Königstein im Taunus
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Königstein im Taunus | |
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Location of Königstein im Taunus within Hochtaunuskreis district | |
Coordinates: 50°11′N 8°28′E / 50.183°N 8.467°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Hesse |
District | Hochtaunuskreis |
Government | |
• Mayor (2018–24) | Leonhard Helm[1] (Ind.) |
Area | |
• Total | 25.1 km2 (9.7 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 410 m (1,350 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 200 m (700 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 16,744 |
• Density | 670/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 61462 |
Dialling codes | 06174, 06173 Mammolshain |
Vehicle registration | HG, USI |
Website | www.koenigstein.de |
Königstein im Taunus (German pronunciation:
Geography
Neighbouring communities
Königstein borders – from northwest to east – on the communities of
Constituent communities
Besides the main town, which bears the same name as the whole, Königstein has three outlying centres: Falkenstein, Mammolshain and Schneidhain. Since 2001, Falkenstein has borne the designation Heilklimatischer Kurort (health spa) independently of the town's status as such.
History
Shrouded in legend, the town's founding date is unknown. The name 'Königstein' means 'King stone'. The local legend states that King Chlodwig (466-511), founded the town after building a castle on a hill as well as a chapel.[3]
Königstein had its first documentary mention in 1215, making it likelier that the castle was built around the 12th century for the town's – and the Frankfurt-Cologne commercial road's – security.
Also in that time came the town's first lords, the Counts of Nürings, but they were supplanted in 1239 by the Lords of Hagen-Münzenberg into whose ownership the castle went as an Imperial
By 1581, Königstein belonged to the
In 1803, Königstein passed to the Principality of
Königstein enjoyed an economic upswing from less wealthy times when the coldwater spa first opened in 1851. It reached its high point just before the
Jewish health resort and summer residence of the Frankfurt Jews
Königstein was regarded as a "Jewish spa" – this was especially in the era of
Königstein was also the residence of prominent Jewish citizens (for example
After Kohnstamm's death in 1917 until 1938 the owner of the renowned Kohnstamm sanatorium was Carl Frankl (also Jewish). Carl was a brother of the famous World War I fighter pilot Wilhelm Frankl (his brother Wilhelm had converted from Judaism to Christianity in order to marry his high school sweetheart). While in 1937, 24 hotels, hostels and guest houses still refused to do so and accepted Jewish guests, the following year, in 1938, all 54 hotels, hostels and guest houses in Königstein complied with Nazi law and added the following sentence to their advertisements: "All the guest houses are run Jew-free."
Königstein's mayor in 1938 commented on the reputation of Königstein as Jewish spa town in the context of public discussions of a suggested continued existence with the Jewish name kept of the
Even after the
Politics
Represented on town council are the
Coat of arms
Königstein's civic coat of arms was conferred in 1907. It is based on a town seal from 1535. The towers stand for the old Imperial Castle (Reichsburg). The Lords of Bolanden-Falkenstein are remembered in the red and gold field in the upper right (upper left heraldically speaking), as are the Counts of Nürings in the black lion, and indeed the Lords of Eppstein in the three chevrons.[2]
Economy
Purchasing power
Königstein has an extraordinarily high level of purchasing power. In 2010, their purchasing power index was of 191 percent (compared to the national average of 100 percent) and with that the highest in Germany.
Transport
Königstein is advantageously placed for driving. By way of Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B8 and B455, which meet in town at a
The nearest airport is
By way of the
Established businesses
Königstein im Taunus is an attractive place for business. The citizens' above-average buying power is a boon to local
The Commerzbank maintains a large training and conference centre at the edge of town, which is also available to third parties. The Deutsche Bank also has one between Falkenstein and Kronberg.
Town partnerships
Königstein im Taunus maintains partnerships with the following towns:
- Le Cannet-Rocheville, France
- Königstein, Saxony
- Kórnik, Poland
- Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe, France (with Falkenstein)
There is also a friendship agreement with:
- Königstein in the Upper Palatinate
Culture and sightseeing
Regular events
The greatest
As a new open-air highlight, from 2006, the Burgfestspiele Königstein ("Königstein Castle Festival Games") will be held, bringing to the stage a multi-faceted cultural programme in the unique atmosphere of the ruins: ambitious concerts and operatic and musical productions with large casts under the open sky. As well, business in the outlying communities is shaped by many festivals and activities.
Clubs
The Ritter von Königstein ("Knights of Königstein") have committed themselves to the Middle Ages and since 1998 have been staging a yearly Knights' Tournament with a mediaeval market at Königstein's picturesque castle ruins. The local young people who do this are supported in this endeavour by the club Stadtwache e.V. ("Town Watch").
Furthermore, each of Königstein's constituent communities has its own sport or
From 5 to 16 June 2006, on the occasion of the
The Königstein Fanfare Corps (Fanfarencorps Königstein) won the Europa Musikfestival in Rödemis in 2005 and the Solothurner Marching Parade, in which the Königstein Fanfare Corps was the first foreign club to participate.
