Bad Kreuznach
Encyclopedia
Bad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach
, Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine. The town and the surrounding areas
are renowned both nationally and internationally for their wine
s, especially from the Riesling
, Silvaner
and Müller-Thurgau
grape varieties.
, with a Roman vicus
named Cruciniacum — according to legend after the Celtic Cruciniac — forming a supply station between Mainz
(Mogontiacum) and Trier
(Augusta Treverorum).
Around 250 AD a gigantic palace (81 metre) was built here, north of the Alps, with a peristyle
, and 50 rooms on the ground floor alone. As part of the fortification of the Limes
against the invading Alemanni, Valentinian I
had a castra
built here around 370.
. This was followed by the construction of churches within the walls of the Roman fort, the first dedicated to Saint Martin
, and a later church consecrated to Saint Kilian
.
Kreuznach was first mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals
in the year 819. Between 1206 and 1230, Count Gottfried III, despite a ban from Philip of Swabia
, built the Kauzenburg. This was accompanied by the construction of the Burgbau, on the northern bank of the Nahe, in the location of the modern Bad Kreuznach Neustadt.
In 1235 or 1270, the city received town
, market, tax and customs rights under the rule of the counts of Sponheim, confirmed in 1290 by Rudolf of Habsburg.
In 1279, at the Battle of Sprendlingen, arose the legend of Michel Mort. The butchers of Kreuznach fought for the count of Sponheim against the troops of the Archbishopric of Mainz
. One of them, Michel Mort, sacrificed himself to save the life of Count John I.
With the extinction of the comital line of the House of Sponheim in 1414, the lordship of Kreuznach was divided between the counts of Veldenz, the Margrave of Baden
and the County Palatine of Simmern
.
(1618–48), the city was alternately occupied by the Swedes
, French
and the Spanish
/Imperial
armies. The city was badly affected by the war, with the population declining by over half: from about 8,000 to about 3,500. In 1689, Kreuznach and Kauzenburg were largely destroyed in the course of the Nine Years' War (1688–97).
, with the southern part of the region becoming part of the département of Mont-Tonnerre
and northern areas joining Rhin-et-Moselle
. When liberated from the French, the region's joint Bavarian
and Austrian
administration was based in Kreuznach. The Congress of Vienna
assigned the area to the Prussian
Rhine Province
, making Kreuznach a border town, with the Grand Duchy of Hesse
to the east and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate to the south.
In 1817, Johann Erhard Prieger opened the first bathhouse with brine
water, forming the basis for a rapidly expanding spa
treatment. In 1843, Karl Marx
married Jenny von Westphalen
in the church of St Paul in Kreuznach. The construction of the Nahetalbahn (Nahe Valley Railway) between Bingerbrück
and Saarbrücken
in 1860 formed the basis for the industrialization of the city. This led, together with the continuing growth in popularity of spa therapy, to a revival of the town after years of stagnation and military disasters.
In 1891, three brothers of the Franciscan
Brothers of the Holy Cross settled in Kreuznach. Two years later, they took over the Kiskys-Wörth hospital, renaming it St Marienwörth (for Mary, mother of Jesus) in 1905. In 1906, Karl Aschoff carried out radon therapy there. Since 1948, the Brothers have run this hospital, with the Sisters of the Congregation of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, as a standard care hospital.
During World War I
, both the Kreuznacher spa and other hotels and villas were requisitioned from 2 January 1917 as the seat of the Imperial headquarters. Kaiser Wilhelm II took up residence in the sanatorium and the Oranienhof was used by the general staff
. On 19 December 1917, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
met with Wilhelm II, Paul von Hindenburg
and Erich Ludendorff
at the Kurhaus. Extreme wintry floods in mid-January 1918 led to the relocation of the Supreme Command to the Belgian town of Spa
. After the war, Kreuznach was part of the occupied Rhineland, with French troops stationed in the city until 1930; many hotels were demolished at the time. In 1924, Kreuznach was renamed Bad Kreuznach.
At the beginning of the Nazi regime
, Hugo Salzmann
organized trades unionists and others in resistance against the new rulers. Despite incarceration, Salzmann survived the Nazi era and, in 1945, sat on the city council for the Communist Party
. The Jews of Landkreis Kreuznach
were taken in 1942 to the "Kolping House", seat of the district administration, and thence, on 27 July, deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp
in the annexed Sudetenland
.
