Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken | |
|---|---|
 Castle (front) | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Zweibrücken  | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Urban district |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Helmut Reichling (CDU) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 70.64 km2 (27.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[1] | |
| • Total | 34,534 |
| • Density | 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 66482 |
| Dialling codes | 06332 |
| Vehicle registration | ZW |
| Website | www.zweibruecken.de |
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river at the border of the Palatinate forest.
Etymology
Zweibrücken ("two-bridges") is the Latin Bipontinum; it appears in early documents also as Geminus Pons, and is called by the French Deux-Ponts.
History
The town was the capital of the former Duchy of Zweibrücken, and the Alexander-Kirche (founded in 1493) houses the tombs of the dukes. The ducal castle is now occupied by the chief court of the Palatinate (Oberlandesgericht). There is a fine Gothic Protestant church. Weaving, brewing and the manufacture of machinery, such as Terex cranes and bulldozers, and John Deere tractors, chicory, cigars, malt, boots, furniture and soap are the chief industries. Besides there are two museums, a local city museum and a natural history museum showing mainly fossils from the area.
The independent territory was at first a county, the counts being descended from Henry I (Heinrich I.), youngest son of Simon I, count of Saarbrücken (d. 1182). This line, the Walramides, became extinct on the death of Count Eberhard (1393), who in 1385 had sold half his territory to the count palatine of the Rhine, and held the other half as his feudatory. Louis (d. 1489), son of Stephen, count palatine of Simmern-Veldenz, founded the line of the dukes of Zweibrücken. In 1559, a member of the line, Duke Wolfgang, founded the earliest grammar school of the town (Herzog-Wolfgang-Gymnasium), which existed until 1987. Duke Wolfgang also in 1557 converted his country to the new Lutheran faith.
After Charles X Gustav, the son of John Casimir, count palatine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, succeeded his cousin Queen Christina of Sweden on the Swedish throne, Pfalz-Zweibrücken was in personal union with Sweden until 1718 though the House of Pfalz-Zweibrücken.
In 1731, the Zimmern-Veldenz line of the dukes of Zweibrücken became extinct and the duchy passed to the Birkenfeld branch, whence it came under the sway of Bavaria in 1799. At the Peace of Luneville in 1801 Zweibrücken was ceded to France; on its reunion with Germany in 1814 the greater part of the territory was given to Bavaria, the remainder to Oldenburg and Kingdom of Prussia. The city of Zweibrücken became part of the Palatine region of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
At the ducal printing office at Zweibrücken the fine edition of the classics known as the Bipontine Editions was published (1779 sqq.).
The last large social event before the First World War was the inauguration of the Rosengartens (rose gardens) by Princess Hildegard of Bavaria in June 1914. As consequence of the First World War, Zweibrücken was occupied by French troops between 1918 and 1930. In the course of Kristallnacht in 1938, the Zweibrücken synagogue were destroyed. With outbreak of the Second World War the city was evacuated in 1939-1940, as it lay in the ‘Red Zone’ on the fortified Westwall (Siegfried Line). Shortly before the end of the war, on 14 March 1945 the city was nearly completely destroyed from bombing by the Royal Canadian Air Force, with the loss of more than 200 lives. On 20 March American ground troops reached Zweibrücken. The city became part of the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate after the war.
In 1990 the city underwent a major change. With the departure of the Americans, the military area became free, which corresponded altogether to a third of the entire city surface. The unemployment ratio increased to approximately 21 %, leading to a decrease in demand in the retail trade of approximately 25 %. These events led to rapid, creative decisions on the part of the city, with the resultant changes becoming the model for other communities. Within the core of the city, a small pedestrian region was finished, which includes some restored historic buildings.
Zweibrücken Air Base
On the outskirts of the city, Zweibrücken Air Base was for many years home to U.S. Airmen and their families. Prior to being a home for the USAFE, the base was operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was known as #3 Fighter Wing which was part of #1 Canadian Air Division which had its headquarters in Metz, France. During the years 1953 to 1968, it was the home to 413, 427 and 434 Fighter Squadrons which flew F-86 Sabre jets, and 440 Squadron which flew CF-100 Canuck, then the CF-104 Starfighter. The RF-4C was stationed there from the 1970s to 1991 under the 26th TRS. The RF-4C aircraft were photo-reconnaissance aircraft with missions all over Europe. They were also used in Desert Storm. The C-23 "Sherpa," a small prop driven transport plane, also flew out of the Air Base in the 1980's. Today Zweibrücken Air Base has been transformed into the modern Zweibrücken Airport [1], an international airport with flights to Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport (Germanwings), Palma de Mallorca, Antalya, Gran Canaria, Teneriffe, Rhodos, Heraklion and Fuerteventura (Hapagfly).
On the other side of the city was Kreuzberg Kasern, home to various units of the United States Army, however, only one combat unit Alpha battery 2nd Battalion, 60th Air Defense Artillery whose Headquarters was on Ramstein Air Base. Major tenants were the USA MATCOMEUR (Material Command, Europe) and in 1973 the unit was renamed the US Army Material Management Agency, Europe.
Twinnings
Barrie, Ontario, Canada since 1996
Boulogne-sur-Mer, France since 1959
Nyakizu (formerly Runyinya), Rwanda since 1982
Yorktown, Virginia, U.S. since 1978
Further reading
- Ammerich, "Zweibrücken. Die alte Herzogsstadt in Geschichte und Gegenwart", Zweibrücken 1983
- Bartz, Günther, "Zweibrücken. Frühe Kunde – Herzogliche Zeiten – heute", Speyer 1960
- Lehmann, "Vollständige Geschichte des Herzogthums Zweibrücken und seiner Fürsten, der Stamm- und Voreltern des k. bayer. Hauses", Munich, 1867
- Molitor, Ludwig, "Vollständige Geschichte der ehemals pfalz-bayerischen Residenzstadt Zweibrücken von ihren ältesten Zeiten bis zur Vereinigung des Herzogtums Zweibrücken mit der Bayerischen Krone", Zweibrücken 1884
External links
- Template:De icon Official website
- Template:De icon Page with Photos and Information
- Template:En icon Page about Outlets Zweibrücken
See also
References
- ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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