100-679: Dirk Kaesler (born in Wiesbaden on 19 October 1944 as Dirk Käsler ) is a German sociologist and Max Weber expert. Now retired, he was formerly Professor of Sociology at the University of Marburg . He is the author of Max Weber: An Introduction to his Life and Work , first published by the University of Chicago Press in 1988. This biography of a German sociologist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wiesbaden Wiesbaden ( German pronunciation: [ˈviːsˌbaːdn̩] ; lit. ' meadow baths ' )
200-552: A castle, probably from the early Middle Ages, around which the city had developed. While nothing is known of the former castle, remains of it were uncovered during excavations after World War II. The new town hall was built in 1887. A tile mosaic in front of the town hall shows the heraldic eagle of the Kingdom of Prussia (of which Wiesbaden was a part at the time), the coat of arms of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau , and
300-800: A coalition of Germanic tribes from beyond the Limes , captured the fort around 260. Later, in the 370s, when the Romans and Alamanni were allied, the Alemanni gained control of the Wiesbaden area and were in charge of its defense against other Germanic tribes. After the Franks under Clovis I defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496, the Franks eventually displaced the Alamanni in
400-615: A mild climate. It has been called the " Nice of the North" because of its climate and architecture. The city of Wiesbaden is one of the wealthiest cities in Germany and one of those with above-average purchasing power. The United States Army Europe and Africa headquarters are located in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim . Wiesbaden is situated on the right (northern) bank of the Rhine , above the confluence of
500-840: A planned " Fluxus " publication with concerts of antique musical instruments, the “Fluxus Internationale Festspiele Neuester Music” (Fluxus International Festival of Newest Music) at the Museum Wiesbaden. Fourteen concerts were performed on four weekends between 1 and 23 September which marked the beginning of the Fluxus movement. Work by musicians such as John Cage , György Ligeti , Krzysztof Penderecki , Terry Riley , Brion Gysin and others were performed alongside new performance pieces written by Higgins, Knowles, George Brecht , Nam June Paik , Ben Patterson , Robert Filliou , Emmett Williams , and others. One performance in particular, "Piano Activities" by Philip Corner , became notorious by challenging
600-497: A population of 86,100, hosted 126,000 visitors annually. Famous visitors to the springs included Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Fyodor Dostoevsky , Richard Wagner , Johannes Brahms , and Henrik Pontoppidan . In those years, more millionaires were living in Wiesbaden than in any other city in Germany. Gambling followed bathing en suite , and in the 19th century, Wiesbaden was famous for both. Its casino ( Spielbank ) rivalled those of Bad Homburg , Baden-Baden , and Monaco . In 1872,
700-589: A result of the Variscan orogeny . After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened. During the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits. While the clay (which was the basis for a major pottery industry in nearby Raeren )
800-506: A warehouse full of 4,000 cases of champagne. After the war's end, American rock artist Elvis Presley was stationed in Friedberg and often visited Wiesbaden. After World War II, the state of Hesse was established (see Greater Hesse ), and Wiesbaden became its capital, though nearby Frankfurt am Main is much larger and works as Hesse's economic and financial centre. Wiesbaden however suffered much less than Frankfurt from air bombing. There
900-547: Is a persistent rumour that the U.S. Army Air Force spared the town with the intention of turning it into a postwar HQ, but USAAF sources claim this to be a myth, arguing that Wiesbaden's economic and strategic importance simply did not justify more bombing. Wiesbaden was host to the Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces, Europe based at the former Lindsey Air Station from 1953 to 1973. American armed forces have been present in Wiesbaden since World War II. The U.S. 1st Armored Division
1000-451: Is at an elevation of 115 metres (377 ft). Wiesbaden covers an area of 204 km (79 sq mi). It is 17.6 kilometres (10.9 mi) from north to south and 19.7 kilometres (12.2 mi) from west to east. In the north are vast forest areas, which cover 27.4% of the urban area. In the west and east are vineyards and agricultural land, which cover 31.1% of the area. Of the municipality's 79 kilometres (49.1 mi)-long border,
1100-690: Is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority. The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, with each sub-district named by a two-digit number. The districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are: Regardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighbourhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district: The following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from
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#17331057008811200-553: Is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits. More recent sedimentation is mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and was formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities. Along the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny , there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid . Additionally,
1300-516: Is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name translates to "meadow baths", and there are 15 mineral springs —14 of which are hot springs —in the city centre. With a yield of around 2 million liters daily, Wiesbaden is the second-most productive German spa after Aachen . Its location in a mountain basin at the southern foot of the Taunus , protected by the mountains in the north and west, gives Wiesbaden
