Misplaced Pages

#446553

80-449: The Aar Valley Railway (German: Aartalbahn ) is a 53.7 km long line between Wiesbaden , the capital of the German state of Hesse , and Diez in Rhineland-Palatinate. From 1985 to 2009, the southern end was operated as a heritage railway with historic trains. The Hessian part of the line is heritage-listed. Currently, two bridges are unusable and several sets of points are defective and need to be repaired. Its northern end

160-453: A 40-metre-high (130 ft) clock tower with a curved canopy . The former entrance on the western side is surmounted by a copper dome. The roof is adorned with green tiles. The interior of the building is formed of yellow sandstone, in contrast to the exterior. The roof over the actual platform area consists of steel and glass. During its renovation in 2004, the station was largely restored to its original appearance. The monumental nature of

240-565: A castle, probably from the early Middle Ages, around which the city had developed. While nothing is known of the former castle, remains of it were uncovered during excavations after World War II. The new town hall was built in 1887. A tile mosaic in front of the town hall shows the heraldic eagle of the Kingdom of Prussia (of which Wiesbaden was a part at the time), the coat of arms of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau , and

320-835: A coalition of Germanic tribes from beyond the Limes , captured the fort around 260. Later, in the 370s, when the Romans and Alamanni were allied, the Alemanni gained control of the Wiesbaden area and were in charge of its defense against other Germanic tribes. After the Franks under Clovis I defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496, the Franks eventually displaced the Alamanni in

400-486: A conurbation with a population of around 500,000 with the neighbouring city of Mainz . This conurbation is in turn embedded in the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region —Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr —which also includes the nearby cities of Frankfurt am Main , Darmstadt , Offenbach am Main , and Hanau , and has a combined population exceeding 5.8 million. The city

480-424: A historical monument in anticipation of its closure. Some of the station buildings were sold, but the line was largely left in a state of disrepair. The track is single track throughout and is not electrified. Stations where trains can pass each other are at Dotzheim, Hahn-Wehen, Bad Schwalbach, Hohenstein, Kettenbach and Zollhaus. The track is in large part supported by steel sleepers. The southern section—known as

560-640: A large radius of 300 m for a top speed of 80 km/h; it was reclassified as a secondary or local railway on 19 April 1881. On 15 November 1889, the section between the Wiesbaden Rhine station ( Wiesbaden Rheinbahnhof ) and the spa of Langenschwalbach was opened. This had to climb the main ridge of the Taunus between the valleys of the Aar and the Rhine. The line passes through a gap in the main range known as

640-678: A mountain basin at the southern foot of the Taunus , protected by the mountains in the north and west, gives Wiesbaden a mild climate. It has been called the " Nice of the North" because of its climate and architecture. The city of Wiesbaden is one of the wealthiest cities in Germany and one of those with above-average purchasing power. The United States Army Europe and Africa headquarters are located in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim . Wiesbaden

720-417: A new line from Dotzheim through the central city to Wiesbaden Central Station ( Hauptbahnhof ), including the option of an extension to Mainz . It was proposed to open the new line by 2005. After local elections in 2001, the majority in the Wiesbaden city council abandoned these plans. However, another election in 2011 has changed the balance in the council and plans for a Stadtbahn have been revived, although

800-852: A planned " Fluxus " publication with concerts of antique musical instruments, the “Fluxus Internationale Festspiele Neuester Music” (Fluxus International Festival of Newest Music) at the Museum Wiesbaden. Fourteen concerts were performed on four weekends between 1 and 23 September which marked the beginning of the Fluxus movement. Work by musicians such as John Cage , György Ligeti , Krzysztof Penderecki , Terry Riley , Brion Gysin and others were performed alongside new performance pieces written by Higgins, Knowles, George Brecht , Nam June Paik , Ben Patterson , Robert Filliou , Emmett Williams , and others. One performance in particular, "Piano Activities" by Philip Corner , became notorious by challenging

