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Idar-Oberstein

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 160.149.1.36 (talk) at 19:19, 15 September 2011 (fixed a factual error. Lichtenburg castle near Idar-Oberstein was not the place where the Nazis had a concentration camp. That was a different Lichtenburg.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Idar-Oberstein
Town
Schloss Oberstein, castle on the hills above Oberstein
Schloss Oberstein, castle on the hills above Oberstein
Coat of arms of Idar-Oberstein
Coat of arms
Location of Idar-Oberstein within Birkenfeld district
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictBirkenfeld
Government
 • MayorBruno Zimmer (SPD)
Area
 • Total
91.56 km2 (35.35 sq mi)
Elevation
300 m (1,000 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[1]
 • Total
28,851
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
55743
Dialling codes06781, 06784
Vehicle registrationBIR
Websitewww.idar-oberstein.de

Idar-Oberstein is a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and known as the capital of Germany's gemstone industry. It lies on the Nahe River, in the district of Birkenfeld. It is the largest town in the Hunsrück region of southwest Germany and has a population of around 30,000.

Felsenkirche, a legendary church and symbol of the city

History

General History

The towns of Idar and Oberstein belonged to the barons of Daun-Oberstein (who later became the counts of Falkenstein) until 1670. In 1865, both Idar and Oberstein were chartered as cities, and finally in 1933, they united (along with the smaller towns of Algenrodt and Tiefenstein) to form the modern town of Idar-Oberstein.

Panorama of the city, Felsenkirche at right

The Felsenkirche, aka the Church of the Rock, and two ruined medieval castles are perched on the hills above the town, and are, after gemstones and jewelry, the chief tourist attractions in the city.

Burg Bosselstein

The German Army's artillery school is located in Idar-Oberstein. Baumholder, a United States military installation just south of Idar-Oberstein, was once the largest concentration of American combat soldiers outside the U.S., and a large number of its junior officers live in Idar-Oberstein. Strassburg Kaserne, a small U.S. Army post occupied until August 2008 by the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery, overlooks the city from the suburb of Algenrodt.

The Legend of the church Felsenkirche

According to legend, there were two noble brothers, Wyrich and Emich, who both fell in love with a beautiful girl named Bertha. The brothers lived in Castle Bosselstein, which was situated atop a 450 foot high hill. Bertha was from a noble line that occupied the nearby Lichtenburg Castle.

Neither brother was aware of the other's feelings for Bertha. When Wyrich, the elder brother, was away on some unknown business, Emich succeeded in securing Bertha's affections and, subsequently, married her. When Emich announced the news to his brother, Wyrich's temper got the better of him. In the heat of the moment, he hurled his brother out of a window of the castle and sent him to his death on the rocks below.

Wyrich was almost immediately filled with remorse. With the counsel of a local abbot, he began a long period of penance. At this time, Bertha disappears from historical record. Many romantics feel that she died of a broken heart.

As Wyrich waited for a heavenly sign showing that he was forgiven, the abbot suggested that he build a church on the exact place where his brother died. Wyrich worked and prayed himself into exhaustion. However, the moment the church was completed, he received his sign: a miracle spring opened up in the church.

Wyrich died soon after this. When the local bishop came to consecrate the new church, he found the noble lord dead on its steps. Wyrich was later placed in the same tomb with his brother.

History of Idar Oberstein as a gem center

Idar-Oberstein is known as a gemstone center; until the 18th century, the area was a source for agate and jasper. A combination of low-cost labor and energy helped the gemstone-working industry flourish. The river Nahe provided free water power for the mills that powered the cutting and polishing machines. When resources dried up, the area's industry came into decline until a way was found to provide new material to Idar. This occurred in the 19th century when large amounts of Agates were found in Brazil, and German traders were able to ship the Agate nodules back as ballast on empty vessels that had dropped off cargo in Brazil. The cheap agates were transported to Idar-Oberstein and a new way to develop industry was found. Using locals' technological knowledge of chemical dyes the industry grew bigger than ever at the turn of the 20th century.

After World War II, the region had to redefine itself once more, and it developed into a leading hub in the trade of gemstones from Brazil and Africa. That in turn provided local artists with a large selection of material and the region encountered a "third boom" as a gemstone center. More recently, however, competition from Thailand and India have hit the region hard.

Notable residents

Bruce Willis was born in Idar-Oberstein on 19 March 1955.

Entertainment

Museums

Since the early 1960s tourism has grown in importance for Idar-Oberstein. Today it boasts a number of modern facilities such as the Steinkaulenberg, a gemstone mine open to visitors, and the German Gemstone Museum, as well as several recreational resorts.

Dining

Spießbraten is a dish, typically pork or beef, associated with the area. For many years the town has hosted an annual festival, the Spießbratenfest. Many restaurants specialize in this marinated steak of beef or pork. It is cooked on an open pit over a beechwood fire and typically served with a salad of grated radish and potatoes, also cooked over the fire.

Other recreational activities

Options for recreational activity include tubing the Nahe river during the early summer, running and hiking through the diamond mine paths, and several recurring city festivals, including the Caribbean Fest.

Districts

Old Town:

  • Oberstein (8,794)
  • Idar (8,466)
  • Tiefenstein (2,642)
  • Algenrodt (2,382)

Population: 22,284

New Districts:

  • Göttschied (2,924)
  • Weierbach (2,703)
  • Nahbollenbach (1,970)
  • Mittelbollenbach (1,197)
  • Kirchenbollenbach (938)
  • Regulshausen (835)
  • Enzweiler (747)
  • Georg-Weierbach (709)
  • Hammerstein (573)

Population: 12,596

30th of July 2005

Partnerships

Idar-Oberstein has established partnerships with these cities:

References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
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