1400-854: Is the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is located at the northern foothills of the High Fens and the Eifel Mountains. It sits on the Wurm River , a tributary of the Rur , and together with Mönchengladbach , it is the only larger German city in the drainage basin of the Meuse . It is the westernmost larger city in Germany, lying approximately 61 km (38 mi) west of Cologne and Bonn , directly bordering Belgium in
1500-566: Is the capital of the German state of Hesse , and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main . With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 24th-largest city . Wiesbaden forms a conurbation with a population of around 500,000 with the neighbouring city of Mainz . This conurbation is in turn embedded in the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region —Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr —which also includes
1600-660: The Confessing Church resistance movement against the Nazis, is an Honorary Citizen of Wiesbaden. He presented his last sermon before his arrest in Wiesbaden's Market Church. In World War II, Wiesbaden was the headquarters for Germany's Wehrkreis XII . This military district included the Eifel , part of Hesse , the Palatinate , and the Saarland . After the Battle of France , this Wehrkreis
1700-454: The Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, in Bonn (with 669 mm/year). Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of
1800-595: The Holy Roman Empire ). The town was part of Franconia , the heartland of East Francia. In the 1170s, the Count of Nassau , Walram I, received the area around Wiesbaden as a fiefdom . When Franconia fragmented in the early 13th century, Nassau emerged as an independent state as part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1232 Wiesbaden became a Reichsstadt , an imperial city, of the Holy Roman Empire. However, in 1242, during
1900-582: The Limes Germanicus , which was a line of Roman frontier fortifications in the Taunus . Wiesbaden is just south of the Taunus. The capital of the province of Germania Superior , Mogontiacum (present-day Mainz ), base of 2 (at times 3) Roman legions, was just over the Rhine and connected by a bridge at the present-day borough of Mainz-Kastel (Roman " castellum "), a strongly fortified bridgehead. The Alamanni ,
2000-584: The Luftwaffe was stationed here. In the Kristallnacht pogrom on 10 November 1938, Wiesbaden's large synagogue on Michelsberg was destroyed. The synagogue had been designed by Phillip Hoffmann and built in 1869. Another synagogue in Wiesbaden-Bierstadt was also destroyed. When the Nazis came to power in Germany, there were 2,700 Jews living in Wiesbaden. By June 1942 nearly all of them had been deported to
2100-567: The Main , where the Rhine's main direction changes from north to west. The city is across the Rhine from Mainz, the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . Frankfurt am Main is located about 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) east. To the north of the city are the Taunus Mountains, which trend in a northeasterly direction. The city center, the Stadtmitte , is located in the north-easternmost part of
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#17331057008812200-589: The Meuse , and about 30 km (19 mi) north of the High Fens , which form the northern edge of the Eifel uplands of the Rhenish Massif . The maximum dimensions of the city's territory are 21.6 km ( 13 + 3 ⁄ 8 mi) from north to south, and 17.2 km ( 10 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi) from east to west. The city limits are 87.7 km ( 54 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) long, of which 23.8 km ( 14 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi) border Belgium and 21.8 km ( 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi)
2300-713: The Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs . Latin Aquae figures in Aachen's Roman name Aquae granni , which meant "waters of Grannus ", referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. This word became Åxhe in Walloon and Aix in French, and subsequently Aix-la-Chapelle to distinguish it from Aix-en-Provence , after Charlemagne had his palatine chapel built there in
2400-501: The Palace . Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace. In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish or Ash (אש). In 797, Isaac, a Jewish merchant, accompanied two ambassadors of Charlemagne to
2500-602: The RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen , one of the largest medical facilities in Europe. Aachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion , close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium . The town of Vaals in
2600-552: The Treaty of Verdun , the city was within the borders of Middle Francia , until it became part of East Francia after the Treaty of Meerssen (870). It subsequently was part of the Holy Roman Empire and was granted city rights in 1166 by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , becoming an imperial city . It served as the coronation site where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans from 936 to 1531, until Frankfurt am Main became
2700-714: The Upper Rhine Valley at the spurs of the Taunus mountains, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Rhine. The landscape is formed by a wide lowland between the Taunus heights in the north, the Bierstadter Höhe and the Hainerberg in the east, the Mosbacher Mountain in the south, and the Schiersteiner Mountain in the west, an offshoot of the Taunus range. The downtown is drained only by the narrow valley of