880-497: A population of 86,100, hosted 126,000 visitors annually. Famous visitors to the springs included Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Fyodor Dostoevsky , Richard Wagner , Johannes Brahms , and Henrik Pontoppidan . In those years, more millionaires were living in Wiesbaden than in any other city in Germany. Gambling followed bathing en suite , and in the 19th century, Wiesbaden was famous for both. Its casino ( Spielbank ) rivalled those of Bad Homburg , Baden-Baden , and Monaco . In 1872,

SECTION 10

#1732787608447

960-511: A warehouse full of 4,000 cases of champagne. After the war's end, American rock artist Elvis Presley was stationed in Friedberg and often visited Wiesbaden. After World War II, the state of Hesse was established (see Greater Hesse ), and Wiesbaden became its capital, though nearby Frankfurt am Main is much larger and works as Hesse's economic and financial centre. Wiesbaden however suffered much less than Frankfurt from air bombing. There

1040-553: Is a persistent rumour that the U.S. Army Air Force spared the town with the intention of turning it into a postwar HQ, but USAAF sources claim this to be a myth, arguing that Wiesbaden's economic and strategic importance simply did not justify more bombing. Wiesbaden was host to the Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces, Europe based at the former Lindsey Air Station from 1953 to 1973. American armed forces have been present in Wiesbaden since World War II. The U.S. 1st Armored Division

1120-451: Is at an elevation of 115 metres (377 ft). Wiesbaden covers an area of 204 km (79 sq mi). It is 17.6 kilometres (10.9 mi) from north to south and 19.7 kilometres (12.2 mi) from west to east. In the north are vast forest areas, which cover 27.4% of the urban area. In the west and east are vineyards and agricultural land, which cover 31.1% of the area. Of the municipality's 79 kilometres (49.1 mi)-long border,

1200-418: Is connected to a five-span train-shed, originally with eleven tracks (now only ten are in operation), which are located in front of a broad vaulted concourse that extends eastward beyond the train-shed and at right angles to it to a vaulted lobby to the east of platform track 1. The exterior is formed of red sandstone and has rich Baroque Revival forms. The highlight is the lobby on the eastern side, which has

1280-740: Is located on the Rhine ( Upper Rhine ), at the foothills of the Taunus , opposite the Rhineland-Palatine capital of Mainz , and the city centre is located in the wide valley of the small Salzbach stream. Wiesbaden lies in the Rheingau wine-growing region , one of Germany's 13 wine regions . Three of Wiesbaden's boroughs were part of the city of Mainz until 1945, and still bear the designation "Mainz" in their names—the so-called AKK-boroughs of Mainz-Amöneburg , Mainz-Kastel , and Mainz-Kostheim . This so-called AKK-Konflikt ( de:AKK-Konflikt )

1360-759: Is operated with draisines . The line passes through Taunusstein , Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927), Aarbergen and Hahnstätten , which all lie in the Aar valley in the Western Hintertaunus (the lower north-western ridges of the Taunus ). The southern part of the Aar Valley Railway runs through Hesse and the section between Diez and Zollhaus lies in Rhineland-Palatinate. The line formerly connected in Diez with

1440-546: Is situated on the right (northern) bank of the Rhine , above the confluence of the Main , where the Rhine's main direction changes from north to west. The city is across the Rhine from Mainz, the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . Frankfurt am Main is located about 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) east. To the north of the city are the Taunus Mountains, which trend in a northeasterly direction. The city center,

1520-684: Is the main cause for the rivalry between Mainz and Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden Main Station is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system. Historically, Wiesbaden was a Nassauian city. From 1170 to 1629, it lay in the County of Nassau , and from 1629 to 1721, it was in the county and later principality of Nassau-Idstein, all of which were territories within the Holy Roman Empire ruled by branches of