The remaining hotels and spas of Bad Kreuznach again became the seat of an Army Command from 1939 to 1940, important to the course of the war because of the Wehrmacht
barracks in the Bosenheimer Strasse, the Alzeyer Strasse and the Franziska-Puricelli-Strasse, and the strategically important Berlin
–Paris
railway line passing through the city, always a target for Allied bombing raids
. The last city commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Kaup, preserved Bad Kreuznach from even greater destruction, as he offered no further resistance to the advancing American units, and the city was captured by the Allies
on 16 March 1945, largely without a fight. However, shortly before the Allies took over the city, retreating German troops blew up a part of the old bridge over the Nahe (Nahebrücke) and destroyed the bridgeheads near local houses.
near Bad Kreuznach gained notoriety for German prisoners of war and internees. In the late 1940s, units of the U.S. army were again stationed in the city; until mid-2001, the American forces had four barracks
, the 56th General Hospital, a Redstone missile unit, a shooting range, a small airfield and a small military training unit. The last unit was stationed in Bad Kreuznach was "Old Ironsides", the 1st Armored Division
.
In 1958, in Bad Kreuznach, the French President Charles de Gaulle
and the West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
agreed on the restoration of Franco-German relations, codified on 22 January 1963 at the Élysée Palace
.
Administrative reform in the Rhineland-Palatinate
, on 7 June 1969, amalgamated the previously independent municipalities of Bosenheim, Planig, Ippesheim
and Winzenheim into the town of Bad Kreuznach. It was planned that Rüdesheim an der Nahe
should also be incorporated, but the municipality challenged the plans in court and retained its independence.
In 2010 Bad Kreuznach launched a competition to replace the 1950s addition to the Alte Nahebrücke. The bridge, designed by competition winner Dissing+Weitling architecture of Copenhagen
, is scheduled for completion by 2012.
The villas of rich citizens built during the German Empire
(1871–1918) are very typical of the town.
Bad Kreuznach (district)
Bad Kreuznach is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Rhein-Hunsrück, Mainz-Bingen, Alzey-Worms, Donnersbergkreis, Kusel and Birkenfeld.- History :...
, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine. The town and the surrounding areas
Nahe (wine region)
Nahe is a region for quality wine in Germany, along the River Nahe in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. On the region's of vineyards in 2008, white wine grapes dominate with 75% and Riesling is the most common variety with 27.2%...
are renowned both nationally and internationally for their wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s, especially from the Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
, Silvaner
Silvaner
Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. In Germany it is best known as a component of Liebfraumilch and production boomed in the 1970s to the detriment of quality, but it has long enjoyed a better...
and Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
grape varieties.
Prehistory and Roman times
As early as the 5th century BC, there is evidence of a Celtic settlement in the area of the modern municipality. Around 58 BC, the region became part of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, with a Roman vicus
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...
named Cruciniacum — according to legend after the Celtic Cruciniac — forming a supply station between Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
(Mogontiacum) and Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
(Augusta Treverorum).
Around 250 AD a gigantic palace (81 metre) was built here, north of the Alps, with a peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
, and 50 rooms on the ground floor alone. As part of the fortification of the Limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
against the invading Alemanni, Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
had a castra
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
built here around 370.
Middle Ages
Around the year 500, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Kreuznach was a royal village of the newly emerging Frankish EmpireFrankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
. This was followed by the construction of churches within the walls of the Roman fort, the first dedicated to Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
, and a later church consecrated to Saint Kilian
Saint Kilian
Saint Kilian, also spelled Killian , was an Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of Franconia , where he began his labours towards the end of the 7th century.-Background:...
.
Kreuznach was first mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals
Royal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
in the year 819. Between 1206 and 1230, Count Gottfried III, despite a ban from Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
, built the Kauzenburg. This was accompanied by the construction of the Burgbau, on the northern bank of the Nahe, in the location of the modern Bad Kreuznach Neustadt.
In 1235 or 1270, the city received town
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
, market, tax and customs rights under the rule of the counts of Sponheim, confirmed in 1290 by Rudolf of Habsburg.
