Neuwied
Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. The town has 13 suburban administrative districts: Heimbach-Weis, Gladbach, Engers, Oberbieber, Niederbieber, Torney, Segendorf, Altwied, Block, Irlich, Feldkirchen, Heddesdorf and Rodenbach. The largest is Heimbach-Weis, with approximately 8000 inhabitants. History. Founded by Count Frederick of Wied in 1653 as residence of the Lower County of Wied, Neuwied was located near the village of Langendorf , destroyed during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). It grew rapidly due to its religious tolerance. Among those who sought refuge here was a colony of Moravian Brethren. Near Neuwied, one of the largest Roman "castra" on the Rhine has been excavated by archeologists. On 18 April 1797 the French army, led by General Louis Lazare Hoche, defeated the Austrians under General Franz von Werneck at the Battle of Neuwied. Neuwied is the native town of paternal ancestors of John D. Rockefeller, traced to the 16th century and possible French Huguenot refugees. His father's line emigrated to the North American  colonies, arriving in New York in 1710, the year of a massive immigration of nearly 2800 Palatine Germans refugees, whose transportation costs from London were covered by Queen Anne's British government. Neuwied was also the birthplace of William of Wied, who briefly held the title of King of Albania in 1914. Geography. Parts of the 86.5 square kilometre area are divided into the suburban districts of: The core of Neuwied and the former village of Heddesdorf, which belonged to the municipality before these districts were added, are not listed as districts themselves. Since the inner city of Neuwied is  situated on a former bed of the river Rhine, it is at great risk of flooding. It is one of very few towns in the region protected by flood-prevention levees, a source of friction with communities downstream. Neuwied is twinned with the London Borough of Bromley. Politics. The 2019 municipal council elections led to the following distribution of seats: CDU (15), SPD (12), Greens (7), AfD (5), FWG (3), FDP (2), The Left (2), Ich tu's (2). Population. Originally there were only a few thousand people living in Neuwied with the number not growing significantly because of wars  and famines. With the industrialization in the 19th century the number of inhabitants increased from 5,600 in 1831 to 18,000 in 1905. By 1970 the figure had grown to 31,400 and following a major realignment incorporating several communities within the town, it jumped to 63,000. As of 30 June 2005 there were officially 66,455 people living in Neuwied. Infrastructure. Neuwied is connected to the German network of "Bundesstraßen" (national routes) (here: B9, B42 and B256). The "Autobahnen" (motorways) A3, A48 and A61 are quickly reachable from Neuwied. Public transport. Within the bounds of Neuwied are two railway stations, Neuwied and  Engers on the Right Rhine line, and a third station is under consideration by the state agency for northern commuter railway services (SPNV Nord), which is responsible for the service on the railway lines connecting to Koblenz Hauptbahnhof in the south and Köln Hauptbahnhof in the north. Via either of those stations, the German high-speed rail network and the InterCity network are accessible. Daytime service includes It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel to Koblenz while Cologne is about 70 to 80 minutes away, Mainz 90 to 120 minutes, direct connection to Frankfurt is around 150 minutes , sometimes faster when changing to the IC/ICE network. Public transport within Neuwied relies on a bus network, offering (depending on line) 20, 30 or 60-minute schedules, the majority of lines are served by Transdev. All public transport (road and rail) is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel public transport association. Tickets are valid for all service, restricted by time and fare zones. For more information on timetables see . Twin towns – sister cities. Neuwied is twinned with: