Remagen(German pronunciation:[ˈʁeːmaːɡn̩]ⓘ) is a town inGermanyin the state ofRhineland-Palatinate,in the district ofAhrweiler.It is about a one-hour drive fromCologne,just south ofBonn,the formerWest Germanseat of government. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the riverRhine.There is aferryacross the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer. Remagen has many notable and well-maintained buildings, churches, castles and monuments. It also has a sizeablepedestrian zonewith plenty of shops.
Remagen | |
|---|---|
 Apollinariskirche | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Remagen within Ahrweiler district  | |
  Remagen  Remagen | |
| Coordinates:50°34′43″N7°13′50″E/ 50.57861°N 7.23056°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Ahrweiler |
| Subdivisions | 5 |
| Government | |
| •Mayor(2018–26) | Björn Ingendahl[1](Greens) |
| Area | |
• Total | 33.16 km2(12.80 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 17,426 |
| • Density | 530/km2(1,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| Postal codes | 53424 |
| Dialling codes | 02642, 02228 |
| Vehicle registration | AW |
| Website | remagen.de |
Overlooking the west bank of the Rhine just north of the city centre is the Apollinariskirche. It has an observation deck that is only open to parishioners on Sundays. Pedestrians reach the church via a dirt trail that passes a series of roadside monuments representing each of the fourteenStations of the Cross.The church grounds contain an outdoor crypt and an abbey. Further down the river is one of the many castles along the Rhine, perched even higher than the Apollinariskirche.
History
editTheRoman Empirebuilt a border fort at Rigomagus (or Ricomagus), west of the Rhine. This was about 12 miles north of the site of thefirst bridge ever built across the Rhine(atNeuwied). This bridge fought the river current by being built on timbers which were driven into the bed at a slant. Caesar's troops spent nearly three weeks on the east side of the river, then crossed back over, destroying the bridge to prevent its use by German raiders. A second bridge was likewise destroyed by the builders once they were through with it.
The fort was one of a series built byDrusus,commander of the Roman army along the Rhine. Other Roman construction survived the centuries, including a gateway and Remagen became a tourist destination, popular with history buffs. Remagen appears on the4th centuryPeutinger Map.
Local legend says that a shipcarrying various relicsfromMilantoColognewas stopped in the river in 1164, unable to move despite the strong current, until it mysteriously edged in toward the shore. The remains ofSaint Apollinariswere put ashore, and the ship was then able to sail onward. These remains were interred in a chapel which had been part of the Roman fort, which became the basis for a church which bore his name, and was rebuilt several times over the years.
Bridge at Remagen
editTheLudendorff Bridgewas originally built duringWorld War Ias a means of moving troops and logistics west over the Rhine to reinforce theWestern Front.The bridge was designed by Karl Wiener, an architect fromMannheim.It was 325 metres (1,066 ft) long, had a clearance of 14.8 metres (49 ft) above the normal water level of the Rhine, and its highest point measured 29.25 metres (96.0 ft). The bridge was designed to be defended by troops with towers on each bank with machine gun slits in the towers. The bridge carried two railway tracks and a pedestrian walkway. DuringWorld War II,one track was planked over to allow vehicular traffic.
Capture of the bridge
editDuringOperation Lumberjack,on 7 March 1945, troops of theU.S. Army's9th Armored Divisionreached theLudendorff Bridgeduring the closing weeks of World War II and were very surprised to see that the railroad bridge was still standing. German defenders had failed to demolish it, leaving it the only one of the 22 road and railroad bridges over the Rhine still standing. U.S. forces were able to capture the bridge. The unexpected availability of the first major crossing of the Rhine, Germany's last major natural barrier and line of defense, causedAllied high commanderDwight Eisenhowerto alter his plans to end the war and may have shortened the war in Europe.[3][4]
The ability to quickly establish abridgeheadon the eastern side of the Rhine and to get forces into the bulk of Germany allowed the U.S. forces to envelop the German industrial area of theRuhrmore quickly than planned.[5]The Allies were able to get six divisions across the bridge before it collapsed on 17 March 1945, ten days after it was captured. The collapse killed 18 U.S. Army Engineers.[6][citation needed]According to another source, a total of 28 U.S. engineers were killed and 93 were injured.[7] However, a pontoon bridge had by then been built across the river and the main bridge was out of use for repairs at the time of its collapse.[citation needed]
A large number of books and articles in newspapers and magazines on the battle for the bridge have been published. The best-known work on the battle is 1957'sThe Bridge at Remagenby the American authorKen Hechler.[8]In 1968David L. Wolperproduced an American motion picture,The Bridge at Remagen.The film depicts historical events, but is fictional in all other aspects.[9]
Memorial
edit
Hans Peter Kürten,at that time (1968) Mayor of Remagen, had long considered the idea of constructing a memorial. The negotiations with theGerman Federal Railwaysalone lasted seven years before the city could finally acquire the former railway property. Announcements sent to government officials concerning the intended preservation of the bridge towers and the construction of a Memorial to Peace stirred no interest.
In the summer of 1976, it was necessary to remove the still intact bridge support pilings in the river. The mayor had the stones deposited on the Remagen river bank, with the idea in mind of selling small pieces of the bridge stones enclosed in synthetic resin and containing a certificate of authenticity.
On 7 March 1978, he went public with his idea and achieved such an unexpected degree of success, that he had realised more than 100,000 DM (around 50,000 EUR) in sales profits.
There has not been another bridge built across the Rhine here, mainly due to opposition from the people of Remagen (and surrounding areas), contending that a bridge located at this point along the Rhine would spoil the view.
