Remagen
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Ahrweiler
Town subdivisions	5
Mayor	Herbert Georgi (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	33. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. German districts (de ''Kreise'' or de ''Landkreise'' in the states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein, singular de ''Kreis'' and de ''Landreis'' Ahrweiler is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Burgomaster (alternatively spelled Burgo[[meister]], literally translated meaning master of the town or master of the Fortress The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 16 km² (12. 8 sq mi)
Elevation	60 m  (197 ft)
Population	16,267  (31/12/2006)
- Density	491 /km² (1,271 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	AW
Postal code	53424
Area codes	02642, 02228
Website	www.remagen.de
Location of the town of Remagen within Ahrweiler district
Coordinates: 50°34′43″N 7°13′50″E / 50.57861, 7.23056

Remagen is a city in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Central European Summer Time ( CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+1 is used in the following locations Central European Time West Africa Time Western European Summer Time UTC+2 corresponds to the following Time zones Eastern European Time Egypt Standard Time Central Africa Time German car number plates ( Kfz-Kennzeichen) show the place where the car carrying them is registered __FORCETOC__ Postal codes in Germany, Postleitzahl (plural Postleitzahlen abbreviated to PLZ consist of five digits which indicate the wider area (first two digits and the see also Telephone numbering in Germany for further codes including service numbers cell phones etc A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Ahrweiler is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is about a one hour's drive from Cologne (Köln), just south of Bonn, the former West-German capital. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia It is situated on the River Rhine, which is constantly busy with ships. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10-15 minutes in the summer. Remagen has many beautiful and well-maintained buildings, churches, castles, and monuments. It also has a sizeable pedestrian zone with plenty of shops.

Overlooking the west bank of the Rhine just north of the city centre is the Apollinariskirche. It has a great observation deck that is only open to parishioners on Sundays. Pedestrians reach the church via a dirt trail that passes a series of roadside monuments representing each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The church grounds contain an outdoor crypt and an abbey. Further down the river is one of the many castles along the River Rhine, perched even higher than the Apollinariskirche.

Contents 1 History 1.1 The Bridge at Remagen 1.2 The capture of the bridge 1.3 The bridge in the media 1.4 Memorial 2 Notes and references 3 External links

History

The Roman Empire built a border fort at Rigomagus (or Ricomagus), west of the Rhine. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial This was about 12 miles north of the site of the first bridge ever built across the Rhine (at Neuwied). Neuwied (nɔʏˈviːt is a town in the north of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. This bridge fought the river current by being built on timbers which were driven into the bed at a slant. Caesar's troops spent nearly three weeks on the east side of the river, then crossed back over, destroying the bridge to prevent its use by German raiders. A second bridge was likewise destroyed by the builders once they were through with it.

The fort was one of a series built by Drusus, commander of the Roman army along the Rhine. Other Roman construction survived the centuries, including a gateway, and Remagen became a tourist destination, popular with history buffs.

Local legend says that a ship carrying various relics from Milan to Cologne was stopped in the river in 1164, unable to move despite the strong current, until it mysteriously edged in toward the shore. The remains of St Apollinaris were put ashore, and the ship was then able to sail onward. These remains were interred in a chapel which had been part of the Roman fort, which became the basis for a church which bore his name, and was rebuilt several times over the years.

The Bridge at Remagen

The Ludendorff Bridge was originally built during World War I as a means of moving troops and logistics west over the Rhine to reinforce the Western Front. Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as von Ludendorff) (9 April 1865–20 December 1937 was a German Army officer, Generalquartiermeister World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All See Western Front (disambiguation for other meanings Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World The bridge was designed by Karl Wiener, an architect from Mannheim. Mannheim is a City in Germany. With 327318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart It was 325 meters long, had a clearance of 14. 8 meters above the normal water level of the Rhine, and its highest point measured 29. 25 meters. The bridge carried two rail lines and a pedestrian walkway. During World War II, one rail line was planked over to allow vehicular traffic. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

The capture of the bridge

Main article: Ludendorff Bridge

The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen—the last standing span over the Rhine—was captured by American soldiers of the U.S. 9th Armored Division on 7 March 1945, during Operation Lumberjack. History The bridge was built by Grün & Bilfinger between 1916 and 1919 to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the History The bridge was built by Grün & Bilfinger between 1916 and 1919 to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the The 9th Armored Division (the "Phantom Division" was an armoured division of the United States Army in World War II. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Operation Lumberjack was a Military operation conducted in the last stages of the war in Europe during World War II. Although the bridge was mined by German engineers prior to the approach of the Allies, the fuses were cut by two Polish engineers from Silesia, forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht^[1].

