Oranienstein Castle

Oranienstein Castle

Oranienstein Castle in Diez an der Lahn was built between 1672 and 1681 on the ruins of the former Benedictine monastery in Dierstein . Until 1815 it belonged to the counts or princes of Nassau-Dietz , from whom the Dutch royal family descended.

Oranienstein Castle is one of four castles in Germany named after the House of Orange . In addition to Oranienstein, these are Oranienburg Castle in Brandenburg and Oranienbaum Castle in Anhalt. They were built for four sisters who were born in this house. The fourth, Oranienhof Palace near Bad Kreuznach , no longer exists. Oranienstein Castle was to serve as the widow's seat for Countess Albertine Agnes of Oranien-Nassau from Diezer .

Construction and history until the end of World War II

During the original construction of Oranienstein Castle, parts of the Romanesque monastery buildings were built in. Between 1704 and 1709 the castle was rebuilt for the first time under Albertine's daughter-in-law Henriette Amalie . The plans for the conversion into a baroque palace were provided by the architect Daniel Marot , a son of the builder of the Versailles complex . Essentially, the five-wing structure that still exists today was created at that time. The rich stucco decorations come from the Italians Eugenio Castelli and Antonio Gentone , the frescoes from the Dutchman Jan van Dyk .

With the unification of all Ottonian lines of the House of Nassau and the reorganization of the rule, Oranienstein Castle lost the importance of the residential palace in favor of the residence in Dillenburg. It was not until 1801 that a member of the Nassau family, Wilhelm V of Orange , used Oranienstein as a residence again. Wilhelm V of Orange commissioned Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell to plan the garden design for the palace.

In 1806 the castle fell to the Grand Duchy of Berg . In 1811, Napoleon had all of the palace's furnishings auctioned. After the Congress of Vienna , Oranienstein fell to the newly formed Duchy of Nassau .

In 1866, after the German War , in which Nassau stood on the side of the loser Austria, the duchy was added as the future administrative district of Prussia. Initially the Prussian government planned to house the provincial insane asylum in the castle , but this was not done after protests by the Dutch royal family. A year later Prussia set up a cadet school in Oranienstein . In the following years (1874–1876) the castle was expanded to include barracks. In the years 1900 to 1907 further administration buildings followed.

After the First World War , the cadet institute was closed and the castle was occupied by French troops. On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of Diez in 1929, the castle was renovated and released; at the same time the " Nassauisches Heimatmuseum " was housed here. In the interwar period there was also a nursery on the site . From 1934 to 1945 the castle was used as a " National Political Educational Institution ".

History after the Second World War and use by the Bundeswehr

Barracks Oranienstein Castle
country	Germany
local community	Diez
Coordinates :	50 ° 23 '  N , 8 ° 1'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 23 '2 "  N , 8 ° 0' 40"  E
Stationed troops
Regional medical service support command LH Bekleidungsgesellschaft mbH Diez
Formerly