Neuwied

Neuwied (German pronunciation: [nɔʏˈviːt]) is a town in the north of the German state of 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 has 13 suburban administrative districts: Heimbach-Weis, Gladbach, Engers, Oberbieber, Niederbieber, Torney, Segendorf, Altwied, Block, Irlich, Feldkirchen, Heddesdorf, and Rodenbach. The largest is Heimbach-Weis, with approximately 8000 inhabitants.

Founded by Count Frederick of Wied in 1653, Neuwied was located near the village of Langendorf, destroyed during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). It grew rapidly due to its religious toleration. 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 by archeologists.

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 is the native town of paternal ancestors of John D. Rockefeller, traced to the 16th century and possible French Huguenot refugees. His father's line emigrated to the North American colonies, arriving in New York in 1710, the year of a massive immigration of nearly 2800 Palatine Germans, whose transportation of refugees from London was paid by Queen Anne's government of England. Neuwied was also the birth town of William of Wied, who briefly held the title of King of Albania in 1914.

Geography

Parts of the 86,5 square kilometre area are divided into the suburban districts of:

• Altwied
• Block
• Engers
• Feldkirchen
• Gladbach
• Heimbach-Weis
• Irlich
• Niederbieber
• Oberbieber
• Rodenbach
• Segendorf
• Torney

The core of Neuwied and the former village of Heddesdorf, which belonged to the municipality before these districts were added, are not listed as districts themselves.

Since the inner city of Neuwied is situated on a former bed of the river Rhine, it is at great risk of flooding. It is one of very few towns in the region protected by anti-flood levees, a source of friction with communities downstream.

Neuwied is twinned with the London Borough of Bromley.

Politics

The June 2004 municipal council elections led to the following distribution of seats: CDU (22), SPD (17), FWG (4), Grüne (3), FDP (2). The mayor of Neuwied is the social democrat Nicolaus Roth.

Population

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

By 1970 the figure had grown to 31,400 and following a major realignment incorporating several communities within the town, it jumped to 63,000.

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

Infrastructure

Neuwied is connected to the German network of Bundesstraßen (national routes) (here: B9, B42 and B256). The Autobahnen (motorways) A3, A48 and A61 are quickly reachable from Neuwied.

Public Transport

Within the bounds of Neuwied are two railway stations, Neuwied and Engers on the Right Rhine line, and a third station is under consideration by the state agency for northern commuter railway services (SPNV Nord), which is responsible for the service on the railway lines connecting to Koblenz central station in the south and Cologne central station in the north. Via either of those stations, the German high speed rail network and the InterCity network are accessible. Daytime service includes

• a Deutsche Bahn hourly semi-fast train (RegionalExpress) Koblenz-Engers-Neuwied-Cologne-Mönchengladbach and back,
• and a Deutsche Bahn hourly all-stops service (RegionalBahn) Koblenz-Neuwied-Cologne-Stommeln(-Mönchengladbach) and back, which is also available in the evening hours.
• A VIAS hourly semi-fast train (StadtExpress) Neuwied-Koblenz-Lahnstein-Wiesbaden(-Frankfurt) and back, running also in evening hours.

It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel to Koblenz while Cologne is about 70 to 80 minutes away, Mainz 90 to 120 minutes, direct connection to Frankfurt is around 150 minutes, sometimes faster when changing to the IC/ICE network.

Public transport within Neuwied relies on a bus network, offering (depending on line) 20, 30 or 60 minute schedules, the majority of lines are served by Transdev.

All public transport (road and rail) is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel public transport association. Tickets are valid for all service, restricted by time and fare zones. For more information on timetables see [1].

International relations

Neuwied is twinned with:

• Bromley, United Kingdom

References

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Neuwied". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.