Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Encyclopedia
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden
, Hesse
, Germany
. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz
borough of Mombach
. Biebrich was an independent city until it was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926.
Numerous prehistoric and early-historical archeological finds indicate that the Biebrich area has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic Age. In the Middle Ages
, from the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne
, the places Biburc (Biebrich) and Moskebach (Mosbach) were part of the Königssondergau
Wiesbaden, held by the Frankish king as his personal property.
Biebrich was first mentioned in historical documents in 874. King Louis the German
and his entourage boarded vessels at Villa Biburg on a trip from Frankfurt
to Aachen
.
Beginning of the 18th century, the princes (Fürsten) of Nassau
built the Baroque
Biebrich Palace (Schloss
Biebrich). When this magnificent building was completed in 1744, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen
relocated his residence from the far side of the Taunus
to Biebrich. Until the completion of the City Palace in Wiesbaden in 1841, Biebrich was the principal residence of the Princes (and, after 1806, the Dukes) of Nassau.
In the 19th century, Biebrich became an important industrial center of the Rhine Main Area with the plants of Dyckerhoff Concrete (now owned by Buzzi Unicem
), Kalle and Albert Chemistry (now Celanese
), and Henkell (sparkling wine = Sekt). In the economical crisis of the post-World War I
Era, the small town, struck hard by unemployment of the majority of his working-class residents, merged with the bigger and much wealthier nearby spa city of Wiesbaden.
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, 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...
. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the 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...
borough of Mombach
Mombach
Mombach, with about 13,000 inhabitants, is a borough in the northwest corner of Mainz, Germany. Mombach can be reached via Mainz-innenstadt or Bundesautobahn 643.- Location :...
. Biebrich was an independent city until it was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926.
History
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, from the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, the places Biburc (Biebrich) and Moskebach (Mosbach) were part of the Königssondergau
Königssondergau
The Königssondergau was a Frankish gau which existed in the area north of the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers in Germany, from Frankish times until the end of the 12th century. Often mistakenly equated with the Rheingau, the Gau was based around the former Roman administrative district...
Wiesbaden, held by the Frankish king as his personal property.
Biebrich was first mentioned in historical documents in 874. King Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
and his entourage boarded vessels at Villa Biburg on a trip from Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
to Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
.
Beginning of the 18th century, the princes (Fürsten) of Nassau
Nassau (state)
Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, now extinct in male line, was the House of Nassau.-Origins:...
built the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Biebrich Palace (Schloss
Schloss
Schloss is a German word for a building similar to a château, palace or manor house; or what in the British Isles would be known as a stately home...
Biebrich). When this magnificent building was completed in 1744, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Nassau-Usingen
Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688.The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602....
relocated his residence from the far side of the Taunus
Taunus
The Taunus is a low mountain range in Hesse, Germany that composes part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine, the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück...
to Biebrich. Until the completion of the City Palace in Wiesbaden in 1841, Biebrich was the principal residence of the Princes (and, after 1806, the Dukes) of Nassau.
In the 19th century, Biebrich became an important industrial center of the Rhine Main Area with the plants of Dyckerhoff Concrete (now owned by Buzzi Unicem
Buzzi Unicem
Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. is an Italian company, quoted on the Borsa Italiana, which produces cement, ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. Its headquarters are in the town of Casale Monferrato which was once known as the Italian ‘cement capital’...
), Kalle and Albert Chemistry (now Celanese
Celanese
Celanese Corporation is a Fortune 500 global technology and specialty materials company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The company is a leading producer of acetyl products, which are intermediate chemicals for nearly all major industries, and is the world's largest producer of vinyl...
), and Henkell (sparkling wine = Sekt). In the economical crisis of the post-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...
Era, the small town, struck hard by unemployment of the majority of his working-class residents, merged with the bigger and much wealthier nearby spa city of Wiesbaden.
Famous residents of Biebrich
- In 1862, Richard WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
lived for one year in a newly built country house (later called Villa Annika) near the castle at the bank of the river Rhine, working on the first act and the prelude of the third act of Die Meistersinger. Following the composer's wishes, local wind instrument producer Wilhelm HeckelWilhelm HeckelWilhelm Heckel GmbH is a manufacturer of woodwind instruments based in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is best known for its bassoons, which are considered some of the finest available....
invented the so-called "HeckelphoneHeckelphoneThe heckelphone is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. Introduced in 1904, it is similar to the oboe but pitched an octave lower.-General characteristics:...
" (a basso-oboe, used by Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith and others).
- Sofia of NassauSofia of NassauSophia of Nassau was Queen consort of Sweden and Norway...
, Queen consort of Sweden and Norway (May 12, 1873 - December 8, 1907), wife of King Oscar II, was born Princess Sofia Wilhelmina Mariana Henrietta of Nassau in Biebrich on 9 July 1836.
- Seligmann Baer (1825–1897), a Biblical scholar and scholar of Jewish liturgy, was born and died in Biebrich, where he lived much of his life.
- Wilhelm DiltheyWilhelm DiltheyWilhelm Dilthey was a German historian, psychologist, sociologist and hermeneutic philosopher, who held Hegel's Chair in Philosophy at the University of Berlin. As a polymathic philosopher, working in a modern research university, Dilthey's research interests revolved around questions of...
(1833–1911) and Wilhelm Heinrich RiehlWilhelm Heinrich RiehlWilhelm Heinrich Riehl was a German journalist, novelist and folklorist.Riehl was born in Biebrich in the Duchy of Nassau and died in Munich....
(1823–1897), two pioneers of the early German "Kulturgeschichte" (cultural studies) of the 19th century, grew up in Biebrich.
- General Ludwig BeckLudwig BeckGeneraloberst Ludwig August Theodor Beck was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II....
was born in Biebrich in 1880. He lost his life struggling against Hitler's Regime in the failed revolt of German officers on 20 July 1944. If this coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
had succeeded, Beck would have been nominated by his conspirators to be the first post-war President of Germany.
- Physicist Walter GerlachWalter GerlachWalter Gerlach was a German physicist who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect.-Education:Gerlach was born in Biebrich, Hessen-Nassau....
was born in Biebrich on August 1, 1889. With Otto SternOtto SternOtto Stern was a German physicist and Nobel laureate in physics.-Biography:Stern was born in Sohrau, now Żory in the German Empire's Kingdom of Prussia and studied at Breslau, now Wrocław in Lower Silesia....
, Gerlach co-discovered space quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effectStern–Gerlach experimentImportant in the field of quantum mechanics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment, named after Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, is a 1922 experiment on the deflection of particles, often used to illustrate basic principles of quantum mechanics...
. Their experiment demonstrated that electrons and atoms have intrinsically quantum properties, and how measurement in quantum mechanicsMeasurement in quantum mechanicsThe framework of quantum mechanics requires a careful definition of measurement. The issue of measurement lies at the heart of the problem of the interpretation of quantum mechanics, for which there is currently no consensus....
affects the system being measured.
- Former German footballer Jürgen Grabowski (born July 7, 1944 in Wiesbaden) grew up Biebrich and was part of two youth clubs in Biebrich (FV Biebrich 1902 und SV Biebrich 1919). He played for many years at Eintracht Frankfurt, which won the German Cup in 1974 and 1975 and the UEFA Cup in 1980. He made 44 appearances with the German national team and scored 5 goals. He was a member of the German squad in the World Cups of 1966 (in which he did not play), 1970 and 1974.
External links
- Private unofficial Wiesbaden-Biebrich website (in German)