2800-666: The War of Devolution . The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession . In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis in the Aachen government, and in 1794 Aachen lost its status as a free imperial city . In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city. In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return. Most of the Aachen Jewish community settled in Burtscheid. As recently as
2900-678: The extermination camps in German-occupied Poland . General Ludwig Beck from Wiesbaden was one of the planners of the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler . Beck was designated by his fellow conspirators to be future Head of State (Regent) after elimination of Hitler. The plot failed, however, and Beck was forced to commit suicide. Today, the city annually awards the Ludwig Beck prize for civil courage in his honor. Lutheran pastor and theologian Martin Niemöller , founder of
3000-457: The fleur-de-lis of Wiesbaden. The old town hall, built in 1610, is the oldest preserved building in the city center and now is used as a civil registry office. Aachen Aachen ( / ˈ ɑː k ən / AH -kən , German: [ˈaːxn̩] ; Aachen dialect : Oche [ˈɔːxə] ; Dutch : Aken [ˈaːkə(n)] ; French: Aix-la-Chapelle ; Latin: Aquae Granni or Aquisgranum )
3100-570: The migration period . The last Roman coin finds are from the time of Emperor Gratian (AD 375–383). Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated. By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne . During the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in
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3200-552: The vicus Aquae Granni was Frankized around the 5th century. This was followed by a period of sedentism under first Merovingian and then Carolingian rule. With the completion of the Carolingian Palace of Aachen at the transition to the 9th century, Aachen was constituted as the main royal residence of the Frankish Empire ruled by Charlemagne . Because of that the city is sometimes called "cradle of Europe". After
3300-715: The " chef-lieu du département de la Roer " in Napoleon's First French Empire . In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars , the Kingdom of Prussia took over within the new German Confederation . The city was one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century. Administered within the Rhine Province , by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen. The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions until 1875, when
3400-710: The Allied occupation of the Rhineland and was occupied by the French army in 1918. In 1921, the Wiesbaden Agreement on German reparations to France was signed in the city. In 1925, Wiesbaden became the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine until the withdrawal of occupying forces from the Rhineland in 1930. In 1929, an airport was constructed in Erbenheim on the site of a horse-racing track. In 1936, Fighter Squadron 53 of
3500-515: The Canadian city of Regina, Saskatchewan which is located at a similar latitude but at the heart of the North American landmass, far away from the sea's moderating effects, is classified as being in zone 3a. In the 1991–2020 period, the last freeze (at 2 m above ground) of spring occcured on April 28th and the first fall freeze on October 13th, on average. The Aachen weather station has recorded
3600-589: The Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century AD that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel, adding at the end of the same century the Münstertherme spa, two water pipelines, and a probable sanctuary dedicated to Grannus. A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was an extensive residential area. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid . A temple precinct called Vernenum
3700-516: The Count of Nassau-Usingen granted a concession for gambling in Wiesbaden. In 1810, the Wiesbaden Casino (German: Spielbank ) was opened in the old Kurhaus. Gambling was later outlawed by Prussian authorities in 1872. As a result of Napoleon 's victory over Austria in the Battle of Austerlitz , the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1805. On 12 July 1806, 16 states in present-day Germany, including
3800-450: The Eifel. Because the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog. Some areas of the city have become urban heat islands as a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography and from human activity. The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore play an important role in
3900-699: The House of Nassau and thereby, Wiesbaden, received the right of coinage from Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian . In 1355, the County of Nassau-Weilburg was divided among the sons of Gerlach. The County of Nassau's holdings would be subdivided many times among heirs, with the parts being brought together again whenever a line died out. Wiesbaden became the seat of the County of Nassau-Wiesbaden under Count Adolf I (1307–1370), eldest son of Gerlach. It would eventually fall back to Nassau-Weilburg in 1605. Due to its participation in
4000-432: The House of Nassau-Usingen. In 1806, the city became the capital of the Duchy of Nassau . Since 1841, the newly built Wiesbaden City Palace was the principal Nassauian residence. From 1868 to 1944, the city lay in the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau , and from 1944 to 1945, it was the capital of the Province of Nassau . In 1945, it became the capital of Greater Hesse and subsequently, in 1946, of Hesse . Wiesbaden
4100-406: The Netherlands lies nearby at about 6 km (4 mi) from Aachen's city centre, while the Dutch city of Heerlen and Eupen , the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium , are both located about 20 km (12 mi) from Aachen city centre. Aachen lies near the head of the open valley of the Wurm (which today flows through the city in canalised form), part of the larger basin of
