Andernach (German pronunciation:[ˈandɐˌnax]ⓘ) is a town in the district ofMayen-Koblenz, inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of theNeuwied basin on the left bank of theRhine between the former tiny fishing village of Fornich in the north and the mouth of the small river Nette in the southeast, just 13 miles (21 km) north ofKoblenz, with its five external town districts: Kell, Miesenheim, Eich, Namedy, and Bad Tönisstein.
A few hundred metres downstream of Andernach the Rhine valley narrows from both sides forming the northern part of the romanticMiddle Rhine stretch. Already in Roman times the place the narrow passage begins was named "Porta Antunnacensis" orAndernachian Gate. It is formed by two hills, theKrahnenberg (engl.Crane hill) and theEngwetter (Narrow weather) on the right bank near the wine villageLeutesdorf (external town district ofBad Hönningen). The crane hill is named after the old crane beneath his foot (see below); in earlier times (until 1650) the hill was named "Geiersberg" ("Vulture's hill").
After World War II it was the site of twoRheinwiesenlager temporary prison camps.
The coat of arms of Andernach known since 1344 (the colours appeared first in 1483) shows a black cross on a whiteescutcheon (shield) charged with a pair of X-shapedly arranged red keys. It is described in heraldic language asArgent a cross sable charged with keys in saltire gules.
The black cross on silver symbolizes the governance of theElectorate of Cologne; the keys refer to St. Peter the patron saint of theArchbishopric of Trier (and of the cathedral of Trier), of which Andernach formed part. The red (key) colour adverts to the red cross (on silver) in the coat of arms of theElectorate of Trier.
Andernach medieval fortifications, photo from 2023
The oldest town seal shows St. Mary sitting on a throne with a church in her right hand and with the left hand holding a town. The seal inscription says: MATER DEI PATRONA CIVIUM ANDERNACENSIUM – Mother of God, patron saint of the Andernachian citizens. The oldestseal was made before 1200, the oldest seal impression dates from the year 1250.
View to AndernachAndernach in 1900 with "Round Tower" and "St. Mary Assumption Church"; theRhine river is visible in the background; in the foreground the new railway tracks
Founded by theRomans asAntunnacum in 12 BC on the site of an oldCeltic settlement probably called Antunnuac, Andernach is one of the oldest towns in Germany which as such held its "Bimillenary feast" in 1988. Both the Roman and the Celtic names mean "village or farm of Antunnos/us"—a man not yet identified. It was the southernmost outpost of theElectorate of Cologne from the 12th to the 19th century. In addition to the touristically appealing medieval remnants of the old town fortifications, the city of Andernach is the location of several old industrial plants such as a huge malt mill (the last one of more than ten mills and breweries from the 19th and 20th centuries dismantled in 2008). In the 19th century the town was noted for the production of millstones, bricks and clay for making tobacco pipes.[3] Among the more modern of its industrial / manufacturing base is a large steel-mill to produce cold formed tin plate and companies manufacturing medicinal products, raw food materials, cast iron products, engines and engine parts.Tourists who come to the region usually visit themedievalfortifications such as the 183 feet (56 m) tall "Round Tower" (Ger. "Der Runde Turm") finished in 1453, the archiepiscopal (Electorate of Cologne)castle ruins with a well-preservedkeep, and the remains of the town wall with several well-restored walltowers and twogates: the "Rhine Gate" (das "Rheintor") built around 1200 as the "Grain Gate" (die "Kornpforte"; last renovation and reconstruction in 1899 after 17th century plans) and the "Coblencian Gate" ("Koblenzer Tor"), originally called the "Castle Gate" ("Burgpforte"); in medieval andRenaissance times up to the 19th century the German word "Pforte" (fromLatin "porta") was used for town and church gates instead of "Tor".
Map of regions in the vicinity of Andernach
Another attraction from its ancient industrial past is the "Old Crane" of Andernach (Ger. der "Alte Krahnen"), a 16th-century stony land basedtreadwheel towercrane 29 feet (8.8 m) in diameter and 31 feet (9.4 m) high situated outside the town downstream close to the river bank of the old harbour where it replaced an even older 14th century wooden floating treadwheel crane. For 350 years it was in operation from 1561 to 1911. Two to four men were required to rotate the crane top by means of a huge double ended lever (horizontal wooden bar) attached to the vertical wooden crane "beam" and four others on a (treadwheel men or menials) to operate the huge wooden twin treadwheels (more than 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter) which lifted and lowered the load—mainlymillstones,tuff-stone blocks for theNetherlands and wine casks. This treadwheel crane with stone walls (most cranes had a timber housing) is one of only a few of its kind in Europe to have survived. Aprince-electoral order or permission was needed to build and operate such a crane in the times of theHoly Roman Empire.
