Wetzlar Wappen neu.png
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the university town is one of the ten regional centers in the state of Hesse. A former free imperial city, it gained much of its fame as the seat of the Imperial Supreme Court ('' Reichskammergericht'') of the Holy Roman Empire. Located 51 kilometers north of Frankfurt, at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Frame Road, which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of the Taunus. Tourists know the city for its ancient town and its medieval Catholic/Protestant shared cathedral of St. Mary. Notable architectural features include the Eisenmarkt and the steep gradients and tightly-packed street layout of a medieval town. The building of the sandstone cathedral commenced in the 12th century in Romanesque style. In the later Middle Ages the construction continued under a master plan in Gothic style. The church was never finished—one steeple still remains uncompleted. The cathedral suffered heavy damage in the Second World War from
aerial bombing An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, Fighter aircraft, fighters, bomber, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopter ...
, but restoration took place in the 1950s. On the outskirts of town along the river stand the ruins of several stone towers. The town hosted the '' Hessentag'' state festival twice (the 15th and the 52nd in 1975 and 2012 respectively).


Geography

Wetzlar lies in the Lahn-Dill area in
Middle Hesse The region of Middle Hesse (german: Region Mittelhessen, ) is one of three planning regions in the German state of Hesse, alongside North and South Hesse. Its territory is identical with that of the administrative province of Gießen (''Regierung ...
on the river Lahn, not far downstream from where it changes direction from south to west in the heights near the mouth of the Dill. The town lies at a point that divides the low Hessian mountain ranges: south of the Lahn lies the Taunus; north of the Lahn and west of the Dill the Westerwald begins; north of the Lahn and east of the Dill the
Rothaargebirge The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany. It is believed that its name must once have been ...
begin. The highest point within town limits is the Stoppelberg at 401 m above sea level. Wetzlar's neighbouring towns and cities are Gießen (up the Lahn from centre to centre about 12 km),
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 ...
down the Lahn, Limburg an der Lahn to the west, Siegen to the northwest, Dillenburg to the north, Marburg to the northeast and Frankfurt am Main to the south. Wetzlar and Gießen are the two cores of this small (about 200,000 inhabitants) urban agglomeration in Middle Hesse. Along the valleys of the Lahn (east and west) and Dill (north) are heavily built-up neighbouring communities, whose built-up areas in some places merge with Wetzlar's. The low mountain ranges around Wetzlar to the northwest, northeast and south, on the other hand, are heavily wooded and very thinly populated.


Neighbouring communities

Wetzlar borders in the northwest on the town of
Aßlar Aßlar (or Asslar, ) is a town near Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Aßlar lies on a foothill of the Westerwald range as well as on the river Dill, which empties into the Lahn in neighbouring Wetzlar, abou ...
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis), to the north and northeast on the communities of
Hohenahr Hohenahr () is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hohenahr lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at a height of between 260 and 440 m above sea level. Its constituent communities of Ahrdt and Mudersbach are on th ...
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Biebertal ( Gießen district), to the east on the communities of
Lahnau Lahnau is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany, and lies about midway – about 6 km each way – between the towns of Wetzlar and Gießen. Geography Neighbouring communities Lahnau borders in the north on the community of ...
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Heuchelheim and the town of Gießen (both in Gießen district), to the south on the communities of
Hüttenberg Hüttenberg is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hüttenberg lies about 6 km southeast of Wetzlar and 10 km southwest of Giessen south of the river Lahn. Neighbouring communities Hüttenberg b ...
and
Schöffengrund Schöffengrund is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Schöffengrund lies only a few kilometres south of Wetzlar in the Hochtaunus Nature Park. Neighbouring communities Schöffengrund borders in the north ...
and to the west on the town of Solms (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).


