Mainz-Kastel is a district of the city

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, which is the capital of the German state

Hesse 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 ...

in western

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Kastel is the historical bridgehead of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, the capital of the German state

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 ...

and is located on the right side of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

river. Kastel faces the historical center of Mainz and the two cities are connected by a road bridge. Kastel is located about one kilometer below the mouth of the river Main, where it flows into the Rhine. In its long history Kastel repeatedly belonged to Mainz and was formally incorporated into that city on 1 April 1908. Since Mainz was part of the French occupation zone (formed after World War II) and Kastel was part of the American occupation zone, the Americans ordered that Kastel be brought within the administration of Wiesbaden. On 25 July 1945, Kastel was incorporated into Wiesbaden, the Hessian state capital, and has been part of it ever since. The newly formed German federal states adapted the boundaries of the occupation zones. Therefore, Kastel is a district of Wiesbaden and part of the German state Hesse. Kastel is one of six districts of Mainz on the right-hand side of the Rhine which were separated from Mainz in this way. The separation from Mainz is the issue of intense debates by local patriots in three districts (Kastel, Amöneburg and

Kostheim Mainz-Kostheim is a district administered by the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Its population is 14,381 (). Mainz-Kostheim was formerly a district of the city of Mainz, until the public administration by the city of Wiesbaden was decided on 10 Aug ...

). Many Kastel residents feel like they belong to Mainz which reflects, apart from the administrative affiliation, the reality of everyday life. The city center of Wiesbaden is about ten kilometers from Kastel whereas the city center of Mainz is just on the opposite side of the Rhine. The three mentioned districts of Wiesbaden still bear the designation "Mainz- ..." because until today no closed formal legal act has been made up. The signs, when entering the districts, are a curiosity because they say "Federal State Capital Wiesbaden District Mainz-Kastel". On the other hand, many inhabitants of Kastel feel like they belong to the German state Hesse (Mainz was a part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1815-World War II) and do not identify with Rhineland-Palatinate whatsoever. Adolphus Busch, founder of

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

, was born in Kastel (now Mainz-Kastel) in 1839. CB&I Lummus operated an office in Mainz-Kastel which has been bought by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the A ...

as of 30 October 2009.
" ''

''. Retrieved on 7 October 2011. The Briefzentrum (Deutsche Post), letter processing center for

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...

in the greater Wiesbaden area is located in Mainz-Kastel.

History

Mainz-Kastel was founded about 11 BC. At that time, the Romans built a wooden bridge across the Rhine connecting Moguntiacum (Mainz) with a castle on the right bank of the river. The wooden construction was replaced by a stone bridge in 71, which lasted until about 406. From this time the remains of a Roman triumphal arch were found in Mainz-Kastel, built around 19 A.D. In the cause of the

bombing of Mainz in World War II The German city of Mainz was bombed in multiple air raids by the Allies during World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as the United States Army Air Forces. These led to numerous victims and heavy damage throughout the cityscape. Ove ...

Mainz-Kastel was subject to air raids.

References

{{Authority control Boroughs of Wiesbaden Divided cities Former boroughs of Mainz