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110-487: The Sankt Goarshausen railway station connects the town with Wiesbaden , Frankfurt and Koblenz . Sankt Goarshausen was formerly the terminus of the Nassau Light Railway line between Sankt Goarshausen and Nastätten . In 1885, St. Goarshausen had almost 1,456 inhabitants. Close to the town in the hillside just above it, lie the ruins of 14th century Castle Katz , ruined since 1806. Traditionally more than 60% of

220-552: 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

330-519: A central authority, only individual efforts were initially successful in rebuilding Mainz. The reason for this was that the French wanted Mainz to expand and become a model city. Mainz lay within the French-controlled sector of Germany and it was a French architect and town-planner, Marcel Lods , who produced a Le Corbusier-style plan of an ideal architecture. But the first interest of the inhabitants

440-411: A city charter, allowing the citizens to establish and elect a city council. In 1461, a feud between two archbishops, Diether von Isenburg and Adolf II von Nassau , caused unrest in the city. Following Archbishop Adolf's raid on Mainz in 1462, those who opposed him, including Johannes Gutenberg , were either expelled or imprisoned. Ultimately, after the death of Archbishop Adolf II, Diether von Isenburg

550-800: 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

660-656: A mountain basin at the southern foot of the Taunus , protected by the mountains in the north and west, gives Wiesbaden 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

770-972: A number of different names in other languages and dialects. In Latin it is known as Mogontiacum ( pronounced [mɔɡɔnˈti.akũː] ) or Moguntiacum and, in the local Hessian dialect, it is Määnz [mɛːnt͡s] or Meenz [meːnt͡s] . It is known as Mayence [majɑ̃s] in French, Magonza [maˈɡontsa] in Italian, Maguncia [maˈɣunθja] in Spanish, Mogúncia [muˈɣũsjɐ] in Portuguese, Moguncja [mɔˈɡunt͡sja] in Polish, Magentza ( מגנצא ) in Yiddish, and Mohuč in Czech and Slovak ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈmoɦutʃ] ). Before

880-840: 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

990-497: 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,

1100-548: 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 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

1210-643: A silver cross on a red background. Mainz has a population of about 220,000 and is the largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate . Mainz passed 100,000 in 1908. In 1945, After WWII, right side of the Rhine river, which were a part of Mainz, became a part of Wiesbaden and other part of Hesse due to its occupation zone where Mainz and Rhineland-Palatinate were French occupation zone and Wiesbaden and Hesse were American occupation zone where both cities became its state capital in 1946. Mainz lost 21.1% of population at this time. Mainz and Wiesbaden has rivalries who

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1320-522: A visitors centre has been established in connection to the Lorelei rock. The most famous and most popular tourist attraction in town is the Lorelei rock. In St. Goarshausen, there are two castles, Burg Katz (English: Castle Cat , formerly Burg Neu-Katzenelnbogen) and Burg Maus (English: Castle Mouse ). Burg Katz is not open for visitors. There is a good view of the town from Burg Maus, and also visible are

1430-506: 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

1540-547: 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

1650-493: Is a simplification of Mogontiacum . The name appears to be Celtic , however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. The Roman soldiers defending Gallia had adopted the Gallic god Mogons (Mogounus, Moguns, Mogonino), for the meaning of which etymology offers two basic options: "the great one", similar to Latin magnus, which was used in aggrandizing names such as Alexander magnus , "Alexander

1760-451: 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,

1870-589: Is located) was to be a demilitarized zone until 1935 and the French garrison, representing the Triple Entente , was to stay until reparations were paid. In 1923 Mainz participated in the Rhineland separatist movement that proclaimed a Rhenish Republic . It collapsed in 1924. The French withdrew on 30 June 1930. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933 and his political opponents, especially those of

1980-709: Is one of a kind, and has been declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site of " ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz "  [ de ] , which includes the Judensand  [ de ] (Jews' Sand), the second-oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe after the Heiliger Sand in Worms. Mainz is the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg , who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type printing press , starting

2090-582: Is situated on the right (northern) bank of the Rhine , above the confluence of 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,

2200-659: 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 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

