Koenigstein district

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The Königstein district was a district established during the Allied occupation of the Rhineland in the Wiesbaden administrative district , which at the time was part of the Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau and existed from January 31, 1919 to September 30, 1928.

General

The Königstein district consisted of the two towns of Königstein im Taunus and Kronberg im Taunus , 20 communities in the Obertaunus district ( Altenhain , Ehlhalten , Eppenhain , Eppstein , Falkenstein , Fischbach , Glashütten , Hornau , Kelkheim , Mammolshain , Neuenhain , Niederhöchstadt , Oberhöchstadt , Ruppertshain , Schloßborn , Schneidhain , Schönberg , Schwalbach , Stierstadt and Weißkirchen ) as well as six communities in the Usingen district ( Niederems , Oberems , Niederreifenberg , Oberreifenberg , Seelenberg and Wüstems ). Geographically it largely corresponded to the Nassau office of Königstein that existed before the establishment of the Obertaunuskreis . The county seat was Königstein .

history

Emergency money in the Koenigstein district
Withdrawal of the occupation troops from Königstein

On November 11, 1918, at the end of the First World War , it was agreed in the Compiègne armistice that the areas on the left bank of the Rhine as well as those on the right bank of the Rhine should be occupied by French troops within a 30 km radius around strategic bridgeheads (here the Mainz bridgehead ). In the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, this occupation was fixed in Article 428 for a period of 15 years.

On December 14, 1918, Königstein and the area of ​​the future emergency district were occupied by French troops. The occupation force was the French 287th Infantry Regiment (287e régiment d'infanterie) with 1,800 men and 250 horses (for comparison: Königstein had 2900 inhabitants). Of these, one battalion was stationed in Falkenstein, one in Kronberg and the rest in Königstein itself.

The occupied zone extended in the northeast to Oberreifenberg and included large parts of the Obertaunus district . Since the demarcation of the area was based on military considerations and without taking into account the administrative boundaries, there was a de facto separation of administration within the occupied zone and outside. The founding of the Königstein district by decree of December 23, 1918 took this into account. Due to the limitation of the occupation, the circle was deliberately created as provisional. It is also referred to in the historical literature as the "Auxiliary Circle Königstein".

The district administrator of the Königstein district had been Anton Jacobs since 1918 (initially provisional and final in June 1922), the mayor of Königstein from 1908 to 1919 (the official business in Königstein was headed by the first deputy Ludwig Brühl until 1923; after that, Dr. Bruno Beyer became mayor ).

However, the real power in the district did not lie with the district administrator, but with the French district delegation. District delegate was initially Rittmeister Clouet des Pesrouches, then Captain Cabanier, Colonel de St. Julien and from 1921 to 1925 Colonel Romieu.

The Königstein Military Court was also set up in Königstein . Until its dissolution, this dealt with 594 criminal proceedings from the area of ​​the emergency district (the Koenigstein im Taunus district court continued to exist for civil proceedings ).

The Königstein district was noticeably restricted in its economic development by the occupation. Its border with the neighboring districts formed the customs border of the occupied territory. In addition, the circle bore the burden of the occupation. This particularly affected the city of Königstein as a garrison town. However, the district remained part of the German economic area. During the inflation of 1923 , the district committee of the Königstein district was therefore forced to issue emergency money.

The spa in Königstein had largely collapsed because the most important hotels for the occupation troops had been confiscated. This affected the officers' convalescent home in Falkenstein , the hotels Bender, Prokasky, Taunusblick, Parkhotel (the former Hotel Pfaff), Pension Haus Adolph and the Billtalhöhe . The Villa Borgnis was used as an officers' mess. The construction of the barracks opposite the “Königsteiner Hof” hotel, the former Grand Hotel, also deterred potential guests.

On May 15, 1919, Marshal Foch visited the district and held a parade in Königstein. After the peace treaty was concluded, the occupation forces were gradually reduced. From 1920 to 1923 there were about 400 men. Then the number of occupation soldiers rose again to 500 men, only to drop to around 250 by 1925.

On October 22nd, 1923, separatist supporters of a Rhenish Republic traveled from all over the Rhineland to Wiesbaden, where a large demonstration with 2,500 participants took place the following day. In the days that followed, the separatists moved to Kronberg and Soden without meeting any major support there. On October 29, they occupied the district office, town hall and post office in the district town of Königstein, plundered the coffers and proclaimed the Rhenish Republic. Here, too, they received no support from the population. Only the occupying power supported them with food and ammunition. They had to leave Königstein on November 2nd.

As part of the reorganization of the districts in the Rhine-Main area , the district was dissolved on October 1, 1928 and divided into the Main-Taunus district and the Obertaunus district.

See also

literature

  • Beate Großmann-Hofmann: And once again the French in Königstein - life under French occupation 1918 to 1925; in: Hochtaunus Yearbook 2015, ISBN 978-3-95542-110-6 , pp. 87-92

Web links

Commons : Allied occupation of the Rhineland in Königstein im Taunus  - collection of images, videos and audio files