Weilburg

About

Weilburg (German pronunciation: [ˈvaɪlbʊʁk] ) is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.

The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwald and the Taunus just upstream from where the Weil empties into the river Lahn and 80 km southeast of Koblenz. The Old Town, built on and around a rocky hill, is almost encircled by the Lahn.

Weilburg borders in the north on the communities of Merenberg and Löhnberg (both in Limburg-Weilburg), in the east on the town of Braunfels ( Lahn-Dill-Kreis ), in the south on the communities of Weilmünster and Weinbach as well as on the town of Runkel, and in the west on the community of Beselich (all in Limburg-Weilburg).

Besides the main town, in which just under 40% of the inhabitants live, the outlying centres of Ahausen, Bermbach, Drommershausen, Gaudernbach, Hasselbach, Hirschhausen, Kirschhofen, Kubach, Odersbach and Waldhausen also belong to Weilburg's municipal area.

The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwald and the Taunus just upstream from where the Weil empties into the river Lahn and 80 km southeast of Koblenz. The Old Town, built on and around a rocky hill, is almost encircled by the Lahn.

Weilburg borders in the north on the communities of Merenberg and Löhnberg (both in Limburg-Weilburg), in the east on the town of Braunfels ( Lahn-Dill-Kreis ), in the south on the communities of Weilmünster and Weinbach as well as on the town of Runkel, and in the west on the community of Beselich (all in Limburg-Weilburg).

Besides the main town, in which just under 40% of the inhabitants live, the outlying centres of Ahausen, Bermbach, Drommershausen, Gaudernbach, Hasselbach, Hirschhausen, Kirschhofen, Kubach, Odersbach and Waldhausen also belong to Weilburg's municipal area.

It is believed that the earliest traces of settlers in the area around Weilburg are attested by finds from La Tène times from the Scheuernberger Kopf (mountain) near Kirschhofen.

Weilburg was first mentioned in 906 in a chronicle by Abbot Regino of Prüm as a fortification under the name of Wilineburch. Six years later King Conrad I, whose father had been buried in the fortification after having fallen in battle while fighting the Babenbergers near Fritzlar in 906, founded a church and an abbey. In 912, the St. Walpurgis-Chorherrenstift (monastery) was founded. The building, which was built on high ground, afforded the monastery control over the Lahn as well as the Hohe Straße ("High Road") running from Frankfurt to Cologne and the Via Publica from Flanders to Bohemia, which ran nearby.

In 918, the Wilineburg (castle) gained special historic importance when King Conrad I, lying on his deathbed, recommended to his brother Eberhard that he deliver the Imperial insignia to his bitterest rival, the Saxon duke Heinrich (Weilburger Testament).

From 993 to 1062, the town was bit by bit donated to the Bishopric of Worms. About 1225, the Bishop of Worms pledged overlordship over the town to the House of Nassau, which in the end they bought up, granting the place a year later the same town rights held by Frankfurt. Count Johann I of Nassau built his residence here in 1355, renovated the castle to a palace, and also built the town fortifications. In 1359, he had a stone bridge built across the Lahn.

The House of Nassau shaped the town's history for several centuries. Count Johann Ernst (1664–1719), in particular, renovated and beautified his town of residence by expanding the Renaissance high palace ( Hochschloss ), building a park and changing the town's face. Weilburg thus became one of the most fully preserved examples of a small German residence town from the time of absolutism. From 1806, the town was the governmental seat of the newly created Duchy of Nassau. Only in 1816 did William, Duke of Nassau move his residence to Biebrich. In 1866, the Duchy of Nassau was annexed by Prussia, and in 1871 it became part of the newly established German Empire.

In the field of architectural history, Weilburg is known for its loam buildings from the time before 1800. Wilhelm Jacob Wimpf, a "government lawyer", was instrumental in furthering the so-called Pisee style of building in the town and its environs, yielding what is still Germany's tallest loam building, a six-floor house.

National Socialism and the Second World War

In 1933, as in other German cities and towns, the National Socialists were elected into power. Shortly before this, the Nazis in the region had had strong showings in elections. The last non-Nazi mayor chosen by the town council, Diffenhardt, was ousted in a no-confidence vote instigated by the Nazis in the summer of 1933.

During World War II, in 1939–1941, it was the location of the Oflag IX-B prisoner-of-war camp for Polish and Belgian officers and orderlies. In the war, the town sustained only light damage. The middle façade of the palace's orangery collapsed after an aerial bomb meant for the Weilburg railway station fell right in front of the gate and exploded. The railway station and the nearby Helbig brewery house were also damaged. While United States troops were taking over the town on 27 March 1945, the fighting caused some light damage, although all the town's bridges were blown up by retreating German troops.

Weilburg was the old Oberlahnkreis's seat from the district's founding in 1867. Weilburg lost this function when, in the course of administrative reform in Hesse, both the Oberlahnkreis and the Limburg district were abolished and the new Limburg-Weilburg district came into being on 1 July 1974, with Limburg as its seat. To this day, however, a district administration outpost can be found at the former district administrator's office on Limburger Straße.

In 2005, the town hosted the 45th Hessentag state festival from 17 to 26 June.

Ahausen is first mentioned in documents in 1320. The cluster village lies right on the Lahn where the Grundbach empties into it, which explains why the three mills that once stood here.

Under the name Berinbach, the outlying centre of Bermbach was first mentioned in documents in 1253. Besides agriculture, the villagers also worked at mining. Ore was mined from pits in Bermbach's municipal area up until 1914, when operations ceased.