Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in central
Germany. It is the capital of the
state of
Hessen. Wiesbaden is situated on the right (north) bank of the river
Rhine, vis-à-vis the city of
Mainz on the opposite side of the river, and a short distance from
Frankfurt am Main. Wiesbaden has about 274,000 inhabitants.
Evidence of settlements at Wiesbaden dates back to the
neolithic era.
Continuous occupancy began with the erection of a
Roman fort in the year
6. The
thermal springs of Wiesbaden were first mentioned in
Pliny the Elder's
Naturalis Historia. The Roman settlement is first mentioned by the name Aquae Mattiacorum (
Latin for "Waters of the
Mattiaci") in
121. This name refers to the
Chattian tribe of the Mattiaci (
German: "Mattiaker"), who were living in this area. The town also appears as Mattiacum in
Ptolemy (2.10).
The
Alamanni captured the fort c.
260. Later, in the
370s, when the Romans and Alamanni were allied, the Alamanni gained control of the Wiesbaden area and were in charge of its defense against other
Germanic tribes.
During the
6th century, the
Franks displaced the Alamanni. In the
8th century the Franks built a royal yard ("Königshof", "curtis regia"). Somewhere between
828 and
830,
Einhard mentions "Wisabada". This was the first time that the name Wiesbaden is used.
In the
1170s the Dukes of
Nassau received the area around Wiesbaden as
fiefdom. They governed until in
1242 the
archbishop of Mainz conquered Wiesbaden and burnt it down. Wiesbaden returned to the house of Nassau in
1270. In
1329 the house of Nassau and thereby Wiesbaden received the right of
coinage from
Louis the Bavarian.
Due to its participation in the uprisings of the
Peasants' War Wiesbaden lost all its privileges in
1525 for over forty years. During this time, Wiesbaden built a new
vineyard in
1526, became
Protestant with the nomination of
Wolf Denthener as first
Lutheran pastor on January 1,
1543. The same day the first
Latin school was opened, preparing pupils for the
gymnasium in
Idstein. In
1566 the privileges of the city were restored.
The oldest still existing building of the town, the Old City Hall, was built from
1609 to
1610. No older buildings are preserved due to two fires in
1547 and
1561.
In
1815 the capital of Nassau was moved to Wiesbaden, and the city became the ducal residence. Building activity started in order to give the city a magnificent look. The historical centre of Wiesbaden dates largely back to this time. In the
Austro-Prussian War of
1866, Nassau decided to take
Austria's side. This decision led to the end of the duchy: After the Austrian defeat Nassau was annexed by
Prussia and became part of the Prussian province of
Hessen-Nassau.
|
Wiesbaden railroad station, built from 1904 till 1906 |
After
World War II, the state of Hessen was established, and Wiesbaden became its capital.
American armed forces have been present in Wiesbaden since the war. The
U.S. Army's
1st Armored Division and
III Corps Support Command are both headquartered at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield, just off the
Autobahn toward Frankfurt.
Wiesbaden is famous for its thermal springs and spa. The thermal springs were first utilised by the Romans. The bathing business became important for Wiesbaden near the end of the
Middle Ages. In
1370, sixteen bath houses were in operation. By
1800, there were 2,239 inhabitants and twenty-three bath houses. Among visitors to the springs were
Goethe,
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Richard Wagner, and
Johannes Brahms. In
1900, there were 86,100 inhabitants and 126,000 visitors. In those years there were more millionaires living in Wiesbaden than in any other city in Germany.