1600-687: The Confessing Church resistance movement against the Nazis, is an Honorary Citizen of Wiesbaden. He presented his last sermon before his arrest in Wiesbaden's Market Church. In World War II, Wiesbaden was the headquarters for Germany's Wehrkreis XII . This military district included the Eifel , part of Hesse , the Palatinate , and the Saarland . After the Battle of France , this Wehrkreis

1680-659: The Duchy of Nassau by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, the Prussian state railways considered build a rail link between Wiesbaden and the Limburg area. Moritz Hilf, who had been technical director of the Nassau State Railway since 1862, was put in charge of building the line across the Taunus ridge and through the Aar valley. The project was implemented in three main phases between 1869/70 and 1894. On 1 June 1870,

SECTION 20

#1732787608447

1760-548: The Holy Roman Empire ). The town was part of Franconia , the heartland of East Francia. In the 1170s, the Count of Nassau , Walram I, received the area around Wiesbaden as a fiefdom . When Franconia fragmented in the early 13th century, Nassau emerged as an independent state as part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1232 Wiesbaden became a Reichsstadt , an imperial city, of the Holy Roman Empire. However, in 1242, during

1840-611: The House of Nassau . In 1728, the city found itself in the principality of Nassau-Usingen , and in 1744, Biebrich Palace became the main residence of the House of Nassau-Usingen. In 1806, the city became the capital of the Duchy of Nassau . Since 1841, the newly built Wiesbaden City Palace was the principal Nassauian residence. From 1868 to 1944, the city lay in the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau , and from 1944 to 1945, it

1920-519: The Lahntal railway between Limburg and Koblenz . Until 1951, passengers could change in Zollhaus to the narrow-gauge Nassau Light Railway ( Nassauische Kleinbahn , NKB), connecting to Sankt Goarshausen and Braubach on the Rhine . Connections existed in Wiesbaden to trains towards Darmstadt and Aschaffenburg , Mainz , Koblenz , Niedernhausen and Frankfurt . After the annexation of

2000-671: The Langenschwalbacher Bahn (Langenschwalbach Railway)—was used in the Wilhelmine era especially for spa traffic between the world-famous spa of Wiesbaden and the women's spa of Langenschwalbach. Between them in Chausseehaus was a summer resort with hotel, restaurant and several rest homes. The steep and winding line through the Eiserne Hand gap required the development of a short carriages with bogies, which

2080-493: The Limes Germanicus , which was a line of Roman frontier fortifications in the Taunus . Wiesbaden is just south of the Taunus. The capital of the province of Germania Superior , Mogontiacum (present-day Mainz ), base of 2 (at times 3) Roman legions, was just over the Rhine and connected by a bridge at the present-day borough of Mainz-Kastel (Roman " castellum "), a strongly fortified bridgehead. The Alamanni ,

2160-605: The Luftwaffe was stationed here. In the Kristallnacht pogrom on 10 November 1938, Wiesbaden's large synagogue on Michelsberg was destroyed. The synagogue had been designed by Phillip Hoffmann and built in 1869. Another synagogue in Wiesbaden-Bierstadt was also destroyed. When the Nazis came to power in Germany, there were 2,700 Jews living in Wiesbaden. By June 1942 nearly all of them had been deported to

2240-686: The Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt 2015 concept, which includes the reactivation of disused railway lines. The expected travel time on the 13.7 km long section between Zollhaus and Limburg (including a reversal in Diez) would be 20 minutes and thus only half as long as the existing bus service. A diesel multiple unit would operate a shuttle service on the line. In addition to the reactivation of the existing stations additional stations would be established in Niederneisen, Holzheim and Freiendiez. It

2320-801: The Stadtmitte , is located in the north-easternmost part of the Upper Rhine Valley at the spurs of the Taunus mountains, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Rhine. The landscape is formed by a wide lowland between the Taunus heights in the north, the Bierstadter Höhe and the Hainerberg in the east, the Mosbacher Mountain in the south, and the Schiersteiner Mountain in the west, an offshoot of