On 7 March 1945, men of the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, led by Lieutenant Karl H. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Timmermann approached the bridge to find it still standing. From U. S. Airforce Oral History Interview K239. 0512-1648 of Helmut A. Kuerschner by Dr. James C. Hasdorff : . . . "in March 1945, the U. S. Army crossed the Rhine River at Remagen. That's the famous bridge which was intentionally not destroyed by the German military. As a matter of fact, as it has been documented, they disobeyed orders to destroy it because they knew it was senseless". The first soldier across the bridge was Sergeant Alex Drabik; Timmermann was the first officer across.

The capture of the bridge is referred to in U. S. histories as the "Miracle of Remagen". General Eisenhower stated that "the bridge is worth its weight in gold". Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general A small number of U. S. formations were able to operate east of the Rhine in advance of the main crossings to the south under Patton and Bradley, and to the north under Montgomery (Operation Plunder. Commencing on the night of 23 March, 1945 during World War II, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the Rhine river at Rees, ) The strategic importance of the bridge has been debated by historians since its capture. However, the psychological advantage of having crossed the Rhine in force, and in pursuit of fleeing Wehrmacht troops, bolstered the morale of the Allied forces while having a disastrous effect on the Germans.

In the days immediately following the bridge's capture, the German High Command made desperate attempts to destroy the bridge by bombing and even employing frogmen. The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 A frogman is someone who is trained to dive or swim in a military capacity often in combat Hitler ordered "flying" courts-martial which condemned five officers to death, one in absentia, and four of whom were executed in the Westerwald Forest. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject Attempts were made to repair the damage to the bridge, and pontoon bridges were laid alongside. A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a Bridge that floats on water supported by barge-or-boat-like pontoons to support the bridge deck and its dynamic Despite the best efforts of U. S. engineers, on 17 March 1945 the bridge collapsed, killing twenty-eight American soldiers. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar However, due to the pontoon bridges and the secure crossing point, the loss of the bridge was, by then, neither tactically nor strategically significant.

The bridge in the media

The best-known work on the battle is 1957's The Bridge at Remagen by the American author Ken Hechler. Kenneth William Hechler (born September 20 1914) --whose baptismal name was officially changed by court order to Ken Hechler -- was a long-serving

In 1968 David L. Wolper produced an American motion picture, "The Bridge at Remagen". The Bridge at Remagen is a war film released in 1969, directed by John Guillermin and starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara and Robert The film depicted actual historical background, but was fictional in all other aspects.

In addition, a large number of books and articles in newspapers and magazines on the subject of the bridge have been published.

In the 1946 Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life, there is a brief battle scene with narration that "Marty [Hatch, Mary Hatch Bailey's brother] helped capture the Remagen bridge. Frank Russell Capra ( May 18, 1897 &ndash September 3, 1991) was an Academy Award winning Italian-American Film It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story " The Greatest "

In the video game Panzer Front for the Playstation, the Ludendorff bridge is assaulted by the player demonstrating the strategic problems of capturing the bridge (the placing of 88mm AT/AA guns on the high ground surrounding the bridge, for example). A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Panzer Front was first released in Japan by Enterbrain in late 2000 The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console

In the video game Call of Duty: Finest Hour the player helps to liberate the Ludendorff Bridge in one level. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Call of Duty Finest Hour is a First-person shooter for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube Video game consoles This Remagen also appears in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (dm3).

In the booster pack of Battlefield 2142, Northern Strike, a map is dedicated to the Bridge at Remagen. In Collectible card games and collectible miniature wargames, a booster pack is a sealed package of cards or figurines designed to add to a player's collection Battlefield 2142 is a First-person shooter computer game developed by Digital Illusions CE and is the fourth game in the ''Battlefield'' The battle takes place 200 years to the day after the real battle.

Memorial

Hans Peter Kürten, at that time Mayor of Remagen, had long considered the idea of constructing a memorial. Hans Peter Kürten was the mayor of Remagen in the 1970s and opened the Peace Museum at Remagen in 1980 The negotiations with the German Federal Railway alone lasted seven years before the city could finally acquire the former railroad property. Announcements sent to government officials concerning the intended preservation of the bridge towers and the construction of a Memorial to Peace stirred no interest.

In the summer of 1976, it was necessary to remove the still intact bridge support pilings in the river. The Mayor had the stones deposited on the Remagen river bank, with the idea in mind of selling small pieces of the bridge stones enclosed in synthetic resin and containing a certificate ot authenticity.

On 7 March 1978, he went public with his idea and achieved such an unexpected degree of success, that he had realised more than 100,000 DM (around 50,000 EUR) in sales profits. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)

There has not been another bridge built across the Rhine here, mainly due to opposition from the people of Remagen (and surrounding areas), contending that a bridge located at this point along the Rhine would spoil the view.

Notes and references

External links

• Official Website
• Remagen University of Applied Sciences
• Museum of the Bridge
• ETO Air Ace Shot Down by Allied Gunners over Remagen Bridge

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