Diez an der Lahn is a town in Germany's
Rhein-Lahn
Rhein-Lahn-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the di ...
district in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, on the borders of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. Diez is the administrative seat of the
municipality of Diez.
Sitting on the confluence of the
Lahn
The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).
It has its source in t ...
and
Aar 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 the
House of Nassau-Dietz, which in 1815 became the
Dutch Royal Family
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
.
Geography
Geographical Location
![Diez Stadtkern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Diez_Stadtkern.JPG)
The center of Diez is located four miles southwest of
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn (officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Limburg lies in western Hessen between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn.
The to ...
and 31 miles east of
Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
. Diez, in
Rheinland-Pfalz
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, and the adjoining city of Limburg, in the state of
Hessen
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...
, 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 the
Rhenish Slate Mountains. The Lahn Valley serves as the boundary between the
highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
north of the
Westerwald
The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...
with the forest of
Taunus
The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and '' Altkönig'' (798 m).
The Taunus range span ...
rising to the south. This valley, the ''
Diezer gate,'' begins in the
Limburg Lahn basin and rises towards
Fachingen in the Lower
Lahntal
The municipality of Lahntal is found in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in northwest Middle Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Lahntal lies on the upper Lahn about 83 km north of Frankfurt am Main and about 7 km northwest of Marburg. In the nort ...
.
Geology
The soils in the region Diez mainly belong to the
brown or Luvisols. Diez itself is in a low area and traditionally has less snow than the surrounding uplands.
Prehistory
The first evidence of human settlement in the Diez area dates from the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
(v. 20000-12000 BC), as demonstrated by discoveries in the caves of ''Wildweiberlei'' (between Diez and
Altendiez
Altendiez is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...
). 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.
Medieval times
![Diez-Wappen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Diez-Wappen.png)
The name "Diez" itself seems to be a corruption of the Frankish ''
Theodissa'', which evolved to ''
Diedisse,'' which mutated over time to ''Dietz'' and finally to today's spelling of ''Diez.'' The settlement was known as ''Theodissa'' by the year 790 A.D. according to the charter of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
where it is listed as property of the
Abbey of Prüm
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
. Other early mentions In the post-Carolingian period include a reference to one Diez in the area of
Niederlahngau The Lahngau was a medieval territory comprising the middle and lower Lahn River valley in the current German states of Hesse and (partially) Rhineland-Palatinate. The traditional names of the Gau are ''Loganahe Pagus'' or ''Pagus Logenensis''.
The ...
, ruled by the
Conradines
The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany.
History
The family is first mentioned in 832, with Count Gebhard in ...
.
In 1073 that the Count of Die(t)z was mentioned for the first time in a deed of sale for goods in
Bodenheim
Bodenheim is a state-recognized tourism municipality (''Fremdenverkehrsgemeinde'') in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Geography
Location
The municipality lies roughly 12 km south of downtown Mainz on the edge of t ...
. Early references show that
Heinrich II of Diez (1145–1189) accompanied
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
on his Italian campaign where he was involved in diplomatic negotiations. His son
Henry III was part of the regency council and circle of tutors of for
Henry VII, which seems to indicate an atmosphere of growing influence for the town. The
Graf Gerhard IV (1276–1308) founded in 1289 a
collegiate at the foot of the castle hill. The founding community came from the Abbey of
Salz. The monastery was named ''
Saint 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 with
Gerhard VII. His daughter
Jutta of Diez had married
Adolf of Nassau (1362-1420) in 1376 and inherited the county. Their only daughter,
Jutta of Nassau, married
Godfrey of Eppstein and inherited half of the county while the other half came to Adolf's brother
Engelbert I of Nassau
Engelbert I of Nassau (, in Dillenburg3 May 1442, in Breda) was a son of Count John I of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Margaret of the Mark, daughter of Count Adolph II of the Marck.
Early years
Engelbert of Nassau was a student in Cologne, Ge ...
. The latter's descendants, the counts of
Nassau-Dillenburg
The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau.
Origins
Nassau, originally a county, developed ...
, acquired further parts of the
Eppstein
Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...
share in 1530, parts that had come down to the Counts of
Katzenelnbogen and, after they died out in 1479, to
Landgraf Heinrich III of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. From 1564 on, Diez castle was solely owned by Nassau-Dillenburg.
