Bierstadt is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of the city of

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) 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 List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, capital of the state of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. It is located in the eastern part of the city, directly east of downtown Wiesbaden, and has about 12,300 inhabitants. Formerly an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, the settlement was incorporated into Wiesbaden on April 1, 1928. While ''Bierstadt'' can be translated "Beer Town," the name is actually derived from

Brigid of Kildare Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland (; Classical Irish: ''Brighid''; ; ) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish ...

(),

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Bierstadt (''Birgidstadt'').

History

The earliest traces of settlement in the Bierstadt area date to the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. However, Bierstadt was first mentioned in historical records, as "Birgidestad", in a deed of gift on March 12, 927. The town was founded by Irish monks, who named it after the Irish national saint, Brigid of Kildare. In the 11th–12th centuries, the (now

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

) Church of St. Nicholas was built. The church is not only the oldest existing church in Wiesbaden, but, after the

Roman-era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdo ...

Heathens' Wall in downtown Wiesbaden, is the second oldest building of any kind in the city. In the

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

, Bierstadt came under the dominion of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...

, but was subject to strong influences from the

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

. In the wake of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, Bierstadt came fully under the control of Nassau. After the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the town had only 17 inhabitants. Efforts at reconstruction were set back by a fire in 1691. By the middle of the 18th century, Bierstadt had about 500 residents. The remains of a medieval watchtower, the ''Bierstadter Warte'', are located on a height between Wiesbaden and the borough. The watchtower is now part of the borough's coat of arms. In 1898, a large observation tower, the Wiesbaden Bismarck Tower, was planned to be built at this site. A temporary wooden tower was constructed in 1910, but funding for the permanent structure could not be obtained. The temporary tower was demolished in 1918. During the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

(1933–1945), Nazism dominated Bierstadt. On November 9, 1938, the synagogue, dating to 1827, was completely destroyed. After the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

victory in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, about 1,800 apartments were built for

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

personnel. The remaining Aukamm and Crestview U.S. military housing areas, transferred to the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, are located on the northwest and the west side of Bierstadt, respectively.

Infrastructure

Bierstadt has a library and two schools, including one primary school - Grundschule Bierstadt, and a gymnasium named Theodor-Fliedner-Schule which was formerly a middle school. Bierstadt is next to the ''Aukammtal'' and has access to the German Federal Route 455. Bierstadt has two churches. In addition to the Protestant church (formerly the church of St. Nicholas), there is the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church of St. Birgid.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bierstadt is twinned with: *

Terrasson-Lavilledieu Terrasson-Lavilledieu (; , before 1997: ''Terrasson-la-Villedieu'') is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The commune was created in 1963 by the merger of the former communes Terrasson and Laville ...

, France *

Theux Theux (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 11,571 inhabitants. The total area is 83.36 km2, giving a population density of 139 inhabitants per km2. The mun ...

, Belgium

References

Sources

* adapted from

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

External links

* {{Authority control American diaspora in Europe Boroughs of Wiesbaden 10th-century establishments in East Francia Populated places established in the 10th century