Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks 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 ...

(

Middle Rhine Middle Rhine (, ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift i ...

) and the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a

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 ...

military post by Drusus . Its name originates from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

', meaning "(at the)

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

". The actual confluence is today known as the " German Corner", a symbol of the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

that features an equestrian statue of Emperor William I. The city celebrated its 2,000th anniversary in 1992. The city ranks as the third-largest city by population in

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 ...

, behind

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 ...

and

Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

. Its usual-residents' population is 112,000 (). Koblenz lies in a narrow flood plain between high hill ranges, some reaching mountainous height, and is served by an express rail and autobahn network. It is part of the populous

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

Name

Historic spellings include ''Covelenz'', ''Coblenz'', and ''Cobelenz''. In

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

the name is as the first historic spelling indicates, in German orthography, Latscho Kowelenz.

History

Ancient era

Around 1000 BC, early fortifications were erected on the

Festung Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an earlier fortress destroyed by ...

hill on the opposite side of the Rhine. In 55 BC, Roman troops commanded by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

reached the Rhine and built a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

between Koblenz and

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

. About 9 BC, the ''Castellum apud Confluentes'' was one of the military posts established by Drusus. Remains of a large bridge built in 49 AD by the Romans are still visible. The Romans built two forts as protection for the bridge, one in 9 AD and another in the 2nd century, the latter being destroyed by the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

in 259. North of Koblenz was a temple of Mercury and

Rosmerta In Gallo-Roman religion, Rosmerta was a goddess of fertility and abundance, her attributes being those of plenty such as the cornucopia. Rosmerta is attested by statues and by inscriptions. In Gaul she was often depicted with the Roman god Merc ...

(a Gallo-Roman deity), which remained in use up to the 5th century.

Middle Ages

With the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, the city was conquered by the Franks and became a royal seat. After the division of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's empire, it was included in the lands of his son

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

(814). In 837, it was assigned to

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

, and a few years later it was here that Carolingian heirs discussed what was to become the

Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (; ), agreed to on 10 August 843, ended the Carolingian civil war and divided the Carolingian Empire between Lothair I, Louis the German, Louis II and Charles the Bald, Charles II, the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the ...

(843), by which the city became part of

Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...

under

Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...

. In 860 and 922, Koblenz was the scene of ecclesiastical synods. At the first synod, held in the Liebfrauenkirche, the reconciliation of

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

with his half-brother Charles the Bald took place. In the second, slavery was condemned, specifically it was decreed that any man that 'led away a Christian man and then sold him' should be considered guilty of homicide. The city was sacked and destroyed by the

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...

in 882. In 925, it became part of the eastern German Kingdom, later the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. In 1018, the city was given by the emperor

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

to the

archbishop-elector of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Conrad II was elected here in 1138. In 1198, the battle between

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

and

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

took place nearby. In 1216, prince-bishop Theoderich von Wied donated part of the lands of the basilica and the hospital to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

, which later became the ''Deutsches Eck''. In 1249–1254, Koblenz was given new walls by Archbishop Arnold II of Isenburg; and it was partly to overawe the turbulent citizens that successive archbishops built and strengthened the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein that still dominates the city.

French Revolution

Home of Royalist émigrés

When the French Revolution broke out, Koblenz became a popular hub of royalist émigrés and escaping feudal lords who had fled France. It was sometime in mid-1791, after June but before October, that supporters of loyalty in Koblenz (as well as

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

) were preparing an invasion of France that was to be supported by foreign armies, with conspirators regularly travel between Koblenz and

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

, accepting encouragement and money from King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, while secret committees were collecting arms and enrolling men and officers. Among the notable émigrés living at Koblenz were Charles,

Count of Artois The count of Artois (, ) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French Revolution, French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric () *Altmar () *Adelelm (?–932) *''C ...

, (future

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

), ex-minister

Charles Alexandre de Calonne Charles Alexandre de Calonne (20 January 173430 October 1802), titled Count of Hannonville in 1759, was a French statesman, best known for being Louis XVI's Controller-General of Finances (minister of finance) in the years leading up to the Frenc ...

, and Louis,

Count of Provence The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(future

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

). Officers and men were recruited through the Gazette de Paris (sixty livres for each recruit), and the enrolled men were then sent to

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and afterwards to Koblenz, and in a visit by Claude Allier to Koblenz in January 1792, he stated that 60,000 men were armed and ready to take action.