2310-593: The Archbishop-Elector of Mainz , the primate of Germany. Mainz Cathedral is one of the three Rhenish Imperial Cathedrals along with Speyer Cathedral and Worms Cathedral . Since the 12th century, Mainz was one of the ShUM-cities  [ de ] —a league formed by the cities of Speyer , Worms and Mainz—which are referred to as the cradle of Ashkenazi Jewish life and as the center of Jewish life during Medieval times. The Jewish heritage of these cities

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2420-660: 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

2530-678: The Frisians to Christianity and is buried in Fulda . The archbishopric of Mainz was established in 781 when Boniface's successor Lullus was granted the pallium by Pope Adrian I . Throughout history, the Archbishops of Mainz held high positions, including serving as archchancellors of the Holy Roman Empire. Notably, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz is unique as it is the only diocese in

2640-476: 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

2750-642: 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 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

2860-534: 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 ,

2970-584: 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

3080-625: The Mainz Sand Dunes for the training areas. Mainz is home to the headquarters of the Bundeswehr ' s Landeskommando Rhineland-Palatinate  [ de ] and other units. The destruction caused by the Bombing of Mainz in World War II led to the most intense phase of building in the history of the town. During the last war in Germany, more than 30 air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of

3190-454: The Museum of Ancient Seafaring . A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public. The city was the provincial capital of Germania Superior , and had an important funeral monument dedicated to Drusus, to which people made pilgrimages for an annual festival from as far away as Lyon . Among the famous buildings were the largest theatre north of

3300-563: The National Socialist Party in Worms brought the party to Mainz. They hoisted the swastika on all public buildings and began to denounce the Jewish population in the newspapers. In 1936, the Nazis remilitarized the Rhineland with great fanfare, the first move of Nazi Germany 's meteoric expansion. The former Triple Entente took no action. During World War II the citadel at Mainz hosted

3410-462: The Neustadt . He also planned the first sewer system for the old part of town since Roman times and persuaded the city government to relocate the railway line from the Rhine side to the west end of the town. The main station was built from 1882 to 1884 according to the plans of Philipp Johann Berdellé  [ de ] . Kreyßig constructed a number of state-of-the-art public buildings, including

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3520-587: The Oflag XII-B prisoner of war camp. The city was also the location of four subcamps of the Hinzert concentration camp , mostly for Luxembourgish, Polish, Dutch and Soviet prisoners, but also Belgian, French and Italian. During World War II, several air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of the city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. Mainz was captured on 22 March 1945 against uneven German resistance (staunch in some sectors and weak in other parts of

3630-734: The Rheingauwall was taken in hand, according to the imperial order of Wilhelm II . During the German Revolution of 1918 the Mainz Workers' and Soldiers' Council was formed which ran the city from 9 November until the arrival of French troops under the terms of the occupation of the Rhineland agreed in the Armistice . The French occupation was confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles which went into effect 28 June 1919. The Rhineland (in which Mainz

3740-563: The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region —Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr —which also encompasses the cities of Frankfurt am Main , Wiesbaden , Darmstadt , Offenbach am Main , and Hanau . Mainz is located at the northern end of the Upper Rhine Plain , on the left bank of the Rhine , opposite the Hessian capital of Wiesbaden and the mouth of the River Main into

3850-655: The Rhineland massacres of 1096 and by mobs in 1283. Outbreaks of the Black Death were usually blamed on the Jews, at which times they were massacred, such as the murder of 6000 Jews in 1349. Outside of the medieval city centre, there is a Jewish cemetery, with over 1500 headstones dating from the 11th through the 19th centuries. The earliest known gravestone is date to 1062 or 1063, and these early gravestones resemble those found in Italy in

3960-511: The Social Democratic Party , were either incarcerated or murdered. Some were able to move away from Mainz in time. One was the political organizer for the SPD, Friedrich Kellner , who went to Laubach, where, as the chief justice inspector of the district court, he continued his opposition against the Nazis by recording their misdeeds in a 900-page diary . In March 1933, a detachment from

4070-755: The Stadtmitte , is located in the north-easternmost part of 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