Constituent communities

The core area of Wetzlar with 30,684 inhabitants is divided into twelve boroughs (''
Stadtbezirk A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as "borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a metropo ...
e''): Altstadt, Neustadt, Hauser Berg, Büblingshausen, Sturzkopf, Stoppelberger Hohl, Nauborner Straße, Silhöfer Aue/Westend, Altenberger Strasse, Dalheim, Dillfeld and Niedergirmes. Niedergirmes is with over 6,000 inhabitants the largest municipality. Furthermore, there are 8 districts ('' Stadtteile'') outside the core area. Five of them have long since been swallowed up in Wetzlar's main built-up area. All, however, became part of Wetzlar with the dissolution of the city of Lahn in 1979, excluding Blasbach, Dutenhofen and Münchholzhausen which have long belonged to the city. These are east of the core towns of Naunheim (3882), Garbenheim (2080), Münchholzhausen (2420) and
Dutenhofen Dutenhofen is the eastmost borough of the city of Wetzlar, Germany. It has approximately 3,100 residents (December 31, 2005). Geography The district lies in the Lahntal region just south of the Lahn. Nearby is the Dutenhofener See, a lake featurin ...
(3152). Nauborn (3721) is located south of the core area and Steindorf (1704) follows on from the west central area. North of the core area are Blasbach (994) and Hermannstein (3588) (population in brackets, as of December 31, 2007).


Climate

Wetzlar has a year-round temperate seasonal climate of the middle latitudes. Between the different elevations there are different small climatic conditions. The daily mean temperature in summer is about and in winter about . The average rainfall is , slightly below the German national average. On the high ground to the south and north of the Lahn valley there is a rainfall of which is exactly the national average. The wettest months are June and December, with and , the driest month is February with .


Demography

Wetzlar had on 31 December 2005 a municipal census for the city of 52,741 inhabitants (of which 21,946 are male and 24,313 female), 31,022 of which came from the core city (Kernstadt) and 21,719 in the 8 districts. Thus Wetzlar it the eleventh largest city in Hesse. The proportion of foreigners is 11.6% (6371 inhabitants), these are spread over 103 nations. The unemployment rate in the district of the employment agency without the offices of Dillenburg and Wetzlar Biedenkopf (which includes the city of Wetzlar, and 12 surrounding municipalities) was in July 2009 6.9%, which corresponds to 5698 unemployed.


Geology

Wetzlar lies on the eastern edge of the
Rhenish Massif The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (german: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south to n ...
. The substrate consists of geologically young sediments of the Lahn and much older
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
and
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
rocks of the two main geological units of the Massif, the Lahnmulde and the so-called
Giessen nappe The Giessen nappe (german: Gießener Decke) is a tectonic nappe in the southeastern part of the Rhenish Massif in western Germany. The nappe is an "alien" (allochthonous) unit in the Rhenohercynian zone of the Hercynian orogeny, it was thrust ove ...
. The northwestern part of the urban area lies on the Lahntal silt, sand and
gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...
, which have only slightly hardened. They were deposited by the River Lahn, at a point where its valley (which is still up to one kilometre wide) to the west becomes increasingly narrow and deep. The main part of the city is built on in part intensively folded, faulted and
slated {{Short pages monitor to 15:00 with the station and the shopping centre ''FORUM Wetzlar'' every 20 minutes. ; Airports : The distance to Frankfurt Airport is about , to the regional airport Siegen approx. .


Economy and business


Retailing

According to the figures of the Society for Consumer Research Wetzlar is one of the most attractive commercial locations in Germany. The city has a high centrality coefficient and a retail turnover of around EUR 10,000 per inhabitant. In Germany it takes third place among all cities with over 50,000 inhabitants. Wetzlar has two large shopping centres, of those the ''FORUM Wetzlar'' is the largest in central Hesse (''Mittelhessen''). It has around 110 shops and accommodates a large multi-storey car park of 1700 places. Retail trade is located mainly in the areas ''Bahnhofsstraße'', ''Karl-Kellner-Ring'' and the historic old town. In the Bahnhofstraße, the Karl-Kellner-Ring and in the two shopping centres where almost all goods are available.