Near destruction by Royalist forces

On July 26, 1792, the Duke of Brunswick, who commanded one of the invading armies, composed of 70,000 Prussians and 68,000 Austrians, Hessians and émigrés, began to march upon Koblenz. He published a manifesto in which he threatened to set fire to the towns that dared to defend themselves, and to exterminate their inhabitants as rebels, including Koblenz. The city's fate was at hand. But, just as in World War 1, the torrential rains and difficult conditions of the Argonne forest halted the invaders, the roads "were liquid mud," and supplies began to run out due to weather impacting supply lines. The radical revolutionary

Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gove ...

negotiated with the Duke of Brunswick, under unknown conditions, for his retreat, which was carried out through Grand-Pré and

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, then across the

, and the city of Koblenz was saved.

Participation in the Vendee uprising

In 1793, the uprising of Catholic peasants at the Vendée aimed at the overthrow of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, which began only after emissaries from Koblenz traveled there, bringing

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

s, royal decrees and gold. In escaping the watchful eye of French revolutionary forces, these emissaries were aided and protected by the middle classes, the ex-slave-traders of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, and the anti-

sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...

, pro-England merchants.

Overall influence

Due to their experience in the French Revolution,

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

had termed the phrase ''Koblenzian'' to describe the type of royalist émigrés that lived in Koblenz.

Modern era

The city was a member of the league of the Rhenish cities which rose in the 13th century. The

founded the Bailiwick of Koblenz in or around 1231. Koblenz attained great prosperity and it continued to advance until the disaster of 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 ...

brought about a rapid decline. After Philip Christopher, elector of Trier, surrendered Ehrenbreitstein to the French, the city received an imperial garrison in 1632. However, this force was soon expelled by the Swedes, who in their turn handed the city over again to the French. Imperial forces finally succeeded in retaking it by storm in 1636. In 1688, Koblenz was besieged by the French under Marshal de Boufflers, but they only succeeded in bombing the Old City (''Altstadt'') into ruins, destroying among other buildings the Old Merchants' Hall (''Kaufhaus''), which was restored in its present form in 1725. The city was the residence of the archbishop-electors of Trier from 1690 to 1801. In 1786, the last archbishop-elector of Trier, Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, greatly assisted the extension and improvement of the city, turning the Ehrenbreitstein into a magnificent baroque palace. After the fall of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

in 1789, the city became, through the invitation of the archbishop-elector's chief minister, Ferdinand Freiherr von Duminique, one of the principal rendezvous points for French émigrés. The archbishop-elector approved of this because he was the uncle of the persecuted king of France,

. Among the many royalist French refugees who flooded into the city were

's two younger brothers, the Comte de Provence and the Comte d'Artois. In addition,

's cousin, Prince Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, arrived and formed an army of young aristocrats willing to fight the French Revolution and restore the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. The ''

Army of Condé The Army of Condé () was a French field army during the French Revolutionary Wars. One of several Émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars, émigré field armies, it was the only one to survive the War of the First Coalition; others had b ...

'' joined with an allied army of Prussian and Austrian soldiers led by Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick in an unsuccessful invasion of France in 1792. This drew down the wrath of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

on the archbishop-elector; in 1794, Koblenz was taken by the French Revolutionary army under Marceau (who was killed during the siege), and, after the signing of the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary do ...

(1801) it was made the capital of the new French department of Rhin-et-Moselle. In 1814, it was occupied by the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

ns. The

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

assigned the city to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, and in 1822, it was made the seat of government for the Prussian

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, France occupied the area once again. The city was the center of the American occupation force from 1919 - 1923. In defiance of the French, the German populace of the city insisted on using the more German spelling of Koblenz after 1926. During

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 ...

it hosted the command of German

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

and, like many counterparts, was heavily bombed and rebuilt afterwards. From 16 – 19 March 1945, it was the scene of heavy fighting by the U.S. 87th Infantry Division in support of

Operation Lumberjack Operation Lumberjack was a military operation with the goal of capturing the west bank of the Rhine River and seizing key German cities, near the end of World War II in Europe. The First United States Army launched the operation in March 1945 ...

. Between 1947 and 1950, it served as the

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...