2400-699: The extermination camps in German-occupied Poland . General Ludwig Beck from Wiesbaden was one of the planners of the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler . Beck was designated by his fellow conspirators to be future Head of State (Regent) after elimination of Hitler. The plot failed, however, and Beck was forced to commit suicide. Today, the city annually awards the Ludwig Beck prize for civil courage in his honor. Lutheran pastor and theologian Martin Niemöller , founder of

2480-465: The fleur-de-lis of Wiesbaden. The old town hall, built in 1610, is the oldest preserved building in the city center and now is used as a civil registry office. Wiesbaden Central Station The current station replaced three stations in the city centre, which were next to each other near the fairground ( Rhein-Main-Hallen ) and the Wiesbaden Museum . These were: A fourth railway line

Aar Valley Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-792: The Allied occupation of the Rhineland and was occupied by the French army in 1918. In 1921, the Wiesbaden Agreement on German reparations to France was signed in the city. In 1925, Wiesbaden became the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine until the withdrawal of occupying forces from the Rhineland in 1930. In 1929, an airport was constructed in Erbenheim on the site of a horse-racing track. In 1936, Fighter Squadron 53 of

2640-528: The Count of Nassau-Usingen granted a concession for gambling in Wiesbaden. In 1810, the Wiesbaden Casino (German: Spielbank ) was opened in the old Kurhaus. Gambling was later outlawed by Prussian authorities in 1872. As a result of Napoleon 's victory over Austria in the Battle of Austerlitz , the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1805. On 12 July 1806, 16 states in present-day Germany, including

2720-466: The Eiserne Hand (iron hand); Eiserne Hand station is the highest station on the line. The section between Chausseehaus station and the apex of the line when it opened had a grade of 1 in 30, making it the steepest section of line without rack in Imperial Germany . This section of the route had curves with a very tight curve radius of 180 m, allowing a top speed of 40 km/h. This meant that

2800-570: The French bridgehead at Mainz . After the Second World War, the line was cut between Zollhaus and Kettenbach by the border between the American and French occupation zone. Special passes were required to travel on the trains. Later this became the border between Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. From the 1960s on, this line was mainly served by accumulator railcars of class 517 , known as Limburger Zigarre (Limburg cigars). In addition,

2880-660: The House of Nassau and thereby, Wiesbaden, received the right of coinage from Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian . In 1355, the County of Nassau-Weilburg was divided among the sons of Gerlach. The County of Nassau's holdings would be subdivided many times among heirs, with the parts being brought together again whenever a line died out. Wiesbaden became the seat of the County of Nassau-Wiesbaden under Count Adolf I (1307–1370), eldest son of Gerlach. It would eventually fall back to Nassau-Weilburg in 1605. Due to its participation in

2960-463: The Michelbach steel works. Since the Aar here runs through a gorge and is sinuous, four tunnels had to be built to shorten the loops of the Aar. This section had curves with a minimum radius of 250 m, which allowed a top speed of 60 km/h. The line in Wiesbaden left from the Rhine station in a tight arc to the west (Niederwaldstraße and Aßmannshäuser Straße (streets) are on the former course of

3040-547: The Prussian-dominated imperial government closed down all German gambling houses. The Wiesbaden casino was reopened in 1949. The Schloßplatz ("palace square") is situated in the center of the city, surrounded by several outstanding buildings. The ducal palace was begun under William, Duke of Nassau . Its foundations were laid in 1837 and it was completed in November 1841 (two years after William's death). For

3120-518: The Rhine makes up 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi). Wiesbaden has a temperate - oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ) with relatively cold winters and warm summers. Its average annual temperature is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F), with monthly mean temperatures ranging from 1.2 °C (34.2 °F) in January to 18.9 °C (66.0 °F) in July. The Wiesbaden weather station has recorded