4180-413: The Unetanneh Tokef prayer. From the late 12th century rabbis met in synods. The city of Mainz responded to the Jewish population in a variety of ways, behaving in a capricious manner towards them. Sometimes they were allowed freedom and were protected; at other times, they were persecuted. The Jews were expelled in 1438, 1462 (after which they were invited to return), and in 1470. Jews were attacked in

4290-399: The War of the Sixth Coalition , the weakened Napoleon and his troops had to leave Mainz in May 1814. In 1816, the part of the former French Département which is known today as Rhenish Hesse (German: Rheinhessen ) was awarded to the Hesse-Darmstadt , Mainz being the capital of the new Hessian province of Rhenish Hesse. From 1816 to 1866, a part of the German Confederation , Mainz was

4400-438: The cenotaph raised by legionaries to commemorate their general, Drusus . In the 4th century, Alemans repeatedly invaded the neighborhood of Mogontiacum. In 357, the city was liberated by the Emperor Julian . The last emperor to station troops serving the western empire at Mainz was Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), who relied heavily on his Magister militum per Gallias , Flavius Aëtius . In 451, Attila 's Huns sacked

4510-508: 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

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4620-411: 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. Mainz Mainz ( German: [maɪnts] ; see below ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate , and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 35th-largest city . It lies in

4730-424: The 1930s, peaking at 2.4% in 1895. As of 1860, the district of St. Goarshausen, which included St. Goarshausen proper and its surrounding villages, had a population that included 8557 Protestants, 3840 Catholics, 110 Jews and 6 Mennonites. The town has 1,585 inhabitants as of December 31, 2002, and is the seat of the township association ( Verbandsgemeinde ) Loreley . With the villages Ehrental, Wellmich and Heide,

4840-418: The 1990s the Kisselberg and the "Fort Malakoff Center" at the site of the old police barracks were built. The city of Mainz is divided into 15 local districts according to the main statute of the city of Mainz. Each local district has a district administration of 13 members and a directly elected mayor, who is the chairman of the district administration. This local council decides on important issues affecting

4950-399: The 20th century, Mainz was commonly known in the Anglosphere either as Mentz , its English version, or by its French version Mayence . It is the namesake of two American cities named Mentz . Mainz is on the 50th latitude north, on the left bank of the Rhine . The east of the city is opposite where the Main falls into it. As of 2021 , the population was 217,272. The city is part of

5060-484: The 8th–9th centuries. Nowadays the Jewish community is growing rapidly, and a new synagogue by the architect Manuel Herz was constructed in 2010 on the site of the one destroyed by the Nazis on Kristallnacht in 1938. As of 2021 , the Jewish community Mainz has 985 members. During the French Revolution , the French Revolutionary army occupied Mainz in 1792; the Archbishop-elector of Mainz, Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal , had already fled to Aschaffenburg by

5170-401: The Alemannian Crocus. Throughout the changes of time, the Roman castrum never seems to have been permanently abandoned as a military installation, which is a testimony to Roman military judgement. Different structures were built there at different times. The current citadel originated in 1660, but it replaced previous forts. It was used in World War II. One of the sights at the citadel is still

5280-441: 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

5390-418: The Alps and a bridge across the Rhine. The city was also the site of the assassination of emperor Severus Alexander in 235. Alemanni forces under Rando sacked the city in 368. From the last day of 405 or 406, the Siling and Asding Vandals , the Suebi , the Alans , and other Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine , possibly at Mainz. Christian chronicles relate that the bishop, Aureus , was put to death by

5500-417: The Altstadttangente ( intersection of the old town ), new neighbourhoods as Westring and Südring contributed to the extension. By 1970 there remained only a few ruins. The new town hall of Mainz had been designed by Arne Jacobsen and finished by Dissing+Weitling . The town used Jacobsens activity for the Danish Novo company erecting a new office and warehouse building to contact him. The urban renewal of

5610-409: 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

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5720-437: The FrankfurtRheinMain area of 5.9 million people. Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 30 minutes by commuter railway [REDACTED] or regional trains RE 2 RE 3 RB 31 . The river port of Mainz is located on the Rhine and thus on one of the most important waterways in Germany. The container port hub is north of the town centre. After the last ice age , sand dunes were deposited in