. The Rhine Gorge was declared a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2002, with Koblenz marking the northern end. Koblenz im Buga-Jahr 2011 - Festung Ehrenbreitstein 45

Main sights

Fortified cities

Koblenz - Panorama von Festung Ehrenbreitstein

Its defensive works are extensive, and consist of strong forts crowning the hills encircling the city to the west, and the citadel of Ehrenbreitstein on the opposite bank of the Rhine. The old city was triangular in shape, two sides being bounded by the Rhine and Mosel and the third by a line of fortifications. The latter were razed in 1890, and the city was permitted to expand in this direction. The Koblenz Hauptbahnhof (central station) was built on a spacious site outside the former walls at the junction of the Cologne-Mainz railway and the strategic Metz-Berlin line. In April 2011

Koblenz-Stadtmitte station Koblenz Stadtmitte station (, freely translated as "Koblenz City Centre station") was opened on 14 April 2011 on the West Rhine Railway () in central Koblenz in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate. The main purpose of this station is to im ...

was opened in the inner city to coincide with the opening of the

Federal Garden Show 2011 The Federal Horticultural Show 2011 () was held from 15 April to 16 October 2011 in Koblenz, Germany. It was the first Federal Horticultural Show in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Venues had been the plateau in front of the Ehrenbreitstein ...

. The Rhine is crossed by the Pfaffendorf Bridge, originally the location of a rail bridge, but now a road bridge and, a mile south of city, by the Horchheim Railway Bridge, consisting of two wide and lofty spans carrying the Lahntal railway, part of the Berlin railway referred to above. The Moselle is spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, erected in 1344, two modern road bridges and also by two railway bridges. Since 1890, the city has consisted of the Altstadt (old city) and the Neustadt (new city) or Klemenstadt. Of these, the Altstadt is closely built and has only a few fine streets and squares, while the Neustadt possesses numerous broad streets and a handsome frontage along the Rhine.

Electoral palace

In the modern part of the city lies the palace (''Residenzschloss''), with one front looking towards the Rhine, the other into the Neustadt. It was built in 1778–1786 by Clemens Wenceslaus, the last elector of Trier, following a design by the French architect P.M. d'Ixnard. In 1833, the palace was used as a barracks, and became a terminal post for the optical telecommunications system that originated in Potsdam. Today, the elector's former palace is a museum. Among other exhibits, it contains some Gobelin tapestries. From it some gardens and promenades (Kaiserin Augusta Anlagen) stretch along the bank of the Rhine, and in them is a memorial to the poet

Max von Schenkendorf Gottlob Ferdinand Maximilian Gottfried von Schenkendorf (11 December 1783 in Tilsit in East Prussia – 11 December 1817 in Koblenz) was a Germans, German poetry, poet, born in Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Tilsit and educated at University of ...

. A statue to the empress Augusta, whose favorite residence was Koblenz, stands in the Luisenplatz.

William I monument

The

were given an area for their Deutschherrenhaus

Bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

right at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel, which became known as ''German Corner'' (

Deutsches Eck The Deutsches Eck (, "German Corner") is the name of a promontory in Koblenz, Germany, where the Moselle, Mosel river joins the Rhine. Named after a local commandry of the Teutonic Order, it became known for a monumental equestrian statue of Wil ...

). In 1897, a monument to

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

William I of Germany, mounted on a horse, was inaugurated there by his grandson

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

. The architect was Bruno Schmitz, who was responsible for a number of nationalistic German monuments and memorials. The ''German Corner'' is since associated with this monument, the (re) foundation of the German Empire and the German refusal of any French claims to the area, as described in the song " Die Wacht am Rhein" together with the "Wacht am Rhein" called " Niederwalddenkmal" some upstream. During World War II, the statue was destroyed by US artillery. The French occupation administration intended the complete destruction of the monument and wanted to replace it with a new one. In 1953, Bundespräsident

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

rededicated the monument to German unity, adding the signs of the remaining western federal states as well as the ones of the lost areas in the East. A

Flag of Germany The national flag of Germany () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Sable (heraldry), black, Gules, red, and Or (heraldry), gold (). The flag was first sight ...

has flown there since. The

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

was added four years later after the population had voted to join Germany. In the 1980s, a film clip of the monument was often shown on late night TV when the national anthem was played to mark the end of the day, a practice which was discontinued when nonstop broadcasting became common. On October 3, 1990, the very day the former GDR states joined, their signs were added to the monument. As German unity was considered complete and the areas under Polish administration were ceded to Poland, the monument lost its official active purpose, now only reminding of history. In 1993, the flag was replaced by a copy of the statue, donated by a local couple. The day chosen for the reinstatement of the statue, however, caused controversy as it coincided with Sedantag (Sedan Day) (September 2, 1870) a day of celebration remembering Germany's victory over France in the Battle of Sedan. The event was widely celebrated from the 1870s until the 1910s.