Enterprises

The city is home to some internationally active and well known enterprises. The Buderus company was created in the year 1731 and is one of the oldest still existing (large) enterprises. As
BBT Thermotechnik BBT may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Big Bang Theory'', an American sitcom * "The Big Bang Theory" (''Family Guy''), an episode of ''Family Guy'' * ''Big Biz Tycoon'', a business simulation game by Animedia * ''Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu ...
, now part of the Bosch group, Buderus was for many decades one of the largest employers in the central Hessian area with more than 10,000 persons employed in Wetzlar alone (worldwide over 16,000), working in the areas casting (with cement), high-grade steel and heating technologies. Economic changes, repeated shifts of the stock majority as well as close-downs and sales of various divisions have strongly changed the company in the meantime. However, it ranks among the largest enterprises in Hesse. Wetzlar is apart from Jena and Oberkochen a German centre for optics as well as the most important German location for the precision engineering industry. The manufactured products have gained worldwide reputation. One of the most important companies in the area of microscopy is Leica Microsystems (formerly known as
Ernst Leitz Ernst Leitz GmbH was a German corporation based in Wetzlar, a German centre for optics as well as an important location for the precision engineering industry, now divided into four independent companies: * Leica Camera, manufacturer of camera an ...
), which in its peak times employed over 7000 people in the city. Small format (35 mm) photography was invented in Wetzlar, and
Leica Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetzlar, Germany. ...
cameras are well known for their excellent quality. In addition there are cameras of the companies
Leidolf Leidolf was a manufacturer of optical equipment situated in Wetzlar, Germany. It was founded by Rudolf Leidolf in 1921, initially producing lenses for microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are ...
and Minox, binoculars and telescopes made by the company Hensoldt AG (now Carl Zeiss), part of the Zeiss group (over 2,000 people employed in peak times). Other well-known firms are Philips (with about 1,200 employed at times) or Siemens AG and
Siemens VDO VDO is a German brand of Continental Automotive which makes automotive electronics and mechatronics for powertrains, engine management systems and fuel injection systems. A full range of Tachograph, Data Management, and Telematics products are p ...
, since 2007
Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...
or the Sancura BKK, a supraregional health insurance company, which is combined with the Taunus BKK. The Business park ''Spilburg'', former barracks, became home to a number of innovative enterprises, particularly in the area of optics/precision mechanics, information technology and services. Additionally, areas in the ''Westend'' as well as the ''Hörnsheimer Eck'' and the ''Dillfeld'' are available for new businesses to set up.


Education system

Wetzlar offers a wide variety of educational paths students can choose from


Nurseries

Traditionally a child's education starts in one of Wetzlar's 18 nurseries. There are public and private nurseries and religiously influenced ones. Children will spend between one to four years in one of these day cares, until they move on to an elementary school.


Elementary school

Wetzlar has around 12 elementary schools. This includes private schools and schools, who are dedicated to special needs children. Most elementary schools offer an afterschool day care program for students, whose parents are at work longer than the school day. In addition to these programs, the city has public day care facilities that provide afterschool care. The afterschool program consists of warm meals, tutors who help with homework and playtime. Kit
Marienheim
is an example. After spending four years in elementary school, students are off to middle school.


Secondary school

The middle (secondary) school system in Germany is quite extravagant, Wetzlar being no exception. There are three branches of middle school. The Gymnasium (comparable to A-Levels), Realschule (normal secondary school) and Hauptschule (lowest secondary school). Wetzlar has four secondary schools. The August-Bebel-Gesamtschule and the Eichendorfschule are so-called Gesamtschulen. They offer all three branches of secondary school. The Freiherr-vom-Stein Schule is a gymnasium (A-Level). The Steinschule recently changed from a G8 program, graduation after Grade 9, to a G9 program, graduation after Grade 10. It has a special program dedicated to science and sports classes. When applying to the school, students can decide if they'd like to join a sports class, a science class or a regular class. If they join a special class they will enjoy benefits, such as a whole day dedicated to their chosen subject (science or sports) and different fieldtrips. Next to the Steinschule is the Schule an der Brühlsbacher Warte. It is a school for special needs children. It is specialized in helping children with disabilities learn basic and career relevant skills. After completing Grade 5 to Grade 10 students now make important future decisions. They can now choose an apprenticeship, higher education, work, take a year off and many more. Most students choose to pursue their education and go to one of Wetzlar's High Schools.