5830-470: The French dominated Mainz was neither free nor democratic). Prussian troops had already occupied the area and besieged Mainz by the end of March 1793. After a siege of 18 weeks, the French troops in Mainz surrendered on 23 July 1793; Prussians occupied the city and ended the Republic of Mainz. It came to the Battle of Mainz in 1795 between Austria and France. Members of the Mainz Jacobin Club were mistreated or imprisoned and punished for treason. In 1797,

5940-516: The French returned. The army of Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the German territory to the west of the Rhine , and the Treaty of Campo Formio awarded France this entire area, initially as the Cisrhenian Republic . On 17 February 1800, the French Département du Mont-Tonnerre was founded here, with Mainz as its capital, the Rhine being the new eastern frontier of la Grande Nation. Austria and Prussia could not but approve this new border with France in 1801. However, after several defeats in Europe during

6050-400: The Great" and Pompeius magnus , "Pompey the great", or the god of "might" personified as it appears in young servitors of any type whether of noble or ignoble birth. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its strategic position at the confluence of the Main and the Rhine. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river. The castrum

6160-551: 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

6270-417: The Mainz town hall – which was the largest of its kind in Germany at that time – as well a synagogue, the Rhine harbour and a number of public baths and school buildings. Kreyßig's last work was Christ Church ( Christuskirche ), the largest Protestant church in the city and the first building constructed solely for the use of a Protestant congregation. In 1905 the demolition of the entire circumvallation and

6380-422: 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

6490-412: 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

6600-415: The Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a nature reserve with a unique landscape and rare steppe vegetation for this area. While the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC on the Kästrich hill, the associated vici and canabae (civilian settlements) were erected towards the Rhine. Historical sources and archaeological findings both prove

6710-530: The Rhine. It is the largest city of Rhenish Hesse , a region of Rhineland-Palatinate that was historically part of Hesse , and is one of Germany's most important wine regions because of its mild climate. Mainz is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system. Before 1945, Mainz had six boroughs on the other side of the Rhine (see: de:Rechtsrheinische Stadtteile von Mainz ). Three have been incorporated into Wiesbaden (see: de:AKK-Konflikt ), and three are now independent. Mainz

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6820-413: The Taunus range. The downtown is drained only by the narrow valley of 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

6930-446: 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

7040-413: The banks of the Rhine to the north of the rampart. The city expansion more than doubled the urban area which allowed Mainz to participate in the industrial revolution which had previously avoided the city for decades. Eduard Kreyßig  [ de ] was the man who made this happen. Having been the master-builder of the city of Mainz since 1865, Kreyßig had the vision for the new part of town,

7150-403: The border of their territories, whereby the three important episcopal cities of Mainz, Worms and Speyer with their counties to the left of the Rhine were assigned to East Francia . In the early Middle Ages , Mainz played a significant role in the Christianisation of the German and Slavic peoples . The first archbishop in Mainz, Boniface , was killed in 754 while attempting to convert

7260-488: The capital of the new state. In 1962, the diarist, Friedrich Kellner , returned to spend his last years in Mainz. His life in Mainz, and the impact of his writings , is the subject of the Canadian documentary My Opposition: The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner . Following the withdrawal of French forces from Mainz, the United States Army Europe occupied the military bases in Mainz. Today United States Army Europe and Africa only occupies McCulley Barracks in Wackernheim and

7370-420: 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

7480-410: The city of Wiesbaden (on the north bank of the river). The AKK was separated from Mainz when the Rhine was designated the boundary between the French occupation zone (the later state of Rhineland-Palatinate ) and the U.S. occupation zone ( Hesse ) in 1945. The coat of arms of Mainz is derived from the coat of arms of the Archbishops of Mainz and features two six-spoked silver wheels connected by

7590-475: The city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. The attack on the afternoon of 27 February 1945 remains the most destructive of all 33 bombings that Mainz has suffered in World War II in the collective memory of most of the population living then. The air raid caused most of the dead and made an already hard-hit city largely levelled. Nevertheless, the post-war reconstruction took place very slowly. While cities such as Frankfurt had been rebuilt fast by

7700-407: The city) by the 90th Infantry Division under William A. McNulty , a formation of the XII Corps under Third Army commanded by General George S. Patton Jr. From 1945 to 1949, the city was part of the French zone of occupation . When the state of Rhineland-Palatinate was founded on 30 August 1946 by the commander of the French army on the French occupation zone Marie Pierre Kœnig , Mainz became