3200-815: The Taunus range. The downtown is drained only by the narrow valley of the Salzbach, a tributary of the Rhine, on the eastern flanks of the Mosbacher Mountain. The city's main railway line and the Mainz road ( Mainzer Straße ) follow this valley. Several other streams drain into the Salzbach within the city center: the Wellritzbach, the Kesselbach, the Schwarzbach, the Dambach, and the Tennelbach, as well as

3280-583: The Wiesbaden area over the course of the 6th century. In the 8th century, Wiesbaden became the site of a royal palace of the Frankish kingdom. The first documented use of the name Wiesbaden is by Einhard , the biographer of Charlemagne , whose writings mention "Wisabada" sometime between 828 and 830. When the Frankish Carolingian Empire broke up in 888, Wiesbaden was in the eastern half, called East Francia (which would evolve into

Aar Valley Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-401: The Wiesbaden city area with a station on a north–south orientation was dismissed. Overall, this option required an ascending 10.2 km tunnel. Also rejected was the east–west option as it would have required a tunnel that was located 30 to 100 m below the water table. The high pressure of ground water under parts of the city of Wiesbaden made this extremely difficult. Test bores on the route of

3440-420: The assessment report was that the best way by far of generating passenger traffic would be a connection to the existing station and that only at Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof would it be possible to give comprehensive access to public transport. Furthermore, the option largely agreed with the route promoted by nature conservation and environmental groups. A proposed branch off the link along the A 66 and connecting to

3520-420: The city became the ducal residence. Building activity started to give the city a magnificent appearance. Most of the historical center of Wiesbaden dates back to this time. In the Revolutions of 1848 , 30,000 citizens of Nassau assembled in Wiesbaden on 4 March. They demanded a constitution from the Duke, which they received. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Nassau took Austria's side. This decision led to

3600-409: The city. Many wealthy persons chose Wiesbaden as their retirement seat, as it offered leisure and medical treatment alike. In the latter part of the 19th century, Wiesbaden became the German city with the most millionaires. In 1894, the present Hessian State Theater, designed by the Vienna architects Fellner and Helmer, was built on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm II. After World War I, Wiesbaden fell under

3680-442: The construction of expensive and elaborate tunnels and bridges could be avoided. It was not until 1907–1911 that the minimum curve radius was increased to 200 m and the maximum speed at these curves was increased to 50 km/h. In 1894, the third phase of construction the gap between Langenschwalbach and Zollhaus was completed. This was done mainly at the behest of the industrialist family of Passavant in Kettenbach , which operated

3760-411: The end of the duchy. After the Austrian defeat, Nassau was annexed by Prussia and became part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau . The deposed duke Adolph of Nassau in 1890 became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg (see House of Nassau ). This turned out to be a fortunate change for the city, as it then became an international spa town. A rise in construction commenced after the aristocracy followed

3840-425: The first section was opened between Limburg and Zollhaus. This section was mainly used for the transport of minerals, which were obtained in the Zollhaus area (iron ore, limestone , marble and porphyry ). The line, which today is largely in the area of the municipalities of Hahnstätten and Diez , follows the relatively wide and flat Aar valley. Built as a mainline railway, the section was designed with curves with

3920-444: The following extreme values: While evidence of settlement at present-day Wiesbaden dates back to the Neolithic era, historical records document continuous occupancy after the erection of a Roman fort in 6 AD which housed an auxiliary cavalry unit. The thermal springs of Wiesbaden are first mentioned in Pliny the Elder 's Naturalis Historia . They were famous for their recreation pools for Roman army horses and possibly as

4000-410: The former Landesdenkmal station. At the end of August 2008, the Zweckverband Schienenpersonennahverkehr Rheinland-Pfalz-Nord (Northern Rhineland-Palatinate Public Transport Association, SPNV-Nord) decided to reactivate the Limburg–Zollhaus section in 2014 with an hourly regional service as part of Rhineland-Palatinate integrated regular interval service ( Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt ). This would form part of

