Diez | |
|---|---|
 Castle | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Diez within Rhein-Lahn-Kreis district  | |
  Diez  Diez | |
| Coordinates:50°22′15″N8°0′57″E / 50.37083°N 8.01583°E /50.37083; 8.01583 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Rhein-Lahn-Kreis |
| Municipal assoc. | Diez |
| Government | |
| • Stadtbürgermeister(2019–24) | Annette Wick[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.41 km2 (4.79 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 11,211 |
| • Density | 900/km2 (2,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 65582 |
| Dialling codes | 06432 |
| Vehicle registration | EMS, DIZ, GOH |
| Website | www.stadt-diez.de |
Diez (German pronunciation:[ˈdiːts]ⓘ) is a town in Germany'sRhein-Lahn district inRhineland-Palatinate, on the borders ofHesse. Diez is the administrative seat of themunicipality of Diez.
Sitting on the confluence of theLahn andAar rivers, the town and the area have been inhabited by humans since the Stone Age. The old town is dominated by an eleventh century castle, now a youth hostel and museum. It is the ancestral home of theHouse of Nassau-Dietz, which in 1815 became theDutch royal family.
The center of Diez is located four miles southwest ofLimburg an der Lahn and 31 miles east ofKoblenz. Diez, inRheinland-Pfalz, and the adjoining city of Limburg, in the state ofHessen, are so close that in modern times they have increasingly merged into a single urban area, although they remain historically and politically distinct. The low rolling hills around Diez form part of theRhenish Slate Mountains. The Lahn Valley serves as the boundary between thehighlands north of theWesterwald with the forest ofTaunus rising to the south. This valley, theDiezer gate, begins in theLimburg Lahn basin and rises towardsFachingen in the LowerLahntal.
The soils in the region Diez mainly belong to thebrown or Luvisols.[3][4] Diez itself is in a low area and traditionally has less snow than the surrounding uplands.
The first evidence of human settlement in the Diez area dates from theStone Age (v. 20000-12000 BC), as demonstrated by discoveries in the caves ofWildweiberlei (between Diez andAltendiez).[5][6] Other prehistoric evidence includes burial mounds and pottery finds of Latène which would seem to indicate primitive cultures present during the Celtic period. The fertility of the Diez valley and its location at the confluence of the Lahn and the Aar clearly made it a natural place for primitive peoples to settle.
The name "Diez" itself seems to be a corruption of the FrankishTheodissa, which evolved toDiedisse, which mutated over time toDietz and finally to today's spelling ofDiez. The settlement was known asTheodissa by the year 790 A.D. according to the charter ofCharlemagne where it is listed as property of theAbbey of Prüm. Other early mentions In the post-Carolingian period include a reference to one Diez in the area ofNiederlahngau, ruled by theConradines.
In 1073 that the Count of Die(t)z was mentioned for the first time in a deed of sale for goods inBodenheim. Early references show thatHeinrich II of Diez (1145–1189) accompaniedFrederick Barbarossa on his Italian campaign where he was involved in diplomatic negotiations.[7] His sonHenry III was part of the regency council and circle of tutors of forHenry VII, which seems to indicate an atmosphere of growing influence for the town. TheGraf Gerhard IV (1276–1308) founded in 1289 acollegiate church at the foot of the castle hill. The founding community came from the Abbey ofSalz. The monastery was namedSaint Mary's after the patron saint of the church. The town continued to prosper. By 1329,Ludwig of Bavaria bestowed the right of municipal law to Diez, and at that time the town was fortified with a wall with five entry gates.
The dynasty of the Counts of Diez ended in 1386 withGerhard VII. His daughterJutta of Diez had marriedAdolf I, Count of Nassau-Siegen in 1384 and inherited the county. Their only daughter, Jutta, marriedGodfrey VII, Lord of Eppstein-Münzenberg and inherited half of the county while the other half came to Adolf's brothersJohn II ʻwith the Helmetʼ,John III ʻthe Youngerʼ andEngelbert I of Nassau. The latter's descendants, the counts ofNassau-Siegen, acquired further parts of theEppstein share in 1530, parts that had come down to the Counts ofKatzenelnbogen and, after they died out in 1479, toLandgrafHeinrich III ofHesse. From 1564 on, Diez Castle was solely owned by Nassau-Siegen.