Other sights

In the more ancient part of Koblenz stand several buildings which have a historical interest. Prominent among these, near the point of confluence of the rivers, is the Basilica of St. Castor or ''Kastorkirche'', dedicated to Castor of Karden, with four towers. The church was founded in 836 by

, but the present Romanesque building was completed in 1208, the Gothic vaulted roof dating from 1498. In front of the church of Saint Castor stands a fountain, erected by the French in 1812, with an inscription to commemorate Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Not long after, Russian troops occupied Koblenz; and St. Priest, their commander, added in irony these words: "Vu et approuvé par nous, Commandant russe de la Ville de Coblence: Janvier 1er, 1814." In this quarter of the city, too, is the ''Liebfrauenkirche'', a fine church (nave 1250, choir 1404–1431) with lofty late Romanesque towers; the castle of the electors of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, erected in 1280, which now contains the municipal picture gallery; and the family house of the Metternichs, where Prince Metternich, the Austrian statesman, was born in 1773. Also notable is the church of St. Florian, with a two towers façade from . The former

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

College is a Baroque edifice by J.C. Sebastiani (1694–1698), which now serves as the current City Hall. Near Koblenz is the Lahneck Castle near Lahnstein, open to visitors from 1 April to 31 October. The city is close to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

earthworks at Goloring, a possible

Urnfield The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns, which ...

calendar constructed some 3,000 years ago. The mild climate allows

fig trees ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

olive trees The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa ...

, palm trees and other Mediterranean plants to grow in the area. File:Kurfürstliches Schloss.JPG, Palace of the archbishop-electors of

File:Schloss Stolzenfels 01 Koblenz 2015.jpg, Stolzenfels Castle File:US-Luftangriff Koblenz 19-09-1944.jpg, File:Buga 2011 Koblenz - Rheinseilbahn 07-2010.jpg,

Incorporated villages

Formerly separate villages now incorporated into the jurisdiction of the city of Koblenz

Climate

Economy

Koblenz is a principal seat of the Mosel and Rhenish wine trade, and also does a large business in the export of mineral waters. Its manufactures include automotive parts (braking systems –

TRW Automotive TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was an American multinational corporation, global manufacturing, supplier of List of auto parts, automotive systems, modules, and components to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and related Aftermar ...

, gas springs and hydraulic vibration dampers – Stabilus), aluminum coils ( Aleris International, Inc.), pianos, paper, cardboard, machinery, boats, and barges. Since the 17th century, it has been home to the

Königsbacher Koblenzer Brauerei (formerly ''Königsbacher Brauerei GmbH & Co KG'') was a brewery in Koblenz, in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. Since its foundation in 1689, it had a tradition of brewing beer in the Old Brewery (''Altes Brauhaus' ...

(now Koblenzer) brewery (the Old Brewery in Koblenz's historic center, and now a plant in Koblenz-Stolzenfels). It is an important regional transit hub. The headquarters of the

German Army Forces Command The Army Forces Command () in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (Germany), Army Command (''Kommando Heer ...

was located in the city until 2012. Its successor, the

German Army Command The German Army Command () is the high command of the German Army of the Bundeswehr. The headquarters is also the staff of the Inspector of the Army, the most senior Army officer. It was formed in 2012, as a merger of the Army Office (Germany), ...

(German: Kommando Heer, Kdo H) is based at the von-Hardenberg-Kaserne in Strausberg, Brandenburg. The Bundeswehr's Joint Medical Service Headquarters was formed in 2012 as part of a larger reorganization of the Bundeswehr. It is based at the Falckenstein-Barracks (Falckenstein-Kaserne) and the Rhine-Barracks (Rhein-Kaserne) in Koblenz. It is the high command of the German Army Joint Medical Service. The Headquarters is also the Staff of the Inspector of the Joint Medical Service,

Generaloberstabsarzt and are the top Joint Medical Service (Germany), Joint Medical Service OF8-ranks of the German . The equivalent to this ranks in the German Army, ''Heer'' is ''Generalleutnant'' and in the German Navy the ''Vizeadmiral''. ''Bundeswehr'' In ...

Dr. Ulrich Baumgaertner. An

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

logistics hub located some outside the city at the

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

kreuz Koblenz has been in operation since 19 September 2012. The international headquarters of Canyon Bicycles GmbH is also in Koblenz which is where it began in 1985.

Transport

Roads

To the west of the town is the

autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 61, connecting Ludwigshafen and Mönchengladbach, to the north is the east–west running A 48, connecting the A 1, Saarbrücken-Cologne, with the A 3, Frankfurt-Cologne. The city is also on various federal highways 9, 42, 49, 416, 258 and

327 __NOTOC__ Year 327 (Roman numerals, CCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 1080 ''Ab urbe con ...