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4200-497: The Netherlands. The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 m (1,350 ft) above sea level. The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 m (410 ft). As the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone ( Cfb ), with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers. Because of its location north of
4300-422: The Prussian-dominated imperial government closed down all German gambling houses. The Wiesbaden casino was reopened in 1949. The Schloßplatz ("palace square") is situated in the center of the city, surrounded by several outstanding buildings. The ducal palace was begun under William, Duke of Nassau . Its foundations were laid in 1837 and it was completed in November 1841 (two years after William's death). For
4400-412: The Rhine makes up 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi). Wiesbaden has a temperate - oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ) with relatively cold winters and warm summers. Its average annual temperature is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F), with monthly mean temperatures ranging from 1.2 °C (34.2 °F) in January to 18.9 °C (66.0 °F) in July. The Wiesbaden weather station has recorded
4500-532: The Roman Curia as such. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II , the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne , who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it and was killed afterwards. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Over
4600-427: The Salzbach, a tributary of the Rhine, on the eastern flanks of the Mosbacher Mountain. The city's main railway line and the Mainz road ( Mainzer Straße ) follow this valley. Several other streams drain into the Salzbach within the city center: the Wellritzbach, the Kesselbach, the Schwarzbach, the Dambach, and the Tennelbach, as well as the outflow of many thermal and mineral springs in the Kurhaus (spa) district. Above
4700-446: The Wiesbaden area over the course of the 6th century. In the 8th century, Wiesbaden became the site of a royal palace of the Frankish kingdom. The first documented use of the name Wiesbaden is by Einhard , the biographer of Charlemagne , whose writings mention "Wisabada" sometime between 828 and 830. When the Frankish Carolingian Empire broke up in 888, Wiesbaden was in the eastern half, called East Francia (which would evolve into
4800-420: The city became the ducal residence. Building activity started to give the city a magnificent appearance. Most of the historical center of Wiesbaden dates back to this time. In the Revolutions of 1848 , 30,000 citizens of Nassau assembled in Wiesbaden on 4 March. They demanded a constitution from the Duke, which they received. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Nassau took Austria's side. This decision led to
4900-412: The city center, the Salzbach is better known as the Rambach. The highest point of the Wiesbaden municipality is located northwest of the city center near the summit of the Hohe Wurzel, with an elevation of 608 metres (1,995 ft) above sea level . The lowest point is the harbour entrance of Schierstein at 83 metres (272 ft) above sea level. The central square (the Schlossplatz , or palace square)
5000-414: The city is best known is Aachener Printen , a type of gingerbread . The name Aachen is a modern descendant, like southern German Ach(e) , German: Aach , meaning "river" or "stream", from Old High German ahha , meaning "water" or "stream", which directly translates (and etymologically corresponds) to Latin Aquae , referring to the springs. The location has been inhabited by humans since
5100-419: The city of Mainz until 1945, and still bear the designation "Mainz" in their names—the so-called AKK-boroughs of Mainz-Amöneburg , Mainz-Kastel , and Mainz-Kostheim . This so-called AKK-Konflikt ( de:AKK-Konflikt ) is the main cause for the rivalry between Mainz and Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden Main Station is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system. Historically, Wiesbaden
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#17331057008815200-409: The city. Many wealthy persons chose Wiesbaden as their retirement seat, as it offered leisure and medical treatment alike. In the latter part of the 19th century, Wiesbaden became the German city with the most millionaires. In 1894, the present Hessian State Theater, designed by the Vienna architects Fellner and Helmer, was built on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm II. After World War I, Wiesbaden fell under
5300-449: The city. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the synagogue was destroyed. By the onset of World War II in 1939, many Jews had emigrated or were arrested, and only 782 remained in the city. At the end of the war in 1945, only 62 Jews lived in the city. As of 2003, 1,434 Jews were again living in Aachen. The city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with
5400-415: The city. The first killed 1,525, including 212 children, and bombed six hospitals. During the second, 442 aircraft hit two railway stations, killed 207, and left 15,000 homeless. The raids destroyed Aachen-Eilendorf and Aachen-Burtscheid . The city and its fortified surroundings were besieged from 12 September to 21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from
5500-418: The court library were also produced locally. During the reign of Louis the Pious (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, patristic texts including the five manuscripts of the Bamberg Pliny Group . Finally, under Lothair I (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced. This however marked