The modern era
William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen
Count William I of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources he is called William I of Nassau(-Dillenburg) and in some sources of Nassau-Katzenelnbogen. He was born with the titles Count of Nassau, Vianden and Diez. Two years before his death, he o ...
(1487–1559), called ''the rich'', owned the counties of
Nassau-Dillenburg
The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau.
Origins
Nassau, originally a county, developed ...
,
Nassau-Siegen
Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...
,
Nassau-Diez and
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
. His eldest son
William the Silent
William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...
inherited the principality of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
in Southern France from his cousin
René of Chalon
René of Chalon (5 February 1519 – 15 July 1544), also known as Renatus of Chalon, was a Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre.
Life
René was born in Breda, the only son of Count Henry III of Nassau-Bred ...
, as well as from his father the vast properties of the House of Nassau-Dillenburg in the Netherlands, which
Engelbert I of Nassau
Engelbert I of Nassau (, in Dillenburg3 May 1442, in Breda) was a son of Count John I of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Margaret of the Mark, daughter of Count Adolph II of the Marck.
Early years
Engelbert of Nassau was a student in Cologne, Ge ...
had received by marriage in 1403. William the Silent originally served the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
as governor of the
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
, but later defected and became the main leader of the
Dutch revolt
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
and in 1581 resulted in the formal independence of the
United Provinces of which he became the
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
. He was the founder of the
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
.
The early
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
extinguished in the male line with
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
(d. 1702), while the later House of Orange-Nassau (and the present
Dutch royal family
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
) descend in the male line from William I's younger brother
John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg
Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606) was the second son of William the Rich and the younger brother of William the Silent. He has a special place in the history of the Netherlands because he is the male-lin ...
, 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 in
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
and
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
at the same time.
![Diez_Oranienstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Diez_Oranienstein.JPG)
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, as
William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz
William Frederick ( nl, Willem Frederik; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe.
Biography
Family life
William Frederick was the s ...
, had married
Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau
Albertine Agnes of Nassau (April 9, 1634 – May 26, 1696), was the regent of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe during the minority of her son Henry Casimir II, Count of Nassau-Dietz, between 1664 and 1679.Geert H. Janssen, Albertine Agnes van O ...
, the fifth daughter of
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...
in 1652. She had
Schloss Oranienstein
Schloss Oranienstein is one of the palaces of the House of Orange-Nassau, sited at Diez on the Lahn. It was built on the ruins of Dierstein Abbey between 1672 and 1681 for Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau after she was widowed.
After the Fr ...
built from 1672 as her new residence at Diez.
Their grandson
Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711) became Stadholder in
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
and Groningen, and in 1702 became the heir of
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
and thus the founder of the younger House of Orange-Nassau and of the
Dutch Royal Family
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
. However, he had to split the Dutch properties with the King of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
who also descended from William I.
Johan Willem Friso's son,
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1747 until his death in 1751. During his whole l ...
, 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
Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...
left him his Dutch properties, including
Huis ten Bosch palace
Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and ...
and
Het Loo Palace
Het Loo Palace ( nl, Paleis Het Loo , meaning "The Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau.
History
The symmetrical Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman and Johan van Swieten and was bui ...
. William IV became stadtholder of the Netherlands in 1747 and reunited all of the Dutch and German possessions of his family (except for
Nassau-Weilburg
The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806.
On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...
) in his hand, styling himself ''Prince 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 the
Duchy of Nassau
The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
(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 the
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg (german: Großherzogtum Berg), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories be ...
in 1806.
William I of the Netherlands
William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...
recovered his former counties in 1813, but gave Nassau-Diez, Nassau-Hadamar und Nassau-Dillenburg to Prussia, in exchange with
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, 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 Lahn
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
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
Rhein-Lahn-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the di ...
merged with the spa town of
Bad Ems
Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Ba ...
, 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 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.
Religions
Christianity
Roman Catholic Church
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 the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in the
diocese of Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
is incorporated.
Evangelical Church (EKHN)
On the Protestant side, the main town of Diez
collegiate church community and the district of
the parish
The Parish was a Cajun cuisine, Cajun, Louisiana Creole cuisine, Louisiana Creole, and seafood restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, Portland, Oregon, Pearl District, in the United States. It was opened by Tobias Hogan and Ethan Powell ...
of
St. Freiendiez
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, each of
the
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
dean's office of the provost
Diez South Nassau in the
Evangelical Church in Hessen and Nassau (ECHN), belong.
Judaism
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 the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. The
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
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 suffered
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
s, giving early evidence of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
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 district
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
nate 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.