In 1279, at the Battle of Sprendlingen, arose the legend of Michel Mort. The butchers of Kreuznach fought for the count of Sponheim against the troops of the Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
. One of them, Michel Mort, sacrificed himself to save the life of Count John I.
With the extinction of the comital line of the House of Sponheim in 1414, the lordship of Kreuznach was divided between the counts of Veldenz, the Margrave of Baden
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...
and the County Palatine of Simmern
Palatinate-Simmern
Palatinate-Simmern was one of the collateral lines of the Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach.The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided into four lines after the death of Rupert III in 1410, including the line of Palatinate-Simmern with its capital in Simmern. This line...
.
Counts of Sponheim-Kreuznach
- Simon I (1223–64)
- John I (1265–90)
- John II (1290–1340) and Simon II (1290–1336)
- Walram (1336–80)
- Simon III (1380–1414)
- Elizabeth (1414–17)
17th century
During the Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(1618–48), the city was alternately occupied by the Swedes
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
, French
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
and the Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
/Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
armies. The city was badly affected by the war, with the population declining by over half: from about 8,000 to about 3,500. In 1689, Kreuznach and Kauzenburg were largely destroyed in the course of the Nine Years' War (1688–97).
Modern times
From 1708, Kreuznach belonged entirely to the Electoral Palatinate. During the Great French War (1792–1814) Kreuznach was annexed by FranceFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, with the southern part of the region becoming part of the département of Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. It is named after the highest point in the Rhenish Palatinate, the Donnersberg. It was the southernmost of four départements formed in 1798, when the west bank of the Rhine was annexed by France...
and northern areas joining Rhin-et-Moselle
Rhin-et-Moselle
Rhin-et-Moselle is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. It is named after the rivers Rhine and Moselle. It was formed in 1798, when the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by France. Until the French occupation, its territory was divided between the Archbishopric...
. When liberated from the French, the region's joint Bavarian
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
and Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
administration was based in Kreuznach. The Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
assigned the area to the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
, making Kreuznach a border town, with the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
to the east and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate to the south.
In 1817, Johann Erhard Prieger opened the first bathhouse with brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
water, forming the basis for a rapidly expanding spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
treatment. In 1843, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
married Jenny von Westphalen
Jenny von Westphalen
Baroness Johanna Bertha Julie "Jenny" von Westphalen was the wife of the philosopher Karl Marx. They became engaged in 1836 and married in 1843. They had six children.- Background :...
in the church of St Paul in Kreuznach. The construction of the Nahetalbahn (Nahe Valley Railway) between Bingerbrück
Bingerbrück
Bingerbrück is a Stadtteil of Bingen am Rhein, on the opposite side of the river Nahe from the old town of Bingen. It was self-administering until 1969.- Binger Mäuseturm :...
and Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
in 1860 formed the basis for the industrialization of the city. This led, together with the continuing growth in popularity of spa therapy, to a revival of the town after years of stagnation and military disasters.
In 1891, three brothers of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Brothers of the Holy Cross settled in Kreuznach. Two years later, they took over the Kiskys-Wörth hospital, renaming it St Marienwörth (for Mary, mother of Jesus) in 1905. In 1906, Karl Aschoff carried out radon therapy there. Since 1948, the Brothers have run this hospital, with the Sisters of the Congregation of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, as a standard care hospital.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, both the Kreuznacher spa and other hotels and villas were requisitioned from 2 January 1917 as the seat of the Imperial headquarters. Kaiser Wilhelm II took up residence in the sanatorium and the Oranienhof was used by the general staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
. On 19 December 1917, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
met with Wilhelm II, Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
at the Kurhaus. Extreme wintry floods in mid-January 1918 led to the relocation of the Supreme Command to the Belgian town of Spa
Spa, Belgium
Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543...
. After the war, Kreuznach was part of the occupied Rhineland, with French troops stationed in the city until 1930; many hotels were demolished at the time. In 1924, Kreuznach was renamed Bad Kreuznach.
At the beginning of the Nazi regime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Hugo Salzmann
Hugo Salzmann
Hugo Salzmann Unionist, German Communist in the Weimar Republic, and Anti-Fascist during and after the Second World War.- Literature :*...
organized trades unionists and others in resistance against the new rulers. Despite incarceration, Salzmann survived the Nazi era and, in 1945, sat on the city council for the Communist Party
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
. The Jews of Landkreis Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach (district)
Bad Kreuznach is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Rhein-Hunsrück, Mainz-Bingen, Alzey-Worms, Donnersbergkreis, Kusel and Birkenfeld.- History :...
were taken in 1942 to the "Kolping House", seat of the district administration, and thence, on 27 July, deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
in the annexed Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
.