5600-434: The court of Harun al-Rashid . He returned to Aachen in July 802, bearing an elephant called Abul-Abbas as a gift for the emperor. After Charlemagne's death, he was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the Karlsschrein , the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by
5700-432: The end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population. A significant portion of foreign residents are students at the RWTH Aachen University . Aachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north. Aachen's local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to Ripuarian . The city
5800-411: The end of the duchy. After the Austrian defeat, Nassau was annexed by Prussia and became part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau . The deposed duke Adolph of Nassau in 1890 became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg (see House of Nassau ). This turned out to be a fortunate change for the city, as it then became an international spa town. A rise in construction commenced after the aristocracy followed
5900-402: The end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen. In 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands , Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and went as far as expelling them from the city. From the early 16th century, Aachen started to lose its power and influence. First the coronations of emperors were moved from Aachen to Frankfurt . This
6000-466: The following extreme values: The geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous. The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone , greywacke , claystone and limestone . These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif , north of the High Fens. In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as
6100-444: The following extreme values: While evidence of settlement at present-day Wiesbaden dates back to the Neolithic era, historical records document continuous occupancy after the erection of a Roman fort in 6 AD which housed an auxiliary cavalry unit. The thermal springs of Wiesbaden are first mentioned in Pliny the Elder 's Naturalis Historia . They were famous for their recreation pools for Roman army horses and possibly as
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#17331057008816200-416: The important status of the piano in post-war German homes. Wiesbaden has long been famous for its thermal springs and spa. Use of the thermal springs was first documented by the Romans. The business of spring bathing became important for Wiesbaden near the end of the Middle Ages . By 1370, 16 bath houses were in operation. By 1800, the city had 2,239 inhabitants and 23 bath houses. By 1900, Wiesbaden, with
6300-448: The late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was still prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich ; the city of Aachen deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away road-diggers. On 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire "left bank" of the Rhine from Germany (the Holy Roman Empire ) and granted it to France. In 1815, control of
6400-402: The late 8th century and then made the city his empire's capital. The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages: Flint quarries on the Lousberg , Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3000–2500 BC), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's Elisengarten pointing to a former settlement from
6500-439: The lead of the Hohenzollern emperors, who began annual trips to Wiesbaden. The period around the turn of the 20th century is regarded as the heyday of the city. Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the city regularly in summer, such that it became an unofficial "summer residence". The city was also popular among the Russian nobility. In the wake of the imperial court, numerous nobles, artists, and wealthy businessmen increasingly settled in
6600-475: The medieval fortifications were abandoned as a limit to building and new, better housing was built in the east of the city, where sanitary drainage was easiest. In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified. In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important in the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles , buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods. After World War I , Aachen
6700-427: The middle of the 17th century, the city had developed a considerable reputation as a spa, although this was in part because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th and early 20th century – a place of high-level prostitution. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history are found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas. The main indication for visiting patients, ironically,
6800-498: The nearby cities of Frankfurt am Main , Darmstadt , Offenbach am Main , and Hanau , and has a combined population exceeding 5.8 million. The city is located on the Rhine ( Upper Rhine ), at the foothills of the Taunus , opposite the Rhineland-Palatine capital of Mainz , and the city centre is located in the wide valley of the small Salzbach stream. Wiesbaden lies in the Rheingau wine-growing region , one of Germany's 13 wine regions . Three of Wiesbaden's boroughs were part of
6900-470: The next 500 years, most kings of Germany who ruled the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current city hall in 1330. During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Aachen Minster (today's Cathedral). In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian I during his coronation ceremony. The last king to be crowned here