| Year | Place |
| October 10, 1926 | Biebrich (Stadt) |
| October 10, 1926 | Schierstein |
| October 10, 1926 | Sonnenberg |
| April 10, 1928 | Bierstadt |
| April 10, 1928 | Dotzheim |
| April 10, 1928 | Erbenheim |
| April 10, 1928 | Frauenstein |
| April 10, 1928 | Heßloch |
| April 10, 1928 | Igstadt |
| April 10, 1928 | Kloppenheim |
| April 10, 1928 | Rambach |
| Georgenborn (1939) |
| August 10, 1945 | Mainz-Amöneburg ¹ |
| August 10, 1945 | Mainz-Kastel ¹ |
| August 10, 1945 | Mainz-Kostheim ¹ |
| January 1, 1977 | Auringen |
| January 1, 1977 | Breckenheim |
| January 1, 1977 | Delkenheim |
| January 1, 1977 | Medenbach |
| January 1, 1977 | Naurod |
| January 1, 1977 | Nordenstadt |
 |
Population |
| Year | Population | | 1521 | 192 (village) |
| 1629 | 915 |
| 1699 | 730 |
| 1722 | 1,329 |
| 1800 | 2,239 |
| 1840 | 11,648 |
| 1870 | 33,339 |
| 1900 | 86,086 |
| 1910 | 109,002 |
| June 16, 1925 | 102,737 |
| June 16, 1933 | 159,755 |
| May 17, 1939 ¹ | 191,955 |
| September 13, 1950 ¹ | 220,741 |
| June 6, 1961 ¹ | 253,300 |
| May 27, 1970 ¹ | 250,122 |
| June 30, 1975 | 251,400 |
| June 30, 1980 | 273,700 |
| June 30, 1985 | 267,000 |
| May 27, 1987 ¹ | 251,871 |
| June 30, 1997 | 267,700 |
| January 1, 2002 | 271,076 |
*
1849-
1868:
Heinrich Fischer*
1868-
1882:
Wilhelm Lanz*
1882-
1883:
Christian Schlichter*
1883-
1913:
Dr. Carl Bernhard von Ibell*
1913-
1919:
Dr. Karl Glässing*
1919-
1929:
Fritz Travers*
1946-
1953:
Hans Heinrich Redlhammer*
1951-
1954:
Georg Kluge*
1954-
1960:
Dr. Erich Mix*
1960-
1968:
Georg Buch*
1968-
1980:
Rudi Schmitt*
1980-
1982:
Georg-Berndt Oschatz*
1982-
1985:
Dr. Hans-Joachim Jentsch*
1985-
1997:
Achim Exner*
1997-today:
Hildebrand DiehlWiesbaden is
twinned with:
*
Fondettes,
France*
Ghent,
Belgium*
Kefar Sava,
Israel*
Klagenfurt,
Austria*
Ljubljana,
Slovenia*
Montreux,
Switzerland*
Ocotal,
Nicaragua*
San Sebastián,
Spain*
Tunbridge Wells,
England*
Wrocław,
Poland |
Wiesbaden pedestrian zone |
The Schlossplatz ("palace square") is situated in the center of the city. There are two outstanding buildings around this square: the ducal palace and the new town hall. The palace was built by
Duke Wilhelm of Nassau in
1840. For the twenty-six remaining years of ducal authority it was the residence of the ruling family. Today the building serves as Landtag (
parliamentary building) for the federal state of Hesse. The New Town Hall replaced the old one in
1887. (The Old Town Hall, built in 1610, is the oldest preserved building of the city and is nowadays used as a civil registry office.) Engraved in the paving in front of the town hall there are the
heraldic eagle of the
Holy Roman Empire, the
lion of Nassau, and the
lilies of Wiesbaden.
The
Protestant Marktkirche ("market church") was built from
1852 to
1862 in a neo-
Gothic style. Its western steeple is 92 m (302
ft.) in height, being the highest building of the city. Another building from the regency of Duke Wilhelm is the Luisenplatz, a square named for the Duke's first wife. It is surrounded by
Neoclassicist buildings, and in the middle there is the Waterloo
Obelisk, commemorating the Nassauers who died in the wars against
Napoleon.
The monumental Kurhaus ("spa house") (now containing a
casino) and the Hessian state
theater are from the time of
Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Apart from the palace in the center the ducal family had a huge palace on the banks of the Rhine, known as Schloss Biebrich. This
baroque building was erected in the first half of the
18th century.
North of the city there is the
Neroberg. From the top of this
hill it is possible to get a
panorama of the city. A
funicular connects the city with the hill.
Wiesbaden's
coat-of-arms features
fleurs-de-lys, stylized representations of the city's heraldic symbol, the lily. The
blazon is: "Azure, two and one fleurs-de-lys Or".
Notable people born in Wiesbaden include
American tennis star
John McEnroe (who was born on a U.S. military base at Wiesbaden),
F1 driver
Nico Rosberg,
German film director Volker Schlöndorff and
German product designer
Dieter Rams, former head of design for
Braun.
Mainz, which is on the opposite side of the
Rhine river, is Wiesbaden's archrival — the two cities are the capitals of their respective Bundesländer and citizens of both cities
jokingly refer to those of the other one as "living on the wrong side of the river".
Wiesbaden has several railway stations, the most important station is Wiesbaden main station which connects different local trains to Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Mainz, Limburg and Koblenz via Rüdesheim. It is also connected to the high-speed train Cologne-Stuttgart. Wiesbaden is located near the A3, A66, A647, and the A643 motorway.The nearest airport is
Frankfurt International Airport.
*
Official website of the city*
Unofficial website*
Photos of Wiesbaden*
Wiesbaden Daily Photos*
A live webcam to Wiesbaden