Upper secondary education

Wetzlar is home to three upper secondary schools. The Käthe-Kollwitz Schule is a vocational center, which is specialized in nutrition, health, personal hygiene, and social affairs. The school is named after Mrs. Käthe Kollwitz (1919-1945), a German artist. The Thedor-Heuss-Schule Wetzlar is a ‘Fachhochschule’ or ‘kaufmännische Berufsschule’, which can be roughly translated into ‘commercial vocational school’. They primarily focus on health and economic education. It is named after the first Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss (1884-1963). Named after the Johann Wolfang Goethe (1749-1832), a famous German writer and statesman, the Goetheschule Wetzlar it is the biggest upper secondary school in Hesse with over 1000 students and ca. 110 staff members. It is well known for its varieties of subjects and extracurricular activities, such as multiple language exchanges and class fieldtrips. Before 2019 all three schools were sharing one facility that consisted of three smaller buildings connected by hallways, a shared auditorium and kiosk. Shortly before the new school year in 2019, the Goetheschule Wetzlar moved into a separate building. The old one was demolished, and the construction of the new school facility began. It is expected to be completed in 2021.


Higher education

The University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in Germany. The campus in Wetzlar is located in a redeveloped former military barracks area. The Zentrum Dualer Hochschulstudien (ZDH) has been offering the StudiumPlus since April 25, 2001. StudiumPlus is a dual university degree, which is a cooperation between the TH Mittelhessen and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The cooperation includes over 950 partner companies in the region. The dual study currently consists of seven bachelor's degree programs such as business administration, engineering / mechanical engineering, engineering / electrical engineering, civil engineering, software technology, organizational management in medicine and industrial engineering as well as the three master's degree programs in process management, systems engineering and technical sales.


Twin towns – sister cities

Wetzlar is twinned with: *
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
, France * Colchester, United Kingdom *
Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...
, Germany * Neukölln (Berlin), Germany * Písek, Czech Republic * Reith bei Kitzbühel, Austria * Schladming, Austria * Siena, Italy


Sponsorships

Wetzlar also sponsors: * Dori, Burkina Faso


Sightseeing


Historic Old Town

The tightly woven ensemble of historic buildings and houses in the Old Town (''Altstadt'') with its
half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
houses and stone buildings from Romanesque (Wetzlar Cathedral) to
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
to Renaissance and
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 ...
is to a great extent as it was in the late 18th century, preserved and extensively restored. Thus the great squares of ''Buttermarkt/Domplatz'' ("Butter Market/Cathedral Square"), ''Fischmarkt'' ("Fish Market"), ''Eisenmarkt'' ("Iron Market"), ''Kornmarkt'' ("Grain Market"), and the former ''Franziskanerhof'' ("Franciscan Yard"), now called ''Schillerplatz''. From the roughly 50 noteworthy buildings, a few are listed here: * A straight-walled half-timbered house from 1356 * The "Old Coin" (''Alte Münze'') at the Iron Market * The "Roman Emperor" (''Römische Kaiser'') from the 15th century, a former theatre and ballroom * The former Teutonic Knights' Court (''Deutschordenshof''), today a town museum * The ''
Lottehaus The Lottehaus is a museum in Wetzlar, Germany. It was the birthplace of Charlotte Buff, who lived there for the first 20 years of her life until she got married. The Lottehaus was originally an establishment of the Teutonic Order, which founded ...
'',
Charlotte Buff Charlotte Buff (11 January 1753, Wetzlar – 16 January 1828, Hanover) was a youthful acquaintance of the poet Goethe, who fell in love with her. She rejected him and instead married Johann Christian Kestner, vice-archivist and privy councillor ...
's house * The ''
Jerusalemhaus The Jerusalemhaus is a house museum at Schillerplatz 5 in Wetzlar, Germany. On October 30, 1772, the Braunschweig legation secretary Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem shot himself here in a two-room apartment on the second floor. Goethe, who knew him pers ...
'' in which Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem shot himself, thus attaining sad fame as Werther * The princely ''Palais Papius'' in which is nowadays found the collection of historical furniture assembled by Dr Irmgard Freiin von Lemmers-Danforth Also in the old outlying towns of Langgasse and Neustadt ("New Town"), connected to the Old Town by the Old Lahn Bridge (''Alte Lahnbrücke''), a number of historic buildings are preserved and are worth seeing. The New Town, however, has lost its mediaeval feel owing to its 20th-century four-lane roads. The stone ''Alte Lahnbrücke'' was first mentioned in 1288. A building meant to serve as the town hall, built in the mid 14th century, was used by the ''Reichskammergericht'' as their seat and offices from 1689 to 1806, after many remodellings. Considerable remains of the town's 13th- and 14th-century fortifications are still preserved, for instance a fortress tower known as the ''Schneiderturm'' ("Tailor's Tower") or ''Säuturm'' ("Sow's Tower"), the ''Kalsmuntpforte'' ("Kalsmunt Gate" – see History) which was the town gate for the earlier suburb of Silhofen, as well as large sections of the town wall. File:Wetzlar Altstadt 2003a.jpg, In the Old Town File:Wetzlar Altstadt 2003b.jpg, In the Old Town


