Linz am Rhein (in English ''Linz on the Rhine'') is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, 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 ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the right bank of the river

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

near

Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...

, approx. 25 km southeast of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

and has about 6,000 inhabitants. It is the sister city of

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Pornic Pornic (; ''Pornizh'' in Breton, ''Port-Nitz'' in Gallo) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. In 1973 the commune of Pornic absorbed the neighbouring municipalities of Sainte-Marie-sur-Mer and Clion-sur-Mer. Po ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Linz is the seat of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhinelan ...

'' ("collective municipality") Linz am Rhein. The town is also a destination for tourists thanks to its location next to the Rhine river and its colorful half-timbered houses.

History

The town of Linz was first mentioned in an official document in 874 and called "Lincesce". Between 1206 and 1214 the parish church of St. Martin was built at the most elevated spot of the town. A former church, which was located at the same place, had been destroyed during the fights of

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...

and

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (w ...

in 1198. During reconstruction work in 1981 the remains of graves and foundations belonging to the former church were found. The most important political decision for Linz was taken in the late Middle Ages. Between 1304 and 1332 Linz was officially awarded city status by the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palat ...

Heinrich II of Virneburg Count Heinrich II of Virneburg (german: Graf Heinrich II. von Virneburg) (1244 or 1246 – 5 January 1332) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1304 to his death in 1332. Life Heinrich was the sixth son of Count Heinrich of Virneburg (??1238-1290) and ...

. Shortly after having been declared a "city", the castle

Burg Linz The Castle of Linz (german: Burg Linz) is a castle in Linz am Rhein, Germany, built between 1364 and 1368 by Heinrich von Virneburg, who was the archbishop of Cologne at the time. The main function of the castle was to collect river tolls. Durin ...

was built. In 1391 a fire destroyed two thirds of the city. In 1475 the Emperor's troops occupied Linz during the

Neuss War The Cologne Diocesan Feud (german: Kölner Stiftsfehde, or ''Stiftsfehde zu Köln''), also called the Neuss War (''Neusser Krieg'') or Burgundian War (''Burgundischer Krieg''), was a conflict, which began in 1473, between the Archbishop of Cologne, ...

. The town hall, which is one of the major sights of Linz, was built in 1517. In 1815, Linz became part of Prussia. One year later in 1816 Linz received the status of a district town ("Kreisstadt"). This status was revoked in 1822 and Linz became part of the Neuwied county. After the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Linz became a part of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946. In the 1970s the city expanded with the new residential area "Roniger Hof". In 1979 the local hospital was put into service.

Gallery

File:505linz, burg.jpg, Town hall File:Rheintor Linz am Rhein.jpg, Rhine tower File:Schloss Rennenberg 4.jpg, Rennenberg castle

Mayors

* 1812–1813: Engelbert Schwamborn * 1817–1820: Friedrich Adolph von Cocy * 1820–1842: Franz Kerp * 1842–1848: Franz Stephan Christmann * 1848–1851: Rudolf Jakob von Gerolt zur Leyen * 1851–1856: Hubert Hubaleck * 1856: Johann Schmitz * 1856–1871: Willibrord Thiesen * 1871–1910: Julius Lerner * 1910–1914: Hugo Menzel * 1914–1932: Paul Pieper * 1933: Eugen Mehliß * 1933: Rahms (given name unknown) * 1933–1938: Franz Weyand, * 1939–1944: Paul Wiezorke * 1944–1945: Matthias Wagner * 1945: Franz-Josef Wuermeling, CDU * 1945–1947: Wilhelm Hoffmann * 1947–1948: Peter Frings CDU * 1948–1956: Wilhelm Hoffmann * 1956–1972: Leo Thönnissen, SPD * 1972–1974: Theo Lück, SPD * 1974–1979: Hans Breitenbach, CDU * 1979–1989: Theo Lück, first SPD, from 1984 FWG * 1989–2014: Adi Buchwald, CDU * since 2014: Hans Georg Faust, CDU

Notable people

Ferdinand Malaisé by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Ferdinand von Malaisé Ferdinand Malaisé, after 1862 Ritter Ferdinand von Malaisé (23 February 1806, Linz on the Rhine, Germany – 29 June 1892, Munich, Germany). Knight of the Order of St. Joseph of Tuscany (III Class), the Iron Crown of Austria (II Class with ...

(1806-1892); Bavarian General, Educator of King Ludwig III of Bavaria * Anton Joseph Weidenbach (1809-1871), historian and archivist *

Manfred Bruns Manfred Bruns (1934, Linz am Rhein – 22 October 2019) was a federal prosecutor at the Federal Court of Justice of Germany, and a famous German gay civil rights activist. He was until 2016 a member of the Board of Directors of the Lesbian and Gay ...

(born 1934), Federal Prosecutor at the Federal Court of Justice *

Alex Kempkens Alex Kempkens (born Alexander Kempkens, 24September 1942) is a German photographer, photojournalist and computer artist. He also writes articles and curates exhibitions. Kempkens is an autodidact. Life Early life Born in Linz am Rhein, Germ ...

(born 1942), photographer *

Osvaldo Bayer Osvaldo Bayer (18 February 1927 – 24 December 2018) was an Argentine writer and journalist. He lived in Buenos Aires. In 1974, during the presidency of Isabel Perón, he went into exile, residing in Linz am Rhein, Germany, throughout the Nation ...

(born 1927), German-Argentine anarchist journalist and historian, resided in the town during the 1976-1983 Argentine

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

Notes

External links