Prisoner enclosures
edit
In 1945, the U.S. built one of the many enclosures on the west bank of the Rhine—the so-calledRheinwiesenlager—close to Remagen. The camps were used by the Allies to house captured German soldiers. Several thousand prisoners are estimated to have died in the various camps, including 1,212 who are now buried in the Bad Bodendorf Cemetery.[10]
Geography
editCity outline
editRemagen is divided into six districts (Ortsbezirk) and eight localities (Ortsteile):[11]
| District (Ortsbezirk) | Locality (Ortsteil) | residents |
|---|---|---|
| Remagen | Remagen | 7.611 |
| Kripp | Kripp | 3.756 |
| Oberwinter | Bandorf, Oberwinter,Rolandseck | 3.712 |
| Oedingen | Oedingen | 1.034 |
| Rolandswerth | Rolandswerth | 588 |
| Unkelbach | Unkelbach | 1.143 |
| Total city | 17.844 |
residents (excluding secondary residences, June 30, 2020[12]
The district of Kripp also belongs to the district of Remagen.
Sites
editApollinariskirche
editThe Apollinaris Church was built 1839-1842 on the site of the medieval Church of St. Martin. The frescos on the inside of theneo-Gothicchurch were painted by members of the artists group called the "Nazarenes". Three cycles show the life of Jesus, the life of Mary, and the history ofSaint Apollinaris,legendary Bishop ofRavenna.In the crypt is a silver bust of the saint, which is raised from thesarcophagusevery year at the pilgrimage time at the end of July. From the statue ofSaint Francis of Assision top of the church, there is a lovely view of Remagen and the romanticLower Rhine Valley.
Peace Museum "Remagen Bridge"
edit
The museum is housed in the towers of the famous bridge built between 1916 and 1918. It opened in 1980 and tells the story of the bridge and the USprisoner of war campknown as theGolden Mile,on theeponymous plain.
Arp Museum housed in the Bahnhof Rolandseck
editThe historicrailway stationatRolandseckabout 5 km north of Remagen, now houses a museum devoted to the work ofHans Arp.The 19th century railway station - itself a classic example of early German railway architecture - was transformed into a cultural venue for all the arts in the 19th century.Johannes Brahms,Clara SchumannandFranz Lisztgave concerts there.George Bernard Shawstaged his plays there. The young poetGuillaume Apollinaireeven fell in love there. Neglected, the building was listed for demolition afterWorld War II,but in 1964 theBonnart dealer Johannes Wasmuth brought it back to life. Musicians such asMartha Argerich,Stefan Askenase,andYehudi Menuhin,artists such asHans Arp,Oskar KokoschkaandGünther Uecker,and performers such asMarcel Marceauhave all appeared there.[13]
Infrastructure
editRemagen stationis on theLeft Rhine lineand theAhr Valley Railway.It is served byInterCity,Regional-Express(theRhein-Express,at hourly intervals) andRegionalbahnservices (MittelrheinBahn,at hourly intervals) operating betweenCologneandKoblenz.It is also served byRhein-Ahr-Bahnservices on the Ahr Valley Railway toAhrbrückat hourly intervals.
People
edit- Peter Maech, 23rd abbot ofMaria Laach(1512–1552)
- Henriette Jügel(1778-1850), painter
- Emilie Storck (born 1827 in Remagen), wife of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
- Baptist Schneider (1867–1946), photographer in Remagen
- Rudolf Caracciola(born 1901 in Remagen; died 1959 in Kassel), racing driver
- Roland Ries (born 1930 in Remagen), prelate, first clerk of the Catholic bureau in Mainz, president of the Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft (German hospital association)
- Klaus Barth (born 1935 in Remagen), retired ambassador, assistant chairman of the German Nepal Friendship Association
- Rudi Altig(1937-2016), cyclist
- Jean Lessenich (born 1942 in Remagen), tracer, author
- Bernhard Philipp (born 1948 in Remagen), Capuchin, theologian, artist
- Thomas Gottschalk(born 1950), German TV presenter, lived from 2006 to 2012 in the Marienfels Castle
- Franz Surges(1958-2015), composer and church musician
- Matthias Buchholz(born 1967), cook, awarded a star in theGuide Michelin
Notes and references
edit- ^Wahlen der Bürgermeister der verbandsfreien Gemeinden,Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 30 July 2021.
- ^"Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden"(PDF)(in German).Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz.2023.
- ^Thompson, John (February 2, 1947)."Remagen Bridge Won; War's Last Battle Begins".Chicago Tribune.No. 2. p. 6.Retrieved9 December2014.
- ^"Remagen Bridge Shortened War".The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 17, 1945: 2.Retrieved15 December2014.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^Shirer, William L.(1950–1983).The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.U.S.: Ballatine. p. 1429.
- ^MacDonald, Charles B.,"Chapter XIV The Rhine Crossings in the North",The Last Offensive,US Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations, p. 294
- ^MacDonald, Charles B.,"Chapter XI A Rhine Bridge at Remagen",The Last Offensive,US Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations, p. 230
- ^Hechler, Ken (2009-03-25).The Bridge at Remagen: A Story of World War II(First ed.). Presidio Press. p. 217.ISBN978-0891418603.
- ^Johnson, Niel A. (November 29, 1985)."Oral History Interview with Ken Hechler".Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.Retrieved29 November2014.
- ^Alan Heath - Friedhof an Bad Bodendorfhttps:// youtube /watch?v=dy8TFyn8wxw
- ^"Hauptsatzung der Stadt Remagen"(PDF).Stadtverwaltung Remagen. 2019-06-24.Retrieved2020-07-26.
- ^"Statistische Daten".Remagen.de.Stadt Remagen.Retrieved2020-08-12.
- ^Official Web site
External links
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