Diez hosted a German-Israelite children's home until its closure in 1935. A plaque on the
Schlossberg (Castle Hill above the stairs) remembers the
expulsion
Expulsion or expelled may refer to:
General
* Deportation
* Ejection (sports)
* Eviction
* Exile
* Expeller pressing
* Expulsion (education)
* Expulsion from the United States Congress
* Extradition
* Forced migration
* Ostracism
* Persona non ...
and
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
of Jewish children and their caregiver (s) on 20 August 1935.
Diez's
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was desecrated in the
November 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.
Politics
City council
Seats in the local council:
*
FWG = Freie Wählergruppe Diez-Freiendiez e. V.
*
BfD = Bürger für Diez e. V.
Sister City
Twinned with Diez is the Saxon spa town of
Bad Düben
Bad Düben (), until 1948 Düben is a town in the district of Nordsachsen in Saxony in Germany. It is situated at the southern end of the Düben Heath Nature Park ( Düben Heath), between the rivers Elbe and Mulde, which runs through the city cen ...
.
Arts and culture
Structures
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. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Diez Castle was commandeered by the German Army to interrogate "prisoners of special interest" captured on the western front, one prisoner being
Gertrude Legendre, the female
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
clerk/translator captured in 1944. 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 to
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, 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 the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
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 Benedictine ''Monastery Dierstein remain below. Princess Albertine Agnes' niece Henriette Amalie of Nassau-Diez, born a Princess of
Anhalt-Dessau
Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into t ...
designed the castle in 1696 as a
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
castle. In 1705 the building was completed.
Museums
The Museum 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 of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, the present
Dutch royal house.
The Regional Museum in the Castle of Diez 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
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 William V may refer to:
*William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030)
*William V of Montpellier (1075–1121)
*William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191)
*William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181)
*William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361)
*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.
Music and concerts
* Orange Steiner concerts
* Concerts in local Eberhard
* Sacred music
* Choirs, choral music
* Music Clubs
* Kalkwerkfestival
Visual arts
* Workshops in the cultural memory
* Studios in the Wilhelm von Nassau-Park
* Malkreis in house Eberhard
* Exhibitions in local Eberhard
Performing arts
* ''So-theater club'' in the cultural memory
* ''Theodissabühne''
* Theater in Limekiln
Cultural centers and venues
* Home Eberhard (exhibitions, concerts, readings, festivals and celebrations)
* Cultural memory theater, studios and music practice rooms
* Limekiln (Kalkwerk) with rehearsal rooms, theater group (s), held annually ''Kalkwerkfestival''
* Castle Rock Garden (live music, workshops, readings, parties and celebrations)
Festivals, entertainment, traditions
* Carnival
* Fair
* Festivals (Old Town Festival, Spring Fair, Martin Market, Grove Festival, Castle bivouac in Oranienstein)
Other facilities
* City Library (''Theodor-Osmer House,'' Wilhelmstr. 48, opened 19 May 2008)
* Municipal Archives in the house Eberhard
Economy and infrastructure
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.
Authorities, institutions, bodies
* District Court
* Federal Employment Agency
* Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rhein-Lahn (ARGE) - Job Centre
* Land Registry
* Tax Office
* Community association management
* Prison
* Motor vehicle - Admissions
* TÜV Rheinland Testing Diez
* State Office real estate and construction management (LBB), Freedom Diez
* National Road and Transport Rheinland-Pfalz, streets and office Diez
* Water and Shipping Authority Koblenz, Branch Diez
Urban development and city marketing
Downtown Alliance Diez (BID)
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.
Orange Table
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.
Traffic
![Diez bahnhof vectus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Diez_bahnhof_vectus.JPG)
The
Federal Highway 3 to the exit 41 ''Diez'' and
highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
54 and 417 are the main arteries serving Diez.
Diez is on the line between
Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
-
Gießen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
(the
Lahntal railway
The Lahntal railway (German: ''Lahntalbahn'') is a railway line between Niederlahnstein in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to Wetzlar in Hesse. Its western terminus was originally in Oberlahnstein. Trains now mostly operate between Kob ...
) on the
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
network and is served by both
Vectus Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH and Deutsche Bahn. The
Upper Westerwald Railway and the
Lower Westerwald Railway run through Diez-Ost station on the city limits to provide a connection between Limburg rail and the
Westerwald
The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...
