Neuwied

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Neuwied


Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Neuwied
Population	66,455 (2005)
Area	86.5 km²
Population density	768 /km²
Elevation	60 m
Coordinates	50°26′ N 7°28′ E
Postal code	56501-56567
Area code	02631, 02622
Licence plate code	NR
Mayor	Nikolaus Roth (SPD)
Website	neuwied.de

Neuwied is a town in the north of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the district of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. The town is aligned in 13 suburbs: Heimbach-Weis, Gladbach, Engers, Oberbieber, Niederbieber, Torney, Segendorf, Altwied, Block, Irlich, Feldkirchen, Heddesdorf, Rodenbach. The largest suburb is Heimbach-Weis with approximatedly 8000 inhabitants.

Neuwied was founded by Count Frederick of Wied in 1653, near the village of Langendorf, which was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War, and it rapidly increased owing to the toleration accorded to all religious sects. Among those who sought refuge here was a colony of Moravian Brethren.

Near Neuwied one of the largest Roman castra on the Rhine has been excavated.

In April 1797 the French, under General Louis Lazare Hoche, defeated the Austrians near Neuwied, this being their first decisive success in the French Revolutionary Wars. Neuwied was the birth town of William of Wied who briefly held the title King of Albania in 1914.

1 Geography
2 Politics
3 Population
4 References

[edit] Geography

Since the inner city of Neuwied is situated upon a former bed of the river Rhine, it is highly endangered by highwater. Moreover it is one of very few towns in the region protected by huge walls against the highwaters, of course to the dislike of neighbouring communities downstream.

Twinned with the London Borough of Bromley.

[edit] Politics

In June 2004 the municipal parliament was elected leading to the following distribution of seats: CDU (22), SPD (17), FWG (4), Grüne (3), FDP (2). The mayor of Neuwied is the socialdemocrat Nicolaus Roth.

[edit] Population

Originally there were only a few thousand people living in Neuwied with the number not growing significantly because of numerous wars and famine. With the beginning of the industrialization in the 19th century the number of inhabitants increased from 5,600 in 1831 to 18,000 in 1905.

Until 1970 the figure had grown to 31,400 and due to a major reallignment incorporating several communities to the town, it instantly jumped to 63,000.

As of June 30, 2005 there were officially 66,455 people living in Neuwied.