7000-467: The northwest: Herzogenrath , Würselen , Eschweiler , Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in the district of Aachen ); Raeren , Kelmis and Plombières ( Liège Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals , Gulpen-Wittem , Simpelveld , Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands). The current mayor of Aachen is Sibylle Keupen , an independent endorsed by Alliance 90/The Greens , since 2020. The most recent mayoral election
7100-418: The old city hall, was built in 1609 and 1610. No older buildings are preserved due to two fires in 1547 and 1561. In 1648, at the end of the devastating Thirty Years' War , chronicles tell that Wiesbaden had barely 40 residents left. In 1659, the County of Nassau-Weilburg was divided again. Wiesbaden became part of the County of Nassau-Usingen. In 1744, the seat of Nassau-Usingen was moved to Biebrich . In 1771,
7200-467: The preferred place of coronation. One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University ( Rheinisch-Westfälisch Technische Hochschule Aachen ), is located in the city. Its university hospital Uniklinikum Aachen is Europe's largest single-building hospital. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen
7300-642: The remaining counties of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg, formally left the Holy Roman Empire and joined in the Confederation of the Rhine . Napoleon was its "protector". Under pressure from Napoleon, both counties merged to form the Duchy of Nassau on 30 August 1806. At the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the Duchy of Nassau joined the German Confederation . The capital of Nassau was moved from Weilburg to Wiesbaden, and
7400-459: The royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks , 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel (since 1930, cathedral) and
7500-597: The same period. Bronze Age (around 1600 BC) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg. During the Iron Age , the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus , god of light and healing. The 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian , around 124 AD. Grenus refers to
7600-613: The source of a mineral used for red hair dye (which was very fashionable around the turn of BC/AD among women in Rome). The Roman settlement is first mentioned using the name Aquae Mattiacorum ( Latin for "Waters of the Mattiaci") in 121. The Mattiaci were a Germanic tribe , possibly a branch of the neighboring Chatti , who lived in the vicinity at that time. The town also appears as Mattiacum in Ptolemy 's Geographia (2.10). The Roman Empire built
7700-464: The south. Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division, coming from the north, and got as close as Würselen , while the 30th Infantry Division completed the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944. With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the battle continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944. Aachen
7800-456: The southwest, and the Netherlands in the northwest. The city lies in the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion and is the seat of the district of Aachen ( Städteregion Aachen ). The once Celtic settlement was equipped with several thermae in the course of colonization by Roman pioneers settling at the warm Aachen thermal springs around the 1st century. After the withdrawal of the Roman troops,
7900-487: The subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has been responsible for numerous earthquakes in the past, including the 1756 Düren earthquake and the 1992 Roermond earthquake , which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands . Aachen has 245,885 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2015), of whom 118,272 are female, and 127,613 are male. At
8000-489: The town was passed to the Kingdom of Prussia through an agreement reached by the Congress of Vienna . The third congress took place in 1818, to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France. By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place until 1801, when Aachen became
8100-607: The town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the Rhineland and northern France. Einhard mentions that in 765–766 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa ( Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter ) ("and [he] celebrated the birth of the Lord [Christmas] in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter"), which must have been sufficiently equipped to support
8200-473: The twenty-six remaining years of ducal authority it was the residence of the ruling family. It later served as a secondary residence for the King of Prussia 1866 to 1918. It was later used as a headquarters for French and British occupying forces after World War I, then as a museum. Since 1945, the building has served as Landtag (parliamentary building) for the state of Hesse. The site of the palace had been that of
8300-540: The uprisings of the German Peasants' War of 1525, Wiesbaden lost all its privileges for over 40 years. During this time, Wiesbaden became Protestant with the nomination of Wolf Denthener as first Lutheran pastor on 1 January 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 remaining building of Wiesbaden,
8400-481: The urban climate of Aachen. The January average is 3.0 °C (37 °F), while the July average is 18.5 °C (65 °F). Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. The city's oceanic climate provides comparably mild winters: While Aachen falls within the coldest extents covered by USDA plant hardiness zone 8b in the 1991–2020 period, having an average yearly minimum of -9.22 °C (15.4 °F),
8500-645: The war of Emperor Frederick II against the Pope, the Archbishop of Mainz , Siegfried III , ordered the city's destruction. Wiesbaden returned to the control of the House of Nassau in 1270 under Count Walram II, Count of Nassau . However, Wiesbaden and the castle at Sonnenberg were again destroyed in 1283 in conflict with Eppstein . Walram's son and successor Adolf would later become king of Germany from 1292 until 1298. In 1329, under Adolf's son Gerlach I of Nassau-Weilburg
