Neustadt (new city) or Klemenstadt. Of these, the Altstadt is closely built and has only a few fine streets and squares, while the Neustadt possesses numerous broad streets and a handsome frontage to the Rhine. In the more ancient part of Koblenz stand several buildings which have an historical interest. Prominent among these, near the point of confluence of the rivers, is the church of
Saint Castor, with four towers. The church was originally founded in 836 by
Louis the Pious, but the present
Romanesque building was completed in 1208, the
Gothic vaulted roof dating from 1498. In front of the church of Saint Castor stands a fountain, erected by the French in 1812, with an inscription to commemorate Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Not long after, Russian troops occupied Koblenz; and St. Priest, their commander, added in irony these words: "Vu et approuvé par nous, Commandant russe de la Ville de Coblence: Janvier 1er, 1814."
In this quarter of the town, too, is the Liebfrauenkirche, a fine church (nave 1250, choir 1404--1431) with lofty late Romanesque towers; the castle of the electors of
Trier, erected in 1280, which now contains the municipal picture gallery; and the family house of the Metternichs, where
Prince Metternich, the Austrian statesman, was born in 1773.
In the modern part of the town lies the palace (Residenzschloss), with one front looking towards the Rhine, the other into the Neustadt. It was built in 1778-1786 by Clement Wenceslaus, the last elector of Trier, and contains among other curiosities some fine
Gobelin tapestries. From it some pretty gardens and promenades (Kaiserin Augusta Anlagen) stretch along the bank of the Rhine, and in them is a memorial to the poet
Max von Schenkendorf. A fine statue to the empress Augusta, whose favourite residence was Coblenz, stands in the Luisenplatz. But of all public memorials the most striking is the colossal equestrian statue of the emperor
Wilhelm I of Germany, erected by the Rhine provinces in 1897, standing on a lofty and massive pedestal, at the point where the Rhine and Mosel meet.
Koblenz has also handsome law courts, government buildings, a theatre, a museum of antiquities, a conservatory of music, schools, five hospitals and numerous charitable institutions. Koblenz is a principal seat of the Mosel and Rhenish wine trade, and also does a large business in the export of mineral waters. Its manufactures include automotive parts (braking systems -
TRW, gas springs and hydraulic vibration dampers - Stabilus), aluminium coils (
Corus Group), pianos, paper, cardboard, machinery, boats and barges. It is an important transit centre for the Rhine railways and for the Rhine navigation.
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Festung Ehrenbreitstein as seen from Koblenz |
Around
1000 BCE, early fortifications were erected on the
Festung Ehrenbreitstein hill on the opposite side of the Moselle. In 55 B.C. Roman troops commanded by
Julius Caesar reached the Rhine and built a bridge between Koblenz and
Andernach. About 9 B.C., the
"Castellum apud Confluentes", was one of the military posts established by
Drusus.
Later, Koblenz was frequently the residence of the
Frankish kings, and in 860 and 922 was the scene of ecclesiastical synods. At the former of these, held in the Liebfrauenkirche, took place the reconciliation of
Louis the German with his half-brother
Charles the Bald.
In 1018 the city, after receiving a charter, was given by the emperor Henry II. to the archbishop of
Trier (Treves), and it remained in the possession of the archbishop-electors till the close of the 18th century. In 1249-1254 it was surrounded with new walls by Archbishop Arnold II (of Isenburg); and it was partly to overawe the turbulent townsmen that successive archbishops built and strengthened the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein that dominates the city. As a member of the league of the Rhenish cities which took its rise in the 13th century, Koblenz attained to great prosperity; and it continued to advance till the disasters of the
Thirty Years' War occasioned a rapid decline. After Philip Christopher, elector of Trier, had surrendered Ehrenbreitstein to the French the town received an imperial garrison (1632), which was soon, however, expelled by the Swedes. They in their turn handed the city over to the French, but the imperial forces succeeded in retaking it by storm (1636).
In 1688 Koblenz was besieged by the French under
Marshal de Boufflers, but they only succeeded in bombarding the Altstadt into ruins, destroying among other buildings the old merchants' hall (Kaufhaus), which was restored in its present form in 1725. In 1786 the elector of Trier, Clement Wenceslaus of Saxony, took up his residence in the town, and gave great assistance in its extension and improvement; a few years later it became, through the invitation of his minister, Ferdinand Freiherr von Duminique, one of the principal rendezvous of the French émigrés. This drew down upon the archbishop-elector the wrath of the French republicans; in
1794 Coblenz was taken by the French Revolutionary army under
Marceau (who fell during the siege), and, after the signing of the
Treaty of Lunéville (1801) it was made the chief town of the
Rhine and Mosel department. In 1814 it was occupied by the
Russians, by the
congress of Vienna it was assigned to
Prussia, and in 1822 it was made the seat of government of the Prussian Rhine province.
After
World War I, France
occupied the area once again. To distinguish its name from the French spelling, the city insisted on
Koblenz since 1926. As many other cities it was badly mauled in
WW II, and rebuild afterwards.
The
Rhine Gorge was declared a
World Heritage Site in 2002, with Koblenz marking the northern end. Near Koblenz is the
Lahneck Castle near Lahnstein, open to visitors from April 1 to October 31.
Source:
|
Monument at Deutsches Eck |
The
German Order was given an area for their
Deutschherrenhaus Balley right at the border of both rivers, which became known as
German corner (
Deutsches Eck).
In
1897, a monument to
German Emperor Wilhelm I, mounted on a 14 meter high horse, was inaugurated there by his grandson
Wilhelm II. The
German corner is since associated with this monument, the united German Empire and the German refusal of any French claims to the area, as described in the song
Wacht am Rhein.
During WW2, the statue was destroyed by US artillery. The French occupation administration intended the complete destruction of the monument and wanted to replace it with a new one.
In 1953, Bundespräsident
Theodor Heuss re-dedicated the monument to German unity, adding the signs of the remaining western federal states as well as the ones of the lost areas in the East. A
Flag of Germany waved there since. The
Saarland was added four years later after the population had voted to join Germany.
In the 1980s, a movie of the monument was often shown on late night TV when the National Anthem was played to mark the end of the day, a practise which was discontinued when nonstop broadcasting became common.On
October 3,
1990, the very day the former GDR states joined, their signs were added to the monument.
As German unity was considered complete and the areas under Polish administration were ceded to Poland, the monument lost its official active purpose, now only reminding of past history. In 1993, the flag was replaced by a copy of the statue, donated by a local couple.
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Nevers,
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Haringey,
United Kingdom* -
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United Kingdom* -
Maastricht,
Netherlands
* - Novara, Italy
* - Austin, Texas, United States
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