4080-512: The high-speed line towards Frankfurt, which would be served only by regional services has not been realized. As part of the connection to the new line, a platform in Wiesbaden station was extended to the length of long ICE trains. The cost of €1.7 million were funded by the federal government. Patronage of services on the line have been disappointing and services have been cut back from those originally operating so that there are now only two services each way on week days only. The station building

SECTION 50

#1732787608447

4160-416: The important status of the piano in post-war German homes. Wiesbaden has long been famous for its thermal springs and spa. Use of the thermal springs was first documented by the Romans. The business of spring bathing became important for Wiesbaden near the end of the Middle Ages . By 1370, 16 bath houses were in operation. By 1800, the city had 2,239 inhabitants and 23 bath houses. By 1900, Wiesbaden, with

4240-439: The lead of the Hohenzollern emperors, who began annual trips to Wiesbaden. The period around the turn of the 20th century is regarded as the heyday of the city. Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the city regularly in summer, such that it became an unofficial "summer residence". The city was also popular among the Russian nobility. In the wake of the imperial court, numerous nobles, artists, and wealthy businessmen increasingly settled in

4320-561: The line was served by Silberling carriages, hauled by class 216 diesel locomotives . On 25 September 1983, the last scheduled passenger train ran between Wiesbaden and Bad Schwalbach. On 28 September 1986, the remaining northern section of the line was closed to traffic; at the end it was still used by Uerdingen railbuses . On 28 December 1985, the Nassauische Touristik-Bahn began operating tourist trains, hauled by steam and diesel locomotives. These trains were based in Dotzheim station and originally operated to Hahn-Wehen. From 28 March 1991,

4400-410: The line) and then parallel to Dotzheimer Straße to Dotzheim station . The line had to be realigned to connect to the new Central Station ( Hauptbahnhof ), opened in 1906, and Wiesbaden West freight yard. The new line was inaugurated on 2 May 1904 and ran through the stations of Landesdenkmal (opened 1907) and Waldstraße (opened 1905). On 28 November 1904, the West Wiesbaden freight yard on was opened on

4480-499: The line. While freight traffic on the Wiesbaden–Bad Schwalbach line was discontinued at the same time as passenger services on 24 September 1983, freight traffic ran from Diez to Bad Schwalbach until 28 December 1990 and traffic to Hohenstein was closed on 1 December 1992. The last train between Kettenbach and the northern end of the line ran in June 1999. Since 2007, the operation of traffic was resumed between Wiesbaden Ost station and Henkell & Co. (a sparkling wine manufacturer) at

4560-433: The new line. An important link for freight on the line, the Bahnhof (station) curve (at the station now called Wiesbaden Ost ) was opened to traffic on 1 October 1906. In 1986, passenger services were resumed as heritage services of the Nassauische Touristik-Bahn (Nassau Tourist Railway, NTB), which is based in Dotzheim station. A year later, the buildings and technical facilities of the line and stations were classified as

4640-418: The old city hall, was built in 1609 and 1610. No older buildings are preserved due to two fires in 1547 and 1561. In 1648, at the end of the devastating Thirty Years' War , chronicles tell that Wiesbaden had barely 40 residents left. In 1659, the County of Nassau-Weilburg was divided again. Wiesbaden became part of the County of Nassau-Usingen. In 1744, the seat of Nassau-Usingen was moved to Biebrich . In 1771,

4720-499: The outflow of many thermal and mineral springs in the Kurhaus (spa) district. Above the city center, the Salzbach is better known as the Rambach. The highest point of the Wiesbaden municipality is located northwest of the city center near the summit of the Hohe Wurzel, with an elevation of 608 metres (1,995 ft) above sea level . The lowest point is the harbour entrance of Schierstein at 83 metres (272 ft) above sea level. The central square (the Schlossplatz , or palace square)