Wetzlar Cathedral

The ''Wetzlarer Dom'' (Wetzlar Cathedral) is one of Wetzlar's landmark buildings. Building work began on the cathedral in 1230 and is still not finished. It is the successor to a former "Church of the Saviour" consecrated in 897. The monastery and parish church was called Cathedral as of the late 17th century. This designation was acquired during the time that the ''Reichskammergericht'' was active in Wetzlar (1693–1806), when the Elector-Archbishop of Trier was Monastery Provost, making the church a "Bishop's Church".


Culture

The
Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar The Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar (Fantastic Library of Wetzlar) was founded in 1989 and has become one of the largest public libraries specialised in Fantasy literature worldwide, it is the largest in Europe. It is generally a reference libr ...
(Fantastic Library of Wetzlar) is one of the largest public libraries specialising in fantastic literature worldwide, it is the largest in Europe. It is generally a reference library, open for the public and scientists.
Arena Wetzlar The Buderus Arena Wetzlar is a multipurpose indoor event facility located in Wetzlar, Germany. It hosts sports matches, concerts and exhibitions and is the home venue of the HSG Wetzlar handball team. The Arena is located beside Wetzlar railway s ...
is a multi-functional arena and is primarily used for pop concerts, shows and team handball and is the home arena of
HSG Wetzlar HSG Wetzlar is a professional handball club from Wetzlar, Germany. Currently, HSG Wetzlar competes in the Handball-Bundesliga, German First League of Handball (Bundesliga) and the DHB-Pokal, German Handball Cup. Crest, colours, supporters Kit ...
(Handball Bundesliga). Every summer, operas, music and drama are performed in the open air at the ''Freilichtbühne'' during the month-long ''Wetzlar Festival'' ("
Wetzlarer Festspiele The Wetzlarer Festspiele (Wetzlar Festival) is since 1953 annually a theatre festival, which taking place in the summer in the Hessian city Wetzlar. The festivals enjoy far an acknowledgment, going beyond Hesse. As the most important place for th ...
").


Notable people

* Friedrich Sixt von Armin (1851–1936), Prussian general *
Klaus Enders Klaus Enders (2 May 1937 in Wetzlar, Germany – 20 January 2019) was a German Sidecar racer. He was a six-time FIM Sidecar World Champion and a four-time winner of the sidecar class at the Isle of Man TT. Enders decided to retire at the end ...
(1937–2019), sidecar racer, world champion *
Jörg Siebert Jörg Siebert (born 2 April 1944) is a competition rower and Olympic champion for West Germany. Siebert won a gold medal in eight at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuat ...
(born 1944), rower, Olympic champion * Lukas Müller (born 1987), rower, Olympic champion *
Mareike Adams Mareike Adams (born 27 February 1990) is a German rower. She competed in the 2015 World Rowing Championships winning a bronze medal. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or sim ...
(born 1990), rower *
Cenk Tosun Cenk Tosun (; born 7 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Turkey national team. After making one Bundesliga appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt, he transferred to Gaziantepspor i ...
(born 1991), Turkish footballer


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 1803 disestablishments Lahn-Dill-Kreis Districts of the Rhine Province States and territories established in the 12th century