Limburg an der Lahn

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Limburg an der Lahn
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn (Germany)
Limburg an der Lahn
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Gießen
District Limburg-Weilburg
Mayor Martin Richard
Basic statistics
Area 45.15 km² (17.4 sq mi)
Elevation 117 m  (384 ft)
Population 33,832  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 749 /km² (1,941 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate LM
Postal codes 65531–65556
Area code 06431
Website www.limburg.de
Location of the town of Limburg an der Lahn within Limburg-Weilburg district
Map

Coordinates: 50°23′0″N 8°4′0″E / 50.38333, 8.06667

Limburg an der Lahn (Limburg on the Lahn river) is a German town and the capital of the district Limburg-Weilburg in the west of Hesse.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The city is located at the Lahn river, between the mountains of the Westerwald and the Taunus.

Limburg has eight districts: Ahlbach, Blumenrod, Dietkirchen, Eschhofen, Linter, Lindenholzhausen, Offheim and Staffel.

[edit] Geographical location

The town is located relatively central in a larger depressed area of the "Rheinische Schiefergebirge" (Rheinian Schale-mountains). The "Limburger Becken" (Limburg basin) is surrounded by the Taunus and the Westerwald. Because of its favourable ground and climate conditions, it is one of the most fruitful Hessian agricultural regions. In addition, it has a high importance in trade and traffic since Medieval times with its Lahn crossing. Within the valley, the lower valley of the Lahn has several broadenings, so that Limburgs average elevation is just 117 m above sea level.

Map of Limburg and its districts.
Map of Limburg and its districts.

[edit] Neighbour communities

Limburg is surrounded by Elz and Hadamar in the north, Villmar and Brechen in the southeast, Hünfelden in the south (all in the district Limburg-Weilburg, Holzheim in the southwest, Diez, Aull and Gückingen in the west (all in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate). The closest bigger cities are Wetzlar in the northeast, Wiesbaden in the south and Coblence in the west.

[edit] Structure of the town

The biggest district of Limburg is Lindenholzhausen (3,329 residents as of June 2006), the second biggest is Linter. The other districts are Ahlbach, Blumenrod, Dietkirchen, Eschhofen, Offheim und Staffel. Blumenrod is actually a large residential zone of the town and not an independent village. It is located in the south of Limburg. Its landmark is the "Domäne Blumenrod", a former manor house, that has been renovated and remodelled by the Freie evangelische Gemeinde Limburg (free Protestant community of Limburg).

[edit] Etymology

The derivation of the name "Limburg" is not entirely clarified and has presumably derived from a castle. In 910 the place was first mentioned as "Lintpurc". Two of the popular theories are:

  • The name has been chosen because of the closeness to the "Linterer Bach" (a rivulet in Linter). "Linda" is the Gaulish word for water.
  • Less likely, but very popular is the connection to a dragon saga (see Lindworm) and the connection with the monastery of Saint George the "Dragon Slayer" founded in Limburg. However, the monastery was built after the castle and founded around the time of the first written mentioning of the name.
Front of the cathedral.
Front of the cathedral.

[edit] History

Limburg was first mentioned in a document in 910 as "Lintpurc". The place emerged close to the castle with the same name. Presumably the castle was built to protect a ford to cross the Lahn. In 910, Louis the Child transferred a courtyard to Konrad Kurzbold to built a church. The "St. Georg" monastery was founded. (This is presumably the reason why the place was first named in 910.)

Konrad Kurzbold set the headstone for the monastery church St. George, where he was to be buried later. The place achieved importance with the foundation of the monastery. It also benefited from the trade and the transfer of goods along the "Höhenstraße".

In 1214 the place received its town charter. Remains of the city wall from the years 1130, 1230 and 1340 still show the fast development of the city in the Mediaeval.

In 1235 the St. Georgs Dom (Cathedral of St. George), also called Georgsdom, was consecrated. It was built on the place of the old monastery church. Its high location on a rock above the Lahn makes it visibile from far away. The building is one of the most accomplished buildings of the late Romanesque style.

In the early 13th century, the manor-house of Limburg was built south of the cathedral's square where the castle used to be.

In 1344, Black Death, a fire and especially the rise of territory princes led to a gradually decline of the town. In 1460 Count Philipp of Katzenelnbogen bought the half of Limburg from Count Philipp of Solms and Frank of Kronberg and in 1475 Dietrich of Runkel also sold him a part of his part. 1479 the family of Katzenelnbogen died out, some of them even born there[1]. In 1624, it changed hands and was incorporated to the Kurfürstentum Trier.

Not until the 19th century did the town managed to rise again. In the period from 1806 to 1866 it belonged to the Duchy of Nassau, which in 1827 declared Limbug to be a diocesan town.

In 1862, Limburg became an important regional junction of several railroads. In 1886 it became a Kreisstadt (district town).

During World War I there was a major Prisoner of War camp at Limburg and der Lahn. Many Irish members of the British Army were interned there until the end of the war and at one stage they were visited by the Irish republican leader Roger Casement in an attempt to win recruits for the forthcoming Irish rebellion.

Altstadt (Old town centre).
Altstadt (Old town centre).
The old 1000 DM note.
The old 1000 DM note.
The river Lahn in Limburg.
The river Lahn in Limburg.

[edit] Main sights

Altstadt (old town) area of Limburg boasts a fine ancient cathedral and is full of narrow streets with half-timbered houses, dating mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The entire medieval town core of Limburg remained almost entirely untouched and intact. Therefore today the old town centre which once was entirely surrounded by a city wall has been listed for conservation of ancient monuments. The area spans from the St. Georgs Dom (St. Georgs Cathedral), alongside the Grabenstraße (a street marking the old town moat) to the 600 year old bridge over the Lahn.

  • Limburger Dom (cathedral), one of the most accomplished buildings of the late Romanesque style, which was completed in the year 1235. It was printed on the back side of the 1,000 Deutsche Mark note from the second series, which was in circulation from 1960 to 1989.
  • Limburger Schloss (castle) built at the beginning of the 13th century by Gerlach von Ysenburg.
  • Burgmannenhaus, built around 1544. It serves as a museum today.
  • St. Anna-Kirche (St. Anna Church) which has several glass paintings in the windows from the late 14th century, showing eighteen scenes from the New Testament.
  • Alte Lahnbrücke (old Lahn bridge) from the year 1315, an important Lahn crossing point from the Via Publica.
  • Haus Kleine Rütsche 4 (narrowest passage of the historical trade route from Frankfurt to Cologne, which width can be read at the Heumarkt in Cologne.
  • Rathaus (town hall) from 1899.
  • "Huttig" (remains of the town wall).
  • "Haus der sieben Laster" (House of the seven deadly sins) (Brückengasse 9, built in 1567) A half-timbered house with carvings of the seven main vices of the Christianity: arrogance, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, anger and sloth.
  • former residence of the earls of Walderdorff (Fahrgasse 5).
  • Werner-Senger-Haus (a beautiful stone-hall-building with half-timbered front from the 13th century.
  • Römer 2-4-6 (the oldest free-standing house in Germany, in the garden a mikvah has been found). ==

[edit] Culture

Limburg has a famous boys' choir, the Limburger Domsingknaben.

[edit] Twin cities

[edit] Transportation

Limburg is connected to the InterCityExpress network by the station Limburg Süd on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.

The Bundesautobahn 3 runs adjacent to the town.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ http://www.graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de/ Limburg, The History of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the First Riesling of the World

[edit] External links

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Towns and municipalities in Limburg-Weilburg
Coat of arms of Limburg-Weilburg