Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

in the German Bundesland of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

that serves as the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the Ahrweiler district. The A61

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

connects the town with cities like

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. Formed by the merging of the towns (now districts) of Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler in 1969, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler consists of 11 such districts.

Geography

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler rests in the

Ahr valley The Ahr valley (, ) is named after the Ahr, a left tributary of the Rhine in Germany. It begins at the Ahr spring (''Ahrquelle'') in Blankenheim (Ahr), Blankenheim in the county of Kreis Euskirchen, Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and runs gene ...

() on the left bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river in the north of

. Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler nestles in the

Ahr Hills The Ahr HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . ( or ''Ahreifel'' ) are a range of low mountains and hills up to and long in the Eifel region of Germany, which lie roughly southwest of Bonn on the borde ...

(). The highest hill in the area is the

Häuschen The Häuschen is a hill, , in the Eifel mountains. It rises near Ahrweiler in the county of Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography Location The Häuschen is located in the Ahr Eifel in the Ahr ...

at above sea level. Nearby are the hills of Steckenberg, Neuenahrer, and Talerweiterung. There used to be castles on the last two of these hills.

Neighbouring communities

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is surrounded by the following villages and towns (clockwise from the north):

Grafschaft A was originally the name given to the administrative area in the Holy Roman Empire over which a count, or , presided as judge. It is often, therefore, translated as 'county'. The term has survived as a placename in German-speaking countries, for ...

Remagen Remagen () is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West Germany, West German seat of government. It i ...

Sinzig Sinzig is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Rhine, about 5 km south-east of Remagen and 25 km south-east of Bonn, and it has approximately 20,000 inhabitants (2004). ...

, Königsfeld,

Schalkenbach Schalkenbach is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nor ...

, Heckenbach,

Kesseling Kesseling is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

Rech Rech may refer to: People * Almine Rech, French art dealer * Anthony Rech (born 1992), French ice hockey player * Bianca Rech (born 1981), German football player * Erich Rech, Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military ...

and Dernau. The nearest cities are

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

Districts

Bad Neuenahr is divided into Ortsbezirke which consist of one or more districts. The Ortsbezirke are represented by local councils. The largest district, Bad Neuenahr, was originally made up of three communities, which are still seen as districts. Population statistics as of 31 March 2013 (main and secondary residence):

Climate

History

Antiquity

Discoveries dating to the

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

period (1000–500 BC) show farming activity by Celts that dwelled in the area. The

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

(58–50 BC) resulted in the forced relocation of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Eburones The Eburones ( Greek: ) were a Gaulish- Germanic tribe dwelling in the northeast of Gaul, who lived north of the Ardennes in the region near what is now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium and the German Rhineland, in the period immediately ...

to the Middle Rhine. Several

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

antiquities were discovered in the region and date from the 1st to 3rd centuries. Most notable is the , which, today is open to the public and serves as a museum (Museum Römervilla).

Middle Ages

In 893 AD, Ahrweiler was mentioned as Arwilre, Arewilre, Arewilere, and later Areweiller in the Prüm Urbar (register of estates owned by

Prüm Abbey Prüm Abbey is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Prüm, now in the diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by the Franks, Frankish widow Bertrada of Prüm, Bertrada the elder and her son Caribert of Laon, Charibert, Count of Laon, ...

). The abbey of Ahrweiler owned a manor with 24 farmsteads; 50 acres of farmland and 76 acres of vineyards. The first mention of a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

occurred in Neuenahr Castle and surrounding county (Newenare) from 1204 to 1225. In 1246 was founded one of the oldest German inns Gasthaus Sanct Peter. During this period, the area was ruled by German Counts von Neuenahr until 1587, until they went extinct in the male line.

Modern Times

Close to Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, the national Government bunker was built between 1960 and 1972 inside two abandoned railway tunnels that were built as part of the

Strategic Railway A strategic railway is a railway proposed or constructed primarily for military strategic purposes, as opposed to the usual purpose of a railway, which is the transport of civilian passengers or freight. Although the archetypal strategic rail ...