Königstein also has, from singing clubs to a
Buildings
Besides the town's landmark, the Königstein Castle ruins, other buildings are worth seeing, such as the historic Old Town with its Old Town Hall (Rathaus), and Falkenstein Castle, and the Old Town also found there. Nearby there is a viewpoint called Dettweiler-Tempel, named after physician Peter Dettweiler, specialised in pulmonology, who helped establishing Falkenstein as a spa town. The viewpoint allows a look over parts of Falkenstein as well as of Frankfurt and its surrounding area. Located at the top of a small wooded hill there is the Villa Andreae. Built in 1891 by Frankfurt Banker Albert Andreae de Neufville, it was transformed into a boarding school (Schülerheim) in the post-war years (1957–1987).[4] Thoroughly restored, it became famous as Jürgen Schneider's headquarters from 1987 until his multi-billion-Deutsche-Mark bankruptcy in 1994.[5]
Architecturally important in its time was the Haus der Begegnung ("Meeting House") built in 1955 for the headquarter of Catholic aid organisation Aid to the Church in Need.
The health spa, built in 1977, was controversial at the time because of its blue-orange colour scheme.
Former
The Villa Rothschild, built in 1888 as a summer residence for Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild, was used in 1948 and 1949 as a conference venue by the Conference of Ministers-President to resolve disputed questions between the allied military governors and the Parlamentarischer Rat.[7] Today it is used as a Hotel.[8]
At the foot of the Burgberg ("Castle Mountain"), surrounded by a park through which flows the Woogbach and adjoining which is the Woogbach Valley is found Saint Angela's Ursuline Convent (Ursulinenkloster St. Angela), founded in 1884, and owning a like-named state-recognized private school.
Königstein is likewise well known for its idyllic Old Town. Its exclusive residential areas (also in Falkenstein) are mainly marked by Art Nouveau and its Heimatstil-influenced offshoots as well as 1960s Chic (bungalows). Lot sizes, however, are not comparable to those in other towns owing to new town planning and the building plans following therefrom.
Museums
The Castle and Town Museum (Burg- und Stadtmuseum) is found at the historic Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus)
Education
Schools
There are in Königstein various schools, among them three Gymnasien: the state Taunusgymnasium (formerly Taunusschule), the private St. Angela Schule and the private Bischof-Neumann-Schule.
Primary schools
- Grundschule Königstein
- Grundschule Falkenstein
- Grundschule Mammolshain
- Grundschule Schneidhain
- Kid's Camp Königstein
Secondary schools
- Taunusgymnasium Königstein, Gymnasium
- Friedrich-Stoltze-Schule, Realschule
- Bischof-Neumann-Schule, private school, state-recognized
- St.-Angela-Schule, private school, state-recognized
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Königstein (1949–1978)
On 29 April 1949, a Königstein Philosophical-Theological College was founded in Königstein as a self-standing
Bishop
The college produced 417 priests. It was dissolved on 15 February 1978.
Literature
For three years, from 1970 until his death in 1973, the writer and journalist Herbert Kranz (born 4 October 1891 in Nordhausen; died 30 August 1973 in Braunschweig) lived here.
The book Königstein im Taunus: Geschichte und Kunst ("Königstein im Taunus: History and Art") by Beate Großmann-Hofmann and Hans-Curt Köster (Königstein im Taunus 2010
Also of importance is the book Juden in Königstein ("Jews in Königstein") by Heinz Sturm-Godramstein (
Sundry
Health
There is in Königstein a comprehensive offering of health services. Besides the baths, there are various clinics, among them a
Famous Personalities
- Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau (1833 – 1916)
- art historian
- Franz Halder (1884–1972) Wehrmacht general
- metallurgist (developed V2A stainless steel)
- Herbert Karl Ludwig Kranz (1891–1973) writer
- Walter Christaller (1893–1969) geographer
- political scientist, writer, Antifascist
- Richard Musgrave (1910–2007) economist
- Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk (1920–2005)
- Jürgen Schneider (1934– ) building speculator
- Volker Reiche (1944– ) comic strip artist
- athlete
- Christoph Neubronner (1960– ) jazz pianist
- Hans Zimmer (1957– ) film composer and Oscar winner
- Father Werenfried van Straaten (1913–2003) called "Speckpater" ("Bacon Father"); founder of the international relief organization Aid to the Church in Need
- Michael Gross (1964– ) Swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medal winner
- Eva Pfaff (1961– ) tennis player
- Charly Körbel (1954– ) soccer player
- Christian Democratic Union member of the Bundestag
References
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 5 September 2022.
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. June 2023.
- ^ Henninger, Alois (30 September 2018). "Nassau in seinen Sagen, Geschichten und Liedern". Scholz – via Google Books.
- ^ Villa Andreae Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 3455111807
- ^ Luxemburgisches Schloss
- ^ Bundesrat: Vor 70 Jahren: Ministerpräsidenten geben Grundgesetz wichtigen Schub
- ^ Story - Villa Rothshild
History and Coat of arms have their own sources.
External links
- Königstein im Taunus
- Königstein im Taunus at Curlie