Aschaffenburg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Aschaffenburg | |
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| Image:Wappen Aschaffenburg.png | 
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Bavaria |
| Administrative region | Unterfranken |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 68,682 (2005) |
| Area | 62.57 km² |
| Population density | 1,098 /km² |
| Elevation | 133 m |
| Coordinates | 49°58′ N 9°09′ E |
| Postal code | 63701–63743 |
| Area code | 06021 |
| Licence plate code | AB |
| Mayor | Klaus Herzog (SPD) |
| Website | aschaffenburg.de |
Aschaffenburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Main and its confluence with the narrow Aschaff river, near the foot of the Spessart. The city of Aschaffenburg is not included in the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. It is also known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart mountain range." Although it is within Bavaria, the city's inhabitants claim to be Franconians, not Bavarians. This can be doubted as well as the city never was part of historical Franconia, but belonged to the archbishop of Mainz. Population: 66,800 (1999).
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[edit] History
Aschaffenburg, called in the Middle Ages Ascapha or Ascaphaburg, was originally a Roman settlement. Roman legions had their station here, and on the ruins of their castrum the Frankish mayors of the palace built a castle. Saint Boniface erected a chapel to Saint Martin, and founded a Benedictine monastery. A stone bridge over the Main was built by Archbishop Willigis in 989. Adalbert increased the importance the town in various ways about 1122. In 1292 a synod was held here, and in 1474 an imperial diet, preliminary to that of Vienna, in which the concordat was decided which has therefore sometimes called the Aschaffenburg Concordat.
The town suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War, being held in turn by the various belligerents. In 1842-1849, King Ludwig I of Bavaria built himself to the west of the town a country house, Pompejanum, so called from its being an imitation of the house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeii. In 1866 the Prussians inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians in the neighbourhood during the Austro-Prussian War.
The principality of Aschaffenburg, deriving its name from the city, comprehended an area of 1694 km². It formed part of the electorate of the Archbishop of Mainz, and in 1803 was made over to the chancellor, Archbishop Charles of Dalberg. In 1806 it was annexed to the grand duchy of Frankfurt; and in 1814 was transferred to Bavaria, in virtue of a treaty concluded between that power and Austria. Within Unterfranken, it now forms a part of the Bundesland of Bavaria.
[edit] Sights
Its chief buildings are the Schloss Johannisburg, built (1605-1614) by Archbishop Schweikard von Kronberg, which contains a library with a number of incunabula, a collection of engravings and paintings; the Stiftskirche, or cathedral, founded in 974 by Otto of Swabia, duke of Bavaria, but dating in the main from the early 12th century on, in which are preserved various monuments by the Vischers, a sarcophagus with the relics of Saint Margaret, and a famous painting by Matthias Grünewald; the Capuchin hospital; a theatre, which was formerly a house of the Teutonic Order; and several mansions of the nobility.
The graves of Clemens Brentano and his brother Christian Brentano (died 1851) and that of Wilhelm Heinse are on the Altstadtfriedhof.
Information originally based on http://www.1911encyclopedia.org
Aschaffenburg was the location of several United States Army installations throughout the cold war. The US Army occupied facilities formerly used and controlled by the Wehrmacht. The installation sites were known as Ready Kaserne and Jaeger Kasern, housing armor, infantry, engineer, maintenance and artillery elements of the US Army 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and various VII Corps elements including the 9th Engineer Brigade. Much of the US Army presence in Aschaffenburg ended in 1992 with the end of the cold war. The last bases will be given back in 2007.
[edit] Population
Historical Population of Aschaffenburg: 1939: 48,042 1950: 48,947 1961: 58,433 1970: 59,838 1987: 60,964 2002: 68,682 2004: 68,703
[edit] External link
- Official Website (German, English, French, Italian, Hebrew)
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