. The Glockenberg Tunnel connects the Pfaffendorf Bridge to the B 42. The following bridges cross: * the Rhine: Bendorf Autobahn Bridge, Pfaffendorf Bridge, Horchheim Rail Bridge, South Bridge * the Moselle: Balduin Bridge, Mosel Rail Bridge, Europe Bridge,

Koblenz Barrage 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 ...

, Kurt-Schumacher Bridge, Güls Rail Bridge

Railways

'' Koblenz Hbf'' is an

Intercity-Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...

stop on the West Rhine Railway between

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

and is also served by trains on the East Rhine Railway

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 ...

–

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 ...

. Koblenz is the beginning of the Moselle line to

(and connecting to Luxemburg and

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

) and the Lahntal railway to Limburg and

Gießen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the German state () of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 university students. Th ...

. The other stations in Koblenz are Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein, Koblenz-Güls, Koblenz-Lützel, Koblenz-Moselweiß and Koblenz Stadtmitte, which opened on 14 April 2011. File:KoblenzFromTheISS.jpg, Koblenz, as seen from the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

File:Mayen Koblenz.jpg, Map of the Koblenz region File:Bruecken koblenz.png, Road map File:Koblenz Bahnanlagen.gif, Map of railways in greater Koblenz

Education

The campus of University of Koblenz is located in the city. The

Koblenz University of Applied Sciences Koblenz University of Applied Sciences (German: Hochschule Koblenz, formerly known as Fachhochschule Koblenz or FH Koblenz) is a public university in Rhineland-Palatinate. Although the present university was established in 1996, it has a rich trad ...

(

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Hochschule Koblenz'') is also located in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Koblenz is twinned with: *

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

, France (1963) * Haringey, United Kingdom (1969) *

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, United Kingdom (1978) *

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, Netherlands (1981) *

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, Italy (1991) *

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, United States (1992) *

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, Israel (2000) *

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

, Croatia (2007)

Popular culture

The children's toy yo-yo was nicknamed ''de Coblenz (Koblenz)'' in 18th-century France, referring to the large number of noble French émigrées then living in the city. National Yo-Yo Museum, California The ''arrow of virtue'' (Tugendpfeil) is a large gold or silver hairpin from the female headdress of Koblenz and the left bank of the Rhine until the beginning of the 20th century. It was traditionally worn by young Catholic girls between puberty and marriage.

Notable people

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist of the former pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in sc ...

(born 1963), singer, the lead singer of duo

Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German pop duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the to ...

* Cathinka Buchwieser (1789–1828), operatic soprano and actress * Christian Collovà (born 1972), Italian rally driver * Milo Emil Halbheer (1910–1978), artist *

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

(1926–2020), president of France from 1974 to 1981 * Otto Griebling (1896–1972), circus clown who performed with the Ringling Brothers * Betty Hall (1921–2018), American politician * Karl Haniel (1877–1944), civil servant and entrepreneur *

Ottilie von Hansemann Ottilie von Hansemann (11 April 1840 in Koblenz – 12 December 1919 in Berlin) was a German women's rights activist, significant patroness of the women's movement in Prussia, and a champion for the right of women to attend German universities, to p ...

(1840–1919), women rights activist * Bodo Illgner (born 1967), soccer player * Philip Krautkremer (1844-1922), American farmer and politician *

Max von Laue Max Theodor Felix von Laue (; 9 October 1879 – 24 April 1960) was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 "for his discovery of the X-ray diffraction, diffraction of X-rays by crystals". In addition to his scientifi ...

(1879–1960), physicist, won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 * Tobias Lütke (born 1981), billionaire entrepreneur, founder and CEO of

Shopify Shopify Inc., stylized as ''shopify'', headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, operates an e-commerce platform for retail point-of-sale systems that offers payments, marketing, shipping, inventory management, transaction management, and customer eng ...

* John A. Mais (1888–1961), racing driver *

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian Empire. ...

(1773–1859), Austrian diplomat, chancellor, and foreign minister, architect of the

. *

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

(1801–1858),

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

comparative anatomist Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

, and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

*
Koblenz City Panoramas
– Panoramic views and virtual tours

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Richard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', 1976:
"Ad Confluentes (Koblenz), Germany
Online Magazin Koblenz
{{Authority control 0s BC establishments in the Roman Empire Populated places established in the 1st century BC Cities in Rhineland-Palatinate Urban districts of Rhineland-Palatinate Districts of the Rhine Province Populated places on the Rhine French Revolution Electorate of Trier