Sinzig is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, Germany. It is situated on the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, about 5 km south-east of

Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...

and 25 km south-east of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, and it has approximately 20,000

inhabitants Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...

(2004).

History

Sinzig received its first official recognition in 762 A.D. On 10 July that year, King Pippin the Younger, the father of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

, presented a certificate of his decree in the Palace of Sinzig (''Sentiaco Palacio''), officially recognizing the town as "Sentiacum." Abraham of Augsburg; a convert to Judaism, along with 61 other Jews, were slain in a

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

in Sinzig in 1265. Sinzig first received its rights as a town on 9 October 1267. Because of the influence Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

had on the town, it is nicknamed a " Barbarossa town".

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

immortalized the town in his 1857 novella ''Asya''. Twice, the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

town, which since 1300 has been protected by a massive wall, was almost entirely destroyed by fires, one in 1583 and another in 1758. Little of the wall now remains, as

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

and

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

led to its nearly complete loss at the end of the 19th century. After World War II, Sinzig experienced a population explosion and soon evolved into an industrial town. With the district reform of 1969, Bad-Bodendorf, Franken, Koisdorf, Löhndorf, and Westum became

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Sinzig. Today, Sinzig, together with the town of

, have developed a modern

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

centre, with multiple

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

and

shopping centre A shopping center ( American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

Sightseeing

There is no point in the "Golden Mile" where the defining

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

of Sinzig, the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, cannot be seen. The late Roman

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

is one of the most meaningful pieces of

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered on ...

and on to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

' list of "World Culture Heritage" artifacts. The ''Sinziger Schloss'' (Sinzig

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

) was built in the period of the Rhine Romantic. Between 1854 and 1858, a businessman, Gustav Bunge of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, ordered the erection of a summer

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became ...

in Sinzig in the style of a

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

. Surrounding the

is a garden, constructed in the style of a Romantic park. The

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

has since then become a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

. Also worth seeing: * Zehnthof * remains of the Medieval town wall * "Ahrmündung" Nature centre

Municipal subdivisions

* Sinzig * Sinzig-Bad Bodendorf * Sinzig-Westum * Sinzig-Löhndorf (1997 Champion of the "Beautify our Town" Contest) * Sinzig-Franken * Sinzig-Koisdorf

Town song

:Heimattreue (Faith in the Homeland) :Draußen im Lande ein Mädel ich fand, :mit hellblondem Haar und feinzarter Hand :und sie hat Augen so klar wie der Wein: :sag Mädel die Heimat, sag bist du vom Rhein! :sag Mädel die Heimat sag bist du vom Rhein! :Refrain: :Wo die Ahr zum Rhein hinfließt, :heilend Wasser der Erd entsprießt, :wo Mädchenaugen sind so blau, :mitten in der goldnen Au. :An dies Städtchen denk ich gern, :bin ich denn auch noch so fern, :an dich denk ich immer dar, :Sinzig Rhein und Ahr. :Ferne am Strande des weiten Meeres, :steht eine Frau, schwer ist ihr ums Herz. :Und sie singt leis` in die Wolken hinein: :Grüßt mir die Heimat, mein Städtchen am Rhein! :Grüßt mir die Heimat, mein Städtchen am Rhein! :(Refrain) :Schon Barbarossa hat Sinzig erkannt, :als eines der schönsten Städtchen im Land. :Und er befahl seinem Kaisertross: :Wir rasten in Sinzig und wohnen im Schloss! :Wir rasten in Sinzig und wohnen im Schloss! :(Refrain)

Born in Sinzig

Inge Helten Ingeborg "Inge" Helten (born 31 December 1950) is a former athlete from West Germany, who competed mainly in the 100 metres. She was born in Westum, Sinzig, Rhineland-Palatinate. Biography She won her first international Gold medal at the 1971 ...

(born 1950), athlete, sprinter * Günter Ruch (1956-2010), writer

Connected to Sinzig

* Peter Joseph Lenné (1789-1866), garden artist and landscape architect, designed the "Schlosspark" in 1858-1866 and the "Zehnthof" in 1864 * Peter Bares (1936-2014), organist, composer for church music, 1960-1985 church musician in Sinzig *

Rudi Altig Rudi Altig (; 18 March 1937 – 11 June 2016) was a German professional track and road racing cyclist who won the 1962 Vuelta a España and the world championship in 1966. After his retirement from sports he worked as a television commentator. ...

(1937-2016), professional cyclist, lived in Sinzig - Koisdorf * Eveline Lemke (born 1964), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens), Member of the Landtag, former minister * Klaus Badelt (born 1967), German composer for television and film music, lived in Bad Bodendorf (Sinzig) during his childhood and youth.

References

External links

* http://www.sinzig.de * http://www.aktiplan-sinzig.de * http://www.sinzig-loehndorf.de * http://museum-sinzig.de * http://www.sinziger-turmblaeser.de * http://www.sinzig.org {{Authority control Populated places on the Rhine Ahrweiler (district) Districts of the Rhine Province Middle Rhine