7810-533: The city. The Franks from the middle and upper Rhine area took Mainz shortly before 460. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Franks under the rule of Clovis I gained control over western Europe by the year 496. Clovis, son of Childeric , became king of the Salians in 481, ruling from Tournai . He converted from paganism to Catholic Christianity . Theudebert I ( c. 500–547 or 548) had installed Sidonius  [ de ] as bishop of Mainz. Dagobert I (605/603–639) reinforced

7920-507: 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

8030-469: The death and funeral of Nero Claudius Drusus ). Although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main , the name of Mainz is not from Main , the similarity being perhaps reinforced by folk-etymological reanalysis. Main is from Latin Moenis (also Moenus or Menus ), the name the Romans used for the river. Linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name "Mainz" has taken on make it clear that it

8140-565: 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

8250-470: The first time. In 1950, the seat of the government of Rhineland-Palatinate had been transferred to the new Mainz and in 1963 the seat of the new ZDF, notable architects were Adolf Bayer, Richard Jörg and Egon Hartmann. At the time of the two-thousand-years-anniversary in 1962 the city was largely reconstructed. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Oberstadt had been extended, Münchfeld and Lerchenberg added as suburbs,

8360-590: 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

8470-630: 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 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 )

8580-582: The global spread of the printing press , and in the early 1450s manufactured his first books in the city, including the Gutenberg Bibles , two of which are kept at the city's Gutenberg Museum . Mainz was heavily damaged in World War II ; more than 30 air raids destroyed around half of the old town in the city centre, but many buildings were rebuilt post-war. Like most cities in the Rhineland , Mainz holds extensive carnival celebrations , that are known as

8690-478: The importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. Mainz experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ). The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum , the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later (the account of

8800-469: 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

8910-400: The larger city Nastätten , that has replaced St. Goarshausen as the regional centre. In tourism, the biggest competitor is the twin city St. Goar on the other shore of the Rhine. St. Goar is only reachable by ferry, as the closest bridge is 30 km away. While there is an established need for a bridge across the Rhine, plans for connecting the towns have not yet been realised. To help tourism,

9020-544: 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

9130-578: The local area, however, the final decision on new policies is made by Mainz's municipal council. In accordance with section 29 paragraph 2 Local Government Act of Rhineland-Palatinate , which refers to municipalities of more than 150,000 inhabitants, the city council has 60 members. Districts of the town are: Until 1945, the districts of Bischofsheim (now an independent town), Ginsheim-Gustavsburg (which together are an independent town) belonged to Mainz. The former districts Amöneburg , Kastel , and Kostheim – (in short, AKK ) are now administered by

9240-452: The most important fortress in the defence against France, and had a strong garrison of Austrian , Prussian and Bavarian troops. On the afternoon of 18 November 1857, a huge explosion rocked Mainz when the city's powder magazine, the Pulverturm , exploded. Approximately 150 people were killed and at least 500 injured; 57 buildings were destroyed and a similar number severely damaged in what

9350-482: The new border between the two countries. For centuries the inhabitants of the fortress of Mainz had suffered from a severe shortage of space which led to disease and other inconveniences. In 1872 Mayor Carl Wallau and the council of Mainz persuaded the military government to sign a contract to expand the city. Beginning in 1874, the city of Mainz assimilated the Gartenfeld , an idyllic area of meadows and fields along

9460-447: The number of inhabitants is over 2,000. The most important economic areas for St. Goarshausen are tourism and wine making . In earlier times the town was an important place along the Rhein for fishing and as an embarkation area. Today, the formerly very busy town is losing its importance and relies more and more on tourism. Especially problematic for St. Goarshausen is the short distance to

9570-467: 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,

9680-677: The old town changed the inner city. In the framework of the preparation of the cathedrals millennium, pedestrian zones were developed around the cathedral, in northern direction to the Neubrunnenplatz and in a southern direction across the Leichhof to the Augustinerstraße and Kirschgarten. The 1980s brought the renewal of the façades on the Markt and a new inner-city neighbourhood on the Kästrich. During