4800-424: The period up to the First World War the town developed towards the new station. On 25 September 1983, the Hauptbahnhof was affected by the closure of a line. Passenger services were discontinued between Wiesbaden and Bad Schwalbach on the Aar Valley Railway. One of the long-term consequences was the decommissioning and dismantling of station track 11 so that the station now has only 10 tracks. Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof

4880-406: The plans of Fritz Klingholz in a flamboyant neo-baroque style that corresponded to an international style of architecture adopted for spa towns. It was also intended to welcome Kaiser Wilhelm II on his visit to the spa every May and a platform was established for him and other aristocrats. The first train ran into the new station on 15 November 1906 around 2:23 a.m. In the station building

SECTION 60

#1732787608447

4960-408: The postulated tunnel found material that was penetrated by debris. In August 1991, the state of Hesse, the city of Wiesbaden and the Deutsche Bundesbahn agreed to a ground-level connection running from the Hauptbahnhof via a link to the east to the new line. The realised Wiesbadener Kreuz (Wiesbaden Cross) option was accessed as having the best cost-benefit ratio . A major argument put forward in

5040-403: The proposed initial stage would not connect to the Aar Valley Railway. Wiesbaden Wiesbaden ( German pronunciation: [ˈviːsˌbaːdn̩] ; lit.   ' meadow baths ' ) 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 Germany's 24th-largest city . Wiesbaden forms

5120-423: The relics of the former images of crowned heads, with the faces removed, can still be seen in many places. The new Hauptbahnhof was located outside the town at the time of its building at the south-eastern end of the then newly constructed ring road (the Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring and the Bismarckring ), which runs in an arc to the west of the historic pentagon ( Historische Fünfeck ) at the centre of Wiesbaden. During

5200-430: The remaining counties of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg, formally left the Holy Roman Empire and joined in the Confederation of the Rhine . Napoleon was its "protector". Under pressure from Napoleon, both counties merged to form the Duchy of Nassau on 30 August 1806. At the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the Duchy of Nassau joined the German Confederation . The capital of Nassau was moved from Weilburg to Wiesbaden, and

5280-476: The site of the former main post office. As part of the economic stimulus package, the train shed roofs have been renovated at a cost of €35 million since late 2010. Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof is connected to the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed line by the approximately 13.0 km long Breckenheim–Wiesbaden line opened in 2002. This line had been subjected to extensive analysis and discussions by 1990. Three options were investigated: The option of running under

5360-466: The source of a mineral used for red hair dye (which was very fashionable around the turn of BC/AD among women in Rome). The Roman settlement is first mentioned using the name Aquae Mattiacorum ( Latin for "Waters of the Mattiaci") in 121. The Mattiaci were a Germanic tribe , possibly a branch of the neighboring Chatti , who lived in the vicinity at that time. The town also appears as Mattiacum in Ptolemy 's Geographia (2.10). The Roman Empire built

5440-426: The twenty-six remaining years of ducal authority it was the residence of the ruling family. It later served as a secondary residence for the King of Prussia 1866 to 1918. It was later used as a headquarters for French and British occupying forces after World War I, then as a museum. Since 1945, the building has served as Landtag (parliamentary building) for the state of Hesse. The site of the palace had been that of

5520-434: The uprisings of the German Peasants' War of 1525, Wiesbaden lost all its privileges for over 40 years. During this time, Wiesbaden became Protestant with the nomination of Wolf Denthener as first Lutheran pastor on 1 January 1543. The same day, the first Latin school was opened, preparing pupils for the gymnasium in Idstein . In 1566, the privileges of the city were restored. The oldest remaining building of Wiesbaden,

5600-499: The war of Emperor Frederick II against the Pope, the Archbishop of Mainz , Siegfried III , ordered the city's destruction. Wiesbaden returned to the control of the House of Nassau in 1270 under Count Walram II, Count of Nassau . However, Wiesbaden and the castle at Sonnenberg were again destroyed in 1283 in conflict with Eppstein . Walram's son and successor Adolf would later become king of Germany from 1292 until 1298. In 1329, under Adolf's son Gerlach I of Nassau-Weilburg

