Bitburg (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪtˌbʊʁk] ; French : Bitbourg; Luxembourgish : Béibreg [ˈbəɪbʀəɕ] ) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem Air Base is nearby.
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County of Luxembourg 1239–1353
Duchy of Luxembourg 1353–1795
French Republic 1795–1804
French Empire 1804–1815
Kingdom of Prussia 1815–1871
German Empire 1871–1918
Weimar Republic 1918–1933
Nazi Germany 1933–1945
Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949
West Germany 1949–1990
Germany 1990–present
The city's name derives from its Celtic toponym, Beda.
Bitburg originated approximately 2,000 years ago as a stopover for traffic from Lyon through Metz and Trier to Cologne. The first name mentioned was Vicus Beda. Emperor Constantine the Great expanded the settlement to a road castle around 330, the central part of which forms the town centre today. Bitburg is first documented only after the end of the Roman Empire around 715 as castrum bedense. It subsequently became part of Franconia.
The first mention of Bitburg in historic annals occurred in connection with the signing in 1239 of the Trier-Luxembourg Treaty between Archbishop Theoderich II of Trier and Countess Ermesinde II of Luxemburg, under which the town came under the archbishopric's protection. Bitburg received a town charter in 1262 from Count Henry V of Luxembourg.
In 1443, Bitburg came under the sway of the Duchy of Burgundy, then in 1506 was acquired by the Austrian Netherlands, which controlled most of modern Belgium. In 1794 the city came under French administration, and in 1798 became part of the newly created Département des Forêts . This led to a short lived economic upturn, and Bitburg received among other things a court and a land registry.
In 1815, under agreements at the Congress of Vienna following the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Bitburg was, after having been a part of the Duchy of Luxembourg for centuries, transferred to the Kingdom of Prussia, where until 1822 it belonged administratively to the province of Lower Rhine, and afterwards to the Rhine province. With the unification of Germany under Prussian dominance in 1871, Bitburg became part of the German Empire, and after World War I the Weimar Republic of Germany.
In the interwar years, Bitburg, like most of the Eifel region, was impoverished and comparatively backward. Economic growth began after the Nazi Seizure of Power and the Nazi regime's introduction of employment-boosting public works projects, including infrastructure for war, particularly the Westwall; new armed forces barracks; and the development of the Nims-Sauer Valley railway. It is said that the building now used as the post office at Bitburg Annex (what is left of Bitburg Air Base) was the headquarters for Adolf Hitler when he was in the city.
In late December 1944, Bitburg was 85 percent destroyed by Allied bombing attacks, and later officially designated by the U.S. military as a "dead city." Subsequently, the town was occupied by Luxembourg soldiers, who were replaced by French forces in 1955.
In 1952 a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base was opened at Bitburg by the U.S. Air Force. At the end of the 1980s, French troops were withdrawn and NATO took over the former French barracks. After the First Gulf War most of the USAF forces were moved to the larger Spangdahlem Air Base, about 12 km east of Bitburg. In 1994, NATO turned the Bitburg Air Base over to the city, which devoted it to public works projects. The Nims-Sauer Valley railway was abandoned step by step, beginning in 1969. Parts of it were converted into a bicycle path (Radweg). [3]
In 1985, Bitburg came to international attention due to a ceremonial visit by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to the nearby Kolmeshöhe Military Cemetery – which among its 2,000 graves included those of 49 members of the Waffen-SS.
The most widely known Bitburg enterprise, and landmark of the city, is the Bitburger brewery. Its Pilsener-style lager beer ranks No. 3 among Germany's best selling beers, with sales of 3.86 million hectolitres (in 2008).
In 1995, the former NATO base was designated the Bitburg Airfield Trade Area, providing commercial development district where 180 enterprises have established themselves.
Bitburg-Erdorf station is part of the Eifel line (KBS 474). Trains that pass through include:
The Regional Museum of Bitburg-Prüm is housed in a former agricultural school. It contains numerous artifacts of the history of Bitburg and the Eifel Region in general.
In the cultural centre Haus Beda are exhibited works of the Düsseldorf painter Fritz von Wille (1860–1941), the Eifel's most widely known artist. More than 100 paintings are on display, including Die blaue Blume, Mosenberg, Burg Reifferscheid im Winter and Ein klarer Tag.
Bitburg is partnered or twinned with:
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich and Trier-Saarburg.
Vulkaneifel is a district (Kreis) in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the least densely populated district in the state and the fourth most sparsely populated district in Germany. The administrative centre of the district is in Daun. Neighboring districts are Euskirchen, Ahrweiler, Mayen-Koblenz, Cochem-Zell, Bernkastel-Wittlich, and Bitburg-Prüm.
Oberkail is a municipality in the rural area of Eifel in Rhineland-Palatinate in the administrative district Bitburg-Prüm and is part of Verbandsgemeinde Bitburger Land.
Meisburg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun, whose seat is in the like-named town. In Meisburg, a Moselle Franconian dialect is spoken.
Schleiden is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the Eifel hills, in the district of Euskirchen, and has 12,998 inhabitants as of 30 June 2017. Schleiden is connected by a tourist railway to Kall, on the Eifel Railway between Cologne and Trier. The town consists of 18 settlements, the largest of which are Gemünd and Schleiden proper.
Speicher is a town in the county of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Eifel, on the river Kyll, approximately 10 km south-east of Bitburg and 29 km north of Trier. It has 3,624 inhabitants and is next to the Spangdahlem Air Base which is home of the 52d Fighter Wing. There is a small monument to the men who died in the First and Second World Wars at the western end of the town. East of the monument is an open area for shopping and other events. Directly to the south is the parish church of St. Philip and St. James.
Aach is a municipality in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is part of Trier-Land, a Verbandsgemeinde.
Irrel is a municipality in the district Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Eifel, near the border with Luxembourg, at the confluence of the rivers Prüm and Nims. It is located approximately 15 km south-west of Bitburg and 5 km north-east of Echternach.
The Nims is a 61-kilometre-long (38 mi), lefthand arm of the River Prüm in the South Eifel region of the Eifel Mountains. It runs through the county of Bitburg-Prüm in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Landscheid is an Ortsgemeinde – which is a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Binsfeld near Wittlich in the Eifel is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Nearby is the American Spangdahlem Air Base.
Affler is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.
Badem is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.
Dockendorf is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.
Waxweiler is a municipality in the county of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is located in the Eifel, south of Prüm and is accessible through the Autobahn 60. The parish of about 1100 inhabitants lies 345 meters above sea level.
Rockeskyll is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Gerolstein, whose seat is in the like-named town.
The Trier West Railway a 14 km-long railway line running from Trier-Ehrang in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to Wasserbillig in Luxembourg via Trier-West. The double-track, electrified section between Trier-Ehrang and the Moselle bridge at Konz forms a bypass of the Trier rail node.
Bitburg-Erdorf station is a station on the Eifel Railway in Bitburg in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Nims–Sauer Valley railway (Nims-Sauertalbahn) branched off here to the now closed Bitburg Town station, the remaining part of which is only used for freight traffic and occasional excursion trains. Today Bitburg-Erdorf station is the only station in Bitburg that is served by regular passenger services.
Ehrang station is, after Trier Hauptbahnhof, the second most important station in the city of Trier in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The station forms a railway junction with a former marshalling yard that is still partly used as a freight yard. At the station, the Eifel Railway from Cologne connects with the Koblenz–Trier railway. Until 1983, Ehrang station was also the starting point of the Trier West Railway to Igel that connected with Wasserbillig / Luxembourg.