Go to main content

Image

Description

Postcard photograph of Roy Kennedy (right) and an another soldier and unknown child. Although this is not labeled, the building atop the hill appears to be the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. ""At 118 metres above the Rhine, the fortress has the most fantastic views over Koblenz and the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the second largest preserved fortress in Europe, was constructed in its present form between 1817 and 1828. Its origin dates back to the year 1000. ... Ehrenbert Conradine had the fortress built in the year 1000, from whose name �Ehrenbertstein� over time became the �Ehrenbreitstein�. In the 11th century the fortress passed into the ownership of the Trier Archbishop Poppo, whose successors expanded the facilities. The castle hill was enhanced with the Helfenstein fortress in the 12th century, this was later home to counts. Under Archbishop Richard von Greiffenclau in the 15th century there was construction to make the fortress secure against artillery. The fortress saw a brisk change of ownership during the Thirty Years� War. French troops besieged the fortress in 1797 and could only be forced to hand it over in 1799 by being starved out. The fortress was blown up in 1801. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Electorate of Trier for the Rhenish area passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. King Friedrich Wilhelm III ordered the expansion of Koblenz into a fortified city, making it one of the largest fortifications in Europe."" (http://www.koblenz-tourism.com/culture/koblenz-attractions/ehrenbreitstein-fortress.html) ""During its years of active service, the fortress had never been attacked. It escaped being dismantled after the end of World War I as a result of its perceived historical and artistic value. The American General Henry Tureman Allen, convinced of its historical value as a premier 19th-century fortress, prevented its intended destruction in 1922. It was occupied after 1919 by the US Army as their headquarters during the Occupation of the Rhineland, and after January 1923 it was occupied by the French Army."" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrenbreitstein_Fortress)

Details

Files

Statistics

from
to
Export
Download Full History
Formats
Format
BibTeX
MARCXML
TextMARC
MARC
DublinCore
EndNote
NLM
RefWorks
RIS