The remaining hotels and spas of Bad Kreuznach again became the seat of an Army Command from 1939 to 1940, important to the course of the war because of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
barracks in the Bosenheimer Strasse, the Alzeyer Strasse and the Franziska-Puricelli-Strasse, and the strategically important Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
–Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
railway line passing through the city, always a target for Allied bombing raids
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
. The last city commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Kaup, preserved Bad Kreuznach from even greater destruction, as he offered no further resistance to the advancing American units, and the city was captured by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
on 16 March 1945, largely without a fight. However, shortly before the Allies took over the city, retreating German troops blew up a part of the old bridge over the Nahe (Nahebrücke) and destroyed the bridgeheads near local houses.
Since 1945
Although Bad Kreuznach was captured by the Americans, the town belonged to the French occupation zone. The RheinwiesenlagerRheinwiesenlager
The Rheinwiesenlager , official name Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures , were a group of about 19 transit camps for holding about one million German POWs after World War II from spring until late summer 1945...
near Bad Kreuznach gained notoriety for German prisoners of war and internees. In the late 1940s, units of the U.S. army were again stationed in the city; until mid-2001, the American forces had four barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, the 56th General Hospital, a Redstone missile unit, a shooting range, a small airfield and a small military training unit. The last unit was stationed in Bad Kreuznach was "Old Ironsides", the 1st Armored Division
1st Armored Division (United States)
The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
.
In 1958, in Bad Kreuznach, the French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
and the West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
agreed on the restoration of Franco-German relations, codified on 22 January 1963 at the Élysée Palace
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
.
Administrative reform in the Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, on 7 June 1969, amalgamated the previously independent municipalities of Bosenheim, Planig, Ippesheim
Ippesheim
Ippesheim is a municipality in the district of Neustadt -Bad Windsheim in Bavaria in Germany....
and Winzenheim into the town of Bad Kreuznach. It was planned that Rüdesheim an der Nahe
Rüdesheim an der Nahe
Rüdesheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the Nahe River, approx. 3 km west of Bad Kreuznach...
should also be incorporated, but the municipality challenged the plans in court and retained its independence.
In 2010 Bad Kreuznach launched a competition to replace the 1950s addition to the Alte Nahebrücke. The bridge, designed by competition winner Dissing+Weitling architecture of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, is scheduled for completion by 2012.
Tourist attractions
The town of Bad Kreuznach is the home of the following tourist attractions:- The Bridge Houses (see picture) that are built on the bridge that crosses the Nahe River in central Bad Kreuznach along the Walkplatz.
- The Pauluskirche (St. Paul's Church), where Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
was married to Jenny von WestphalenJenny von WestphalenBaroness Johanna Bertha Julie "Jenny" von Westphalen was the wife of the philosopher Karl Marx. They became engaged in 1836 and married in 1843. They had six children.- Background :...
in 1843. - The Kurhaus (built 1913) is a hotel and bath house. The bathsBathingBathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....
which give the town its name contain the noble gasNoble gasThe noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with very low chemical reactivity...
radonRadonRadon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
, with supposedly curative properties. - The Dr-Faust-Haus (built 1507) was the home of Johann Georg FaustJohann Georg FaustDr. Johann Georg Faust , also known in English as John Faustus , was an itinerant alchemist, astrologer, and magician of the German Renaissance...
, the alchemist on whom the FaustFaustFaust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
tale is said to be based. - Two mosaicMosaicMosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s dating from a Roman villaRoman villaA Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
(ca 250 AD) are displayed in an on-site museumMuseumA museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, the Römerhalle. The tombstone of Tiberius Iulius Abdes PanteraTiberius Iulius Abdes PanteraTiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera was a Roman solder whose tombstone was found in Bingerbrück, Germany in 1859.Historically, the name Pantera is not an unusual name and had been in use among Roman soldiers in the second century....
is also on view here. - Kreuznach's wine is well known.