. The closed
Aar Valley Railway ran towards Wiesbaden and is expected to be reactivated to Zollhaus (south of
Hahnstätten
Hahnstätten is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the association community of Aar-Einrich. It is situated on the river Aar, approx. 10 km south of Limburg an der Lahn, and 35 km ea ...
) 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 the
Orange Route The Orange Route ( nl, Oranje-Route, german: Oranier-Route) is a holiday route, that runs from Amsterdam in the Netherlands through North and Central Germany and returns to Amsterdam. It is 2,400 kilometres long and crosses the Netherlands and nine ...
, the Lahn Holiday Route and the Rhine Legends Route.
Education, education, schools
Kindergartens and nurseries
* Catholic kindergarten, Schlesienstrasse
* Protestant kindergarten and day care, Castle Hill
* Protestant Children day care center, cemetery road
* Protestant kindergarten, Bert-Brecht-Str.
* Waldorf Kindergarten, Wilhelm von Nassau-Park
Schools
* Karl-von-Ibell Elementary School
* Pestallozzi-school, primary school, district Freiendiez
* Secondary Plus Diez
* Sophie-Hedwig High School
* Nicolaus August Otto school (vocational school)
* Waldorf School Diez, comprehensive school and open all-day school
* OPTONIA, School of Optometry and Ophthalmic Optics
Educational institutions and adult education
* Adult Education and National Education Association e. e.V.
Youth Center and Youth Services
* Albert-Schweitzer-family work Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland e. V., Schaumburg St., weekly and group of children Diez
* Youth Centre, Wilhelm von Nassau-Park
Health and social work
Hospital and Clinic
* Hospital of the German Red Cross
* Clinic for Psycho-Traumatology
* Clinic for mother, father and child
Rescue and emergency services
*
Volunteer Fire Diez-Freiendiez
*
German Red Cross
The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.
With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within ...
Ambulance - Diez
* German Red Cross local branch - Diez
* DLRG - Diez / Altendiez
* Malteser Rhein-Lahn
Sport and Recreation
* Indoor "Oranienbad Diez-Limburg"
* Eissporthalle Diez, On Indoor
* Mini Golf Course in the grove
* Lahn-Lama Tours in and around Diez
Notable residents
* (1576–1649), lawyer, professor and statesman
*
Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (13 June 1592, in Wolfenbüttel – 13 January 1642, in Arnhem), was Countess of Nassau-Dietz by marriage to
Ernest Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz, and regent of the County of Nassau-Dietz during the abs ...
(1592-1642): wife of Count
Ernst Casimir
Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe.
Biography
He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Le ...
Diezer
*
Adrian Diel (1756-1839) physician
* (1809–1906), forester in the
Rhine province, known as the "father of the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
forest
*
Julius Oppenheimer (1825–1889), revolutionary years of the 1848
* (1827–1905), architect, ''Royal and rail operating supervisor''
*
Fritz von Unruh
Fritz von Unruh (; 10 May 1885 – 28 November 1970) was a German expressionist dramatist, poet, and novelist.
Biography
Unruh was born in Koblenz, Germany. A general's son, he was an officer in the German army until 1912, when he ...
(1885-1970)
* (1877–1965), German writer
*
Johannes Petschull (1901–2001), music publisher
* (1928-2012), mayor from 1974
*
Hans Jürgen Rose (b. 1941), television presenter and director ORB
* (1944), German diplomat
*
Fritz Korbach
Fritz Korbach (18 July 1945 – 14 August 2011) was a German professional football player and manager. He was particularly well known in the Netherlands, where he served eleven different teams, including FC Wageningen, FC Zwolle, FC Volendam, ...
(b. 1945), German football coach
*
Christa Prets (1947), Austrian politician, member of the EU Parliament
*
Roman Weidenfeller
Roman Weidenfeller (born 6 August 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga clubs 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Dortmund, as well as the German national team.
Weidenfeller spent 16 seasons ...
(b. 1980), German football player
*
Michael Stahl (born 1987), German football player
* (born 1978) German football referee
* (born 1981), German handball player
![Hadrian Diel Porträt w600](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Hadrian_Diel_Portr%C3%A4t_w600.jpg)
*
*
*
*
Sources
External links
*
Tourist Information DiezSite Marketing - Orange Table
The city of Diez in the calendars of the Landgrave - LAGIS Hessen*
{{Authority control
Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhein-Lahn-Kreis
Holocaust locations in Germany