The Catholic "St. MaryAssumptionParishChurch" locally known as "Church of Our Lady" or "St. Mary'sCathedral" (Ger. "Pfarrkirche Maria Himmelfahrt", "Liebfrauenkirche", or "Mariendom") is the oldest historical attraction in Andernach, some of which date back to the 11th century. TheAndernach Gesangbuch of 1608 contains the tune to the English hymn 'This day the first of days was made' harmonised byRalph Vaughan Williams.
The townpalais "von der Leyen house" (Ger. "Haus von der Leyen"), named after its builder district magistrate and governor of the prince-elector, "Georg III von der Leyen," dates back to 1600. Built inrenaissance andbaroque styles it now houses the town museum since 1936 and again since 1969. It displays among others a fine model of the Roman "castrum"Antunnacum, a 17th-century town model in ~1:600 scale and a thoroughly assembled model (~1:90) of the prince-electoral town castle.
One of Andernach's natural attractions is the world's highest (max. 210 feet (64 m))cold-water geyser, driven bycarbon dioxide with force generated in a fashion similar to that in a shaken bottle of table water. It is located a little less than half a mile downstream from the "Crane" in theNature Reserve of "Namedyer Werth" (MHG for "island of Namedy") now apeninsula. Activated for the first time in 1903, the geyser was shut down in 1957 but reactivated early in the current century as yet another city attraction.
In the 12th century,Benjamin of Tudela described Andernach as one of the 13 on theRhine with importantJewish communities.[4] Jewish residents in Andernach were first mentioned in theKöln archives in 1255.[5] The Jewish community was periodically persecuted during the 13th to 15th centuries. On 3 August 1287 ArchbishopSiegfried II of Westerburg issued a protection decree for the town Jews from the local Burghers.[5] Persecutions occurred especially during the 14th century by theArnold von Uissigheim"Armleder" persecutions and in 1348–1349, as a result of theBlack Death Jewish persecutions.[4] It appears as if between the 15th and the 19th centuries no Jews lived in Andernach. In 1860, a new Jewish community was founded in Andernach. Its cemetery, dated to 1888, is part of the city cemetery on KoblenzerStrasse.[4]OnKristallnacht in 1938, the townsynagogue was set on fire and most of the young men were taken toDachau.[4] At least 11 Jews who used to live in Andernach were murdered duringthe Holocaust, and no Jews lived in Andernach after 1945.[4]Several sites commemorate the history of Jewish community of Andernach. An ancient JewishMikveh, dated to the 13th century, is one of the oldest ones in Europe and can be found under the old town house, built in the 16th century close to the site where the synagogue stood.[6] The Mikveh can be visited.
DuringWorld War II a transit camp for theNazi victims ofAction T4 was in the town. The institute in Andernach sent mentally ill patients and disabled people to theHadamar Euthanasia Centre, where they were murdered. Between 1941 and 1944 about 1,560 people were sent to Hadamar through the Andernach transit hospital. In 1996, a memorial was built at the city center, commemorating the victims. The interior of the memorial is lined with mirrors on which the names of the known victims are engraved. 400 other dots stand for victims whose names are unknown.[9]
Inge Helten (born 1950), athlete (sprinter) of the DJK Andernach up to 1971, 1976 100-metre world record, as well as silver and bronze at the Olympic Games 1976
Stephan Ackermann (born 1963), theologian, made 1981 his abitur at the Kurfürst-Salentin-Gymnasium, since 2009 Bishop of Trier
Andernach train station is located at Left Rhine Railway (Mainz - Koblenz - Bonn - Cologne) as well asCross Eifel Railway (Andernach - Mayen - Kaisersesch - Ulmen - Daun - Gerolstein), the section between Kaisersesch and Gerolstein is currently out of service.
Two more train stations are in Andernach, Namedy on Left Rhine Railway and Miesenheim at Cross Eifel Railway.
