Koblenz

Koblenz (also Coblenz in older German spellings; French Coblence; from Latin Confluentes, "confluence" or "merging (rivers)") is after Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein the third largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate (german Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany.

Description

Its defensive works are extensive, and consist of strong forts crowning the hills encircling the town on the west, and of 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 last were razed in 1890, and the town was permitted to expand in this direction. Immediately outside the former walls lies the new central railway station, in which is effected a junction of the Cologne-Mainz railway with the strategical line Metz-Berlin. The Rhine is crossed by a road bridge and, a mile above the town, by a beautiful bridge of two wide and lofty spans carrying the Berlin railway referred to above. The Moselle is spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, erected in 1344, and also by a railway bridge.

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The city, down to 1890, 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 to the Rhine. In the more ancient part of Koblenz stand several buildings which have an historical interest. Prominent among these, near the point of confluence of the rivers, is the church of Saint Castor, with four towers. The church was originally founded in 836 by Louis the Pious, 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."

Related Topics:
Saint Castor - Louis the Pious - Romanesque - Gothic

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In this quarter of the town, too, is the Liebfrauenkirche, a fine church (nave 1250, choir 1404--1431) with lofty late Romanesque towers; the castle of the electors of Trier, 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.

Related Topics:
Trier - Prince Metternich

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In the modern part of the town lies the palace (Residenzschloss), with one front looking towards the Rhine, the other into the Neustadt. It was built in 1778-1786 by Clement Wenceslaus, the last elector of Trier, and contains among other curiosities some fine Gobelin tapestries. From it some pretty 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. A fine statue to the empress Augusta, whose favourite residence was Coblenz, stands in the Luisenplatz. But of all public memorials the most striking is the colossal equestrian statue of the emperor Wilhelm I of Germany, erected by the Rhine provinces in 1897, standing on a lofty and massive pedestal, at the point where the Rhine and Mosel meet.

Related Topics:
Gobelin - Max von Schenkendorf - Wilhelm I of Germany

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Koblenz has also handsome law courts, government buildings, a theatre, a museum of antiquities, a conservatory of music, schools, five hospitals and numerous charitable institutions. 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, gas springs and hydraulic vibration dampers - Stabilus), aluminium coils (Corus Group), pianos, paper, cardboard, machinery, boats and barges. It is an important transit centre for the Rhine railways and for the Rhine navigation.

Related Topics:
TRW - Corus Group

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