“Preußens Gloria“ (The Glory of Prussia) in Coblence?! 200 years of Prussia on the Rhine – The Fortress City of Coblence 1815

200 years ago, on the Congress of Vienna, Prussia was given the Rhineland. Still in Vienna, king Frederick William III of Prussia decided to convert both Cologne and Coblence into strong fortresses.
Already after a short time, this had a lasting effect on the visual appearance of the city of Coblence. The former placid residence, which related to the Electorate of Trier, became a fortress. This included the Festung Ehrenbreitstein, the Feste Kaiser Franz on the left side of the Moselle River, and the Feste Alexander comprising the Fort Konstantin. In addition, the whole city, including the banks of the rivers Rhine and Moselle, was surrounded by a rampart. Especially two parts of the city became bottlenecks which obstructed the traffic and thus intercepted trade: Mainzertor and Löhrtor.
Because of this rampant, the city could not grow. For 75 years, the inhabitants of Coblence lived in a kind of restricted military area. However, these circumstances have almost been forgotten. With the exhibition the Mittelrhein-Museum wants to remind the visitors of this time and therefore presents diverse exhibits from the city’s art collection.

Accompanying program
24th of June 2015: „Die Mauer muss weg!“ (The Wall has to be Removed), lecture by Dr. Hildegard Brog
14th of June, 20th of June, 16th of August, at 5 pm: guided tour through the exhibition “Festungsstadt Koblenz” (The Fortress City of Coblence) by the curator and Dr. Hildegard Brog
Further information about this project of several cultural institutions of Coblence you find on:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1587903321454757/