9790-757: The outflow of many thermal and mineral springs in the Kurhaus (spa) district. Above 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)

9900-400: The population are Protestants, while around 30% are Catholics; however Sankt Goarshausen is located in close proximity to Catholic-majority areas where the reverse situation exists. Due to the abandonment of religious beliefs, fewer people are members of the churches today, whether Protestant or Catholic. Sankt Goarshausen had a small but well-established Jewish community from the 17th century to

10010-595: 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

10120-411: The ruins of Burg Rheinfels on the other side of Rhine. Wiesbaden Wiesbaden ( German pronunciation: [ˈviːsˌbaːdn̩] ; lit.   ' meadow baths ' ) 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

10230-504: The second-most important in Germany, after the celebrations in Cologne . The borough of Lerchenberg is the seat of ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, lit. "Second German Television"), the second-most important German public service television broadcaster, as well as of 3sat , another television broadcaster, that is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ARD and ZDF ), Austria ( ORF ), and Switzerland ( SRG SSR ). Mainz has

10340-613: 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

10450-656: The time the French marched in. On 18 March 1793, the Jacobins of Mainz, with other German democrats from about 130 towns in the Rhenish Palatinate , proclaimed the ' Republic of Mainz '. Led by Georg Forster , representatives of the Mainz Republic in Paris requested political affiliation of the Mainz Republic with France, but too late: Prussia was not entirely happy with the idea of a democratic free state on German soil (although

10560-473: 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

10670-540: 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,

10780-412: The walls of Mainz. Charlemagne (768–814), through a succession of wars against other tribes, built a vast Frankish empire in Europe. Mainz from its central location became important to the empire and to Christianity. Meanwhile, language change was gradually working to divide the Franks. After the death of Charlemagne, distinctions between France and Germany began to be made. The Rhine roughly formed

10890-598: 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

11000-456: The world with an episcopal see called a Holy See (sancta sedes). Ibrahim ibn Yaqub , a 10th-century Hispano-Arabic, Sephardi Jewish traveler, writes the following about the city: "Mainz [Maghānja] is a very large city, partly inhabited and partly cultivated fields. It is in the land of the Franks, on a river called the Rhine [Rīn]. Wheat, barley, rye, grapevines and fruit are plentiful." In 1244, Archbishop Siegfried III granted Mainz

11110-444: 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

11220-434: 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

11330-522: 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,

11440-560: Was founded as Castrum Mogontiacum by Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus in the 1st century BC on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire , and became the capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior . The city was settled by the Franks from 459 on, and in the 8th century it became an important city within the Holy Roman Empire , as capital of the Electorate of Mainz and seat of

11550-663: 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

11660-535: Was reinstated as the Archbishop of Mainz, duly elected by the chapter and appointed by the Pope. The Jewish community of Mainz dates to the 10th century CE. It is noted for its religious education. Rabbi Gershom ben Judah (960–1040) taught there, among others. He concentrated on the study of the Talmud , creating a German Jewish tradition. Mainz is also the legendary home of the martyred Rabbi Amnon of Mainz , composer of

11770-477: Was the base of Legio XIV Gemina and XVI Gallica (AD 9–43), XXII Primigenia , IV Macedonica (43–70), I Adiutrix (70–88), XXI Rapax (70–89), and XIV Gemina (70–92), among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica . Remains of Roman troop ships ( navis lusoria ) and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in

11880-494: Was the capital of the Province of Nassau . In 1945, it became the capital of Greater Hesse and subsequently, in 1946, of Hesse . Wiesbaden 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

11990-543: Was the restoration of housing areas. Even after the failure of the model city plans it was the initiative of the French (founding of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz , elevation of Mainz to the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, the early resumption of the Mainz carnival ) driving the city in a positive development after the war. The City Plan of 1958 by Ernst May allowed a regulated reconstruction for

12100-674: Was to be known as the Powder Tower Explosion or Powder Explosion . During the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Mainz was declared a neutral zone. After the founding of the German Empire in 1871, Mainz no longer was as important a stronghold, because in the Franco-Prussian War France had lost the territory of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany (which France had occupied bit by bit from 1630 to 1795), and this defined

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