- For 50 years Kreuznach was home to a United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base, Rose Barracks, including headquarters of the U.S. 8th Infantry Division and later the U.S. 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
, which closed down in May 2001
The villas of rich citizens built during the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
(1871–1918) are very typical of the town.
Born in Bad Kreuznach
- Aiman Abdallah (Born 1965), German TV show host of Egyptian origin
- Eberhard AnheuserEberhard AnheuserEberhard Anheuser was a German-born soap and candle maker as well as the father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company. He and two of his brothers moved to America in 1842. He was a major creditor of the Bavarian Brewery Company, a struggling brewery founded in 1853...
(1805–80), brewingBrewingBrewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
magnateBusiness magnateA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself... - Marcus Speh BirkenkraheMarcus BirkenkraheMarcus Birkenkrahe is a physicist and information architect who also works as an executive coach....
(Born 1963), physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, professorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images.... - Marlene Ciklamini (Born 1940), medievalist, professor, author
- Hans Driesch (1867–1941), biologistBiologistA biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and philosopher - Herbert EimertHerbert EimertHerbert Eimert was a German music theorist, musicologist, journalist, music critic, editor, radio producer, and composer.-Life:...
(1897–1972), composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Konrad FreyKonrad FreyKonrad Frey was a German gymnast.With 3 Gold and 6 medals in total at the 1936 Summer Olympics, he had beaten team-mate Alfred Schwarzmann by one Silver for the honours of becoming the most successful competitor in term of total medals won, and the most successful competitor of host nation Germany...
(1909–74), gymnastGymnastGymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia... - Manuel FriedrichManuel FriedrichManuel Friedrich is a German footballer who plays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen as a central defender.-Club career:...
(born 1979), football (soccer)Football (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player - Yaacov LozowickYaacov LozowickYaacov Lozowick , is a German-born Israeli historian and writer. He was the director of the archives at Yad Vashem.-Biography:Yaakov Lozowick was born in 1957 in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. In 1980, he gained qualifications as a tourist guide. In 1982, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in history...
(born 1957) - Maler MüllerMaler MüllerFriedrich Müller , German poet, dramatist and painter, is best known for his slightly sentimental prose idylls on countrylife. Usually known as Maler Müller .- Early life and education :...
(1749–1825), painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is... - Frédéric Prinz von AnhaltFrédéric Prinz von AnhaltFrédéric Prinz von Anhalt is a German-born socialite best known as Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband from her latest and longest-lasting marriage...
(Born 1943/1944), socialiteSocialiteA socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events.... - Thomas SchmidtThomas SchmidtThomas Schmidt is a German slalom canoer who competed in the 2000s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a gold in the K-1 event at Sydney in 2000....
(born 1976), canoeist - Günter VerheugenGünter Verheugen-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...
(born 1944), politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making... - Frank "Catfish" Butler (born 1960), blues guitarist,composer
Residents
- Anna DogonadzeAnna DogonadzeAnna Dogonadze is a German athlete of Georgian origin who won a gold medal in the event of trampolining at the 2004 Summer Olympics.She was born on 15 February 1973 in Mtskheta, Georgian SSR, . Prior to Georgian independence, she competed for the Soviet Union, and afterwards represented Georgia in...
(born 1973 in GeorgiaGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
), gymnastGymnastGymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
; has lived there for many years
Miscellaneous
- Marcel ProustMarcel ProustValentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
visited the town with his mother in 1895. - Bad Kreuznach is known among photographers as the home of Schneider Optische WerkeSchneider KreuznachSchneider Kreuznach is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics....
, a famous photographic lensPhotographic lensA camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...
maker. - The city is twinned with Bourg-en-BresseBourg-en-BresseBourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
See also
- Alte Nahe bridge
- Bad Kreuznach (district)Bad Kreuznach (district)Bad Kreuznach is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Rhein-Hunsrück, Mainz-Bingen, Alzey-Worms, Donnersbergkreis, Kusel and Birkenfeld.- History :...
- Bad Kreuznach (Verbandsgemeinde) (adjoining VerbandsgemeindeVerbandsgemeindeA Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
)
External links
- Kreuznacher.de, a wiki for residents and ex-residents
- The bridge competition award
- The future bridge design by Dissing+Weilting