5680-439: Was added in 1889, connecting to the Rheinbahnhof , with the opening Langenschwalbach Railway (now the Aar Valley Railway — Aartalbahn ) from the Rheinbahnhof in Wiesbaden to Bad Schwalbach (then called Langenschwalbach ) and later extended to Diez on the Lahn . The new station building became necessary to handle the growing number of passenger visiting the spa city at that time. It was built from 1904 to 1906 according to

5760-434: Was announced in 2011 that the commissioning would be delayed, however, until August 2015. A proposed extension of the reactivated section of line to Michelbach was ruled out for cost reasons, since it would require a second vehicle. There have been plans since 1998 to restore and electrify the section of the Aar Valley Railway between Bad Schwalbach and Wiesbaden-Dotzheim as part of a proposed Wiesbaden Stadtbahn and building

5840-498: Was attacked by both RAF and United States Air Force bombers on 66 days. In the attacks, about 18% of the city's homes were destroyed. During the war, more than 25% of the city's buildings were damaged or worse and 1,700 people were killed. Wiesbaden was the location of a camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), and two subcamps of the Hinzert concentration camp , mostly for Luxembourgish prisoners. Wiesbaden

5920-434: Was captured by U.S. Army forces on 28 March 1945. The U.S. 317th Infantry Regiment attacked in assault boats across the Rhine from Mainz while the 319th Infantry attacked across the river Main near Hochheim am Main . The attack started at 01:00 and by early afternoon the two forces of the 80th U.S. Infantry Division had linked up with the loss of only three dead and three missing. The Americans captured 900 German soldiers and

6000-535: Was extended to include Lorraine , including Nancy , and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . The commander was General der Infanterie Walther Schroth . Wehrkreis XII was made up of three subordinate regions: Bereich Hauptsitze Koblenz , Mannheim and Metz . During the war, Wiesbaden was, between August 1940 and the end of 1942, bombed by the Royal Air Force and from 1943 through to March 1945,

6080-530: Was extensively refurbished and modernised at a cost of €25 million between 2003 and 2004. A redesign of the forecourt, costing €1.5 million, was carried out between mid-2006 and March 2007. The modernisation should have been completed with the opening of the high-speed line to Cologne , but was postponed several times due to lack of funds. Next door is the Lilien-Carré shopping centre opened in March 2007 on

6160-646: Was headquartered at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield , just off the autobahn toward Frankfurt, until the Division completed relocation to Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2011. Wiesbaden is now home to the U.S. Army Europe Headquarters and the General John Shalikashvili Mission Command Center. In 1962, the American artists George Maciunas , Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles traveled to Europe to promote

6240-639: Was known as a Langenschwalbacher . In 1892, the Langenschwalbach variant of the class T 9 tender locomotive was put into operation, since the slope was found to be too steep for the Prussian T 3 locomotives that were used originally. After the First World War, the Aar Valley Railway crossed at Laufenselden the Free State Bottleneck ( Freistaat Flaschenhals ), a strip of land between the American bridgehead of Koblenz and

6320-552: Was the capital of the Province of Nassau . In 1945, it became the capital of Greater Hesse and subsequently, in 1946, of Hesse . Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name translates to "meadow baths", and there are 15 mineral springs —14 of which are hot springs —in the city centre. With a yield of around 2 million liters daily, Wiesbaden is the second-most productive German spa after Aachen . Its location in

6400-599: Was the line was extended to Bad Schwalbach and from 29 April 1994 to Hohenstein . The operation stopped in May 2009 when a bridge was damaged by the collision of a road vehicle and because of several defective sets of points . The Aar railway was used for the transportation of mining products. The Schaefer lime works in Oberneisen and the Michelbach steelworks ( Michelbacher Hütte ) in Kettenbach are located directly on

#446553