8600-470: Was Ferdinand I in 1531. During the Middle Ages , Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders ; it achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a free imperial city , subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had
8700-557: Was syphilis ; only by the end of the 19th century had rheumatism become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid. Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on 2 May 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended
8800-447: Was a Nassauian city. From 1170 to 1629, it lay in the County of Nassau , and from 1629 to 1721, it was in the county and later principality of Nassau-Idstein, all of which were territories within the Holy Roman Empire ruled by branches of the House of Nassau . In 1728, the city found itself in the principality of Nassau-Usingen , and in 1744, Biebrich Palace became the main residence of
8900-565: Was also the site of many important church councils, including the Council of 837 and the Council of 1166 , a council convened by the antipope Paschal III . Aachen was an important site for the production of historical manuscripts. Under Charlemagne's purview, both the Ada Gospels and the Coronation Gospels may have been produced in Aachen. In addition, quantities of the other texts in
9000-493: Was attacked by both RAF and United States Air Force bombers on 66 days. In the attacks, about 18% of the city's homes were destroyed. During the war, more than 25% of the city's buildings were damaged or worse and 1,700 people were killed. Wiesbaden was the location of a camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), and two subcamps of the Hinzert concentration camp , mostly for Luxembourgish prisoners. Wiesbaden
9100-456: Was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim . Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse. Roman civil administration in Aachen eventually broke down as the baths and other public buildings (along with most of the villae rusticae of the surrounding countryside) were destroyed around AD 375 at the start of
9200-434: Was captured by U.S. Army forces on 28 March 1945. The U.S. 317th Infantry Regiment attacked in assault boats across the Rhine from Mainz while the 319th Infantry attacked across the river Main near Hochheim am Main . The attack started at 01:00 and by early afternoon the two forces of the 80th U.S. Infantry Division had linked up with the loss of only three dead and three missing. The Americans captured 900 German soldiers and
9300-522: Was extended to include Lorraine , including Nancy , and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . The commander was General der Infanterie Walther Schroth . Wehrkreis XII was made up of three subordinate regions: Bereich Hauptsitze Koblenz , Mannheim and Metz . During the war, Wiesbaden was, between August 1940 and the end of 1942, bombed by the Royal Air Force and from 1943 through to March 1945,
9400-521: Was followed by the religious wars and the great fire of 1656. After the destruction of most of the city in 1656, the rebuilding was mostly in the Baroque style. The decline of Aachen culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez , occupied Aachen. In 1542, the Dutch humanist and physician Francis Fabricius published his study of the health benefits of the hot springs in Aachen. By
9500-663: Was headquartered at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield , just off the autobahn toward Frankfurt, until the Division completed relocation to Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2011. Wiesbaden is now home to the U.S. Army Europe Headquarters and the General John Shalikashvili Mission Command Center. In 1962, the American artists George Maciunas , Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles traveled to Europe to promote
9600-622: Was largely unscathed. 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff , was assassinated by an SS commando unit. On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III . In 1862, a large synagogue was built, later called the Old Synagogue [ de ; fr ; id ] . By 1933, 1,345 Jews lived in
9700-726: Was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine. Aachen was one of the locations involved in the Rhenish Republic . On 21 October 1923, an armed mob took over the city hall. Similar actions took place in Mönchengladbach , Duisburg , and Krefeld . This republic lasted about a year. Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II . According to Jörg Friedrich in The Fire (2008), two Allied air raids on 11 April and 24 May 1944 "radically destroyed"
9800-465: Was over Burtscheid , a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess , which was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich". As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It
9900-400: Was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation. The regional dialect spoken in the city is a Central Franconian , Ripuarian variant with strong Limburgish influences from the dialects in the neighbouring Netherlands. As a Rhenish city, Aachen is one of the main centres of carnival celebrations in Germany , along with Cologne and Mainz . The culinary specialty for which
10000-563: Was the first German city to be captured by the Western Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators. What remained of the city was destroyed—in some areas completely—during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included medieval churches of and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral
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