. The bunker was maintained and kept in a working condition for about 30 years and decommissioned in 1997. The location is a museum since February 2008. During the

2021 European floods In July 2021, several European countries were affected by severe floods. Some were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage. The floods started in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing some property damage and inconvenience. Lat ...

much of the town was submerged and many died.

Economy

*The

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

's () Logistics Centre (main depot) is located in an underground facility. *Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler has been home to the traditional mineral water "Heppinger" since 1584. *The "Apollinaris"

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

company was founded in Bad Neuenahr in 1852.

Transport

The town has five stations on the Ahr Valley Railway and provides hourly connections to

Sport

*Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is the home of the successful women's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team,

SC 07 Bad Neuenahr SC 07 Bad Neuenahr was a German association football, football club from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate. The best-known section within the club was its women's football team, which was founded in 1969 and won the German Championship ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is twinned with: *

Brasschaat Brasschaat () is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Brasschaat proper. In November 2006, Brasschaat won the LivCom-Award 20 ...

, Belgium

Notable people

Ahrweiler Marktplatz 23 Georg Kreuzberg 589

Cyrillus Jarre Cyrillus Jarre (born February 2, 1878, in Ahrweiler, Rhine Province, Germany as Rudolf Jarre, died March 8, 1952, in Jinan, Shandong, China, zh, t=楊恩賚, s=杨恩赉, first=t, w=Yang Ên-lai, p=Yáng Ēnlài, also known as Cirillo Rudolf ...

(1878–1952), Franciscan Archbishop in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

Markus Stenz Markus Stenz (born 28 February 1965, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a Germans, German conducting, conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seij ...

(born 1965), conductor * Björn Glasner (born 1973), cyclist *

Jan van Eijden Jan van Eijden (born 10 August 1976) is a German track cyclist born in Bad Neuenahr. He is a double World Champion in sprint and team sprint. He also won one world cup classic and four German national titles. He retired from active racing in ...

(born 1976), cyclist *

Pierre Kaffer Pierre Kaffer (born 7 November 1976 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a race car driver from Germany, currently living in Switzerland. Career In 1990, Kaffer started in Kart racing, Karting, moving in 1994 to Formula Ford, late ...

(born 1976), racing driver * Bianca Rech (born 1981), footballer * Ricarda Funk (born 1992), canoeist

Associated with the town

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

(1818–1883), philosopher and economist, stayed in a spa resort in Bad Neuenahr in 1877 *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

(baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827), is said to have visited the town in his youth. The Beethovenhaus is named in his honor. *

Peter Friedhofen Peter Friedhofen (25 February 1819 – 21 December 1860) was a German people, German Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Brother (Catholic), professed religious and the founder of the Brothers of Mercy of Mary Help of Christians. Friedhof ...

(1819–1860), founder of the Charitable Brethren of Maria Hilf, who practiced his trade first in Ahrweiler * Wolfgang Müller von Königswinter (1816–1873), novelist and poet, died in Bad Neuenahr * Blandine Merten (1883–1918), Ursuline nun near Ahrweiler *

Ebba Tesdorpf Ebba Tesdorpf (23 January 1851 – 22 February 1920) was an illustrator and watercolorist from Hamburg, Germany. Life Tesdorpf came from a Hanseatic (class), Hanseatic family. She was the daughter of businessman Hans Peter Friedrich Te ...

(1851–1920), illustrator and watercolorist, died in Ahrweiler * Paul Metternich (1853–1934), diplomat, died in the district of Heppingen *

Max von Schillings Max von Schillings (April 19, 1868 – July 24, 1933) was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925. Schillings' opera ''Mona Lisa'' (1915) was internationally successfu ...

(1868–1933), composer and conductor *

Christian Hülsmeyer Christian Hülsmeyer (Huelsmeyer) (25 December 1881 – 31 January 1957) was a German inventor, physicist and entrepreneur. He is credited with the invention of radar, although his apparatus, called the "Telemobiloscope," could not directly meas ...

(1891–1957), inventor, physicist and entrepreneur, died in Ahrweiler

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Spa towns in Germany Populated places in Ahrweiler (district)