William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen (1487–1559), calledthe rich, owned the counties ofNassau-Dillenburg,Nassau-Siegen,Nassau-Diez andVianden. His eldest sonWilliam the Silent inherited the principality ofOrange in Southern France from his cousinRené of Chalon, as well as from his father the vast properties of the House of Nassau-Dillenburg in the Netherlands, whichEngelbert I of Nassau had received by marriage in 1403. William the Silent originally served theHabsburgs as governor of theSpanish Netherlands, but later defected and became the main leader of theDutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off theEighty Years' War and in 1581 resulted in the formal independence of theUnited Provinces of which he became thestadtholder. He was the founder of theHouse of Orange-Nassau.
The earlyHouse of Orange-Nassau extinguished in the male line withWilliam III of England (d. 1702), while the later House of Orange-Nassau (and the presentDutch royal family) descend in the male line from William I's younger brotherJohn VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and subsequently from the latter's fifth son,Count Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz. The Nassau-Dietz branch is also known as the "Friesian branch" because its ruling counts served as stadtholders inFriesland andGroningen at the same time.
In 1702, the Nassau-Dietz branch followed the House of Orange that had become extinct. The counts of Nassau-Dietz not only descended from William I., the Silent's, brother, but in female line also from himself, asWilliam Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz, had marriedCountess Albertine Agnes of Nassau, the fifth daughter ofFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange in 1652. She hadSchloss Oranienstein built from 1672 as her new residence at Diez.
Their grandsonJohan Willem Friso (1687–1711) became Stadholder inFriesland and Groningen, and in 1702 became the heir ofWilliam III of England and thus the founder of the younger House of Orange-Nassau and of theDutch royal family. However, he had to split the Dutch properties with the King ofPrussia who also descended from William I.Johan Willem Friso's son,William IV, Prince of Orange, inherited a number of Nassau territories besides his paternal Nassau-Dietz, namely Nassau-Hadamar in 1711, Nassau-Siegen in 1734, and Nassau-Dillenburg in 1739. In 1732,Frederick William I of Prussia left him his Dutch properties, includingHuis ten Bosch palace andHet Loo Palace. William IV became stadtholder of the Netherlands in 1747 and reunited all of the Dutch and German possessions of his family (except forNassau-Weilburg) in his hand, styling himselfPrince of Orange and Nassau.
The county of Nassau-Diez, like other Nassau territories, was occupied by Napoleonic France in 1795 and in 1806 was annexed by theDuchy of Nassau (ruled by the branch of Nassau-Weilburg) on 16–17 September 1796 as a consequence of the 2nd Coalition war between Austrians and French in the area between Diez and Limburg. By the end of the 18th century the entire west bank of the Rhine went to France and in 1803 a new Principality of Orange was formed from other territories, however only to be divided between the Duchy of Nassau and theGrand Duchy of Berg in 1806.William I of the Netherlands recovered his former counties in 1813, but gave Nassau-Diez, Nassau-Hadamar und Nassau-Dillenburg to Prussia, in exchange withLuxembourg, two years later. Prussia kept only Nassau-Siegen and soon ceded the other counties to the Duchy of Nassau which was however annexed by Prussia, including Diez, after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, for Nassau's support of Austria.
As a result of the Prussian Administrative Reforms of 1867 the Lahn district was created with the county seat of Diez. It Initially belonged to the lower LahnLimburg circle. The episcopal city became, however, in 1886 the seat of the newly established district of Limburg. In the course of municipal reform in 1969 Loreley circle the lower Lahn (located in St. Goarshausen)Rhein-Lahn-Kreis merged with the spa town ofBad Ems, which became the country seat. Diez was no longer even a regional administrative capital.
In World War II, 16 young Luxembourgers were executed in 1944[8] The execution is remembered in a memorial park with a memorial stone for the victims of Nazi tyranny.
A catastrophic flood which crested on 7 February 1984 led to millions of euros in losses in Diez.
The city of Diez, the Roman Catholic parish of the Sacred Heart in Diez and is associated with her to the Pastoral Area Diez, which in turn thedistrict in thediocese of Limburg is incorporated.[9]
On the Protestant side, the main town of Diezcollegiate church community and the district ofthe parish ofSt. FreiendiezJames, each ofthe dean's office of the provostDiez South Nassau in theEvangelical Church in Hessen and Nassau (ECHN), belong.
Almost nothing remains of the Jewish presence in Diez despite the nearly-seven-hundred year span of continuous Jewish survival in this town, a history virtually obliterated during theHolocaust. TheJewish population of Diez in the Middle Ages can be traced back to around 1286 and 1303. Already, by 1337 and then again in 1348–49, the Jewish population sufferedpogroms, giving early evidence ofantisemitism in Diez. Nonetheless, a small Jewish population persisted throughout the centuries, although the maximum number of Jewish residents was likely reached in 1895, when 130 Jews resided in the city. Diez was also the seat of the districtrabbinate at the end of the 18th century, then the seat of the Rabbi of Nassau-Orange. From 1860, it would be the Jewish community in Diez Rabbinatsbezirk Ems.[10]
Diez hosted a German-Israelite children's home until its closure in 1935. A plaque on theSchlossberg (Castle Hill above the stairs) remembers theexpulsion anddeportation of Jewish children and their caregiver (s) on 20 August 1935.[11]
Diez'ssynagogue was desecrated in theNovember 1938 pogroms, when the interior was destroyed. The building was demolished after the war, in 1951. The Nazis also destroyed Diez's Jewish cemetery (built early 17th century). On this site now sits the tax office. A more recent Jewish Cemetery from the late 19th century survives and continues to overlook Diez from a hill above the town, all that remains of the Jewish history there.[12]
Seats in the local council:[13]
| Year | SPD | CDU | FDP | FWG | BfD | WGR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 3 | – | 28 Seats |
| 2009 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | – | 28 Seats |
| 2004 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 28 Seats |
Twinned with Diez is the Saxon spa town ofBad Düben.
The dominant feature of the townscape is the high medieval Castle of Diez. The oldest parts of the structure date from the eleventh century. The castle was abandoned as a residence from the mid-1700s, and from 1743 to 1784, the count's castle was used as a Nassau office building. Subsequently, it served as a prison until 1927. DuringWorld War II, Diez Castle was commandeered by the German Army to interrogate "prisoners of special interest" captured on the western front, one prisoner beingGertrude Legendre, the femaleOffice of Strategic Services clerk/translator captured in 1944.[14] In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the castle was the site of the largest processing center of Lahn marble. Since June 2006 it has served as a youth hostel and, since 2007, also contains a museum.
Underneath is the medieval castle of the Count's Collegiate Church, built by Count Gerhard in 1289. It was dedicated toMary, seat of a Monastery. Inside there are several tombs of nobles and the Nassau Diez, among which stands out the intricately crafted tomb of Princess Amalie of Nassau-Diez. Another striking piece is theRoman grave stone. It is older than the church and its origin is unknown.
The city wall, as well as remains of one of the city gates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have also partially survived.
At the northern edge of Diez is the baroque Schloss Oranienstein, the 1684 Princess Albertine Agnes (1634–1696) Ruins of the BenedictineMonastery Dierstein remain below. Princess Albertine Agnes' niece Henriette Amalie of Nassau-Diez, born a Princess ofAnhalt-Dessau designed the castle in 1696 as abaroque castle. In 1705 the building was completed.
TheMuseum of Nassau-Orange in Oranienstein castle offers guided tours of the baroque castle rooms for periodic and shows the covers of Diez, of the noble family ofOrange, the presentDutch royal house.
TheRegional Museum in the Castle ofDiez Diez – aspects of the permanent exhibition: Pre-and Early History, History of the Count's castle, town history Diez (from the Middle Ages to the present), Prince gallery.
The "grove", known as "the Hain" is Diez's urban forest. The forty hectare site was originally part of the park of Schloss Oranienstein.William V (1748–1806) gave the area to the citizens of the city of Diez. Today, the Hain serves as a recreation area with playgrounds, zipline recreation areas, jogging trails, tennis, and mini golf courses.
Diez Bundeswehr site (see above) and has several small industries. Of significance was the limestone and marble industry, but most of the quarries were closed in the seventies.
Following the example of the North American concept of"Business Improvement District"s Diez in 2006 combined force to revive and redevelop the town's urban core. This process is on-going.
The initiative group "Orange Table", by Diezer citizens, is a non-industrial concentration to develop the environment of the city and region Diez.This work will take place in six existing working groups that choose to work within their subject area priorities and projects and process.
TheFederal Highway 3 to the exit 41Diez andhighways 54 and 417 are the main arteries serving Diez.
Diez is on the line betweenKoblenz-Gießen (theLahntal railway) on theDeutsche Bahn network and is served by bothVectus Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH and Deutsche Bahn. TheUpper Westerwald Railway and theLower Westerwald Railway run through Diez-Ost station on the city limits to provide a connection between Limburg rail and theWesterwald. The closedAar Valley Railway ran towards Wiesbaden and is expected to be reactivated to Zollhaus (south ofHahnstätten) in 2015.
Numerous bus routes in the Rhein-Mosel (VRM) Diez provide public transport links with the surrounding area.
The town is a stop on the German-Dutch holiday road theOrange Route, the Lahn Holiday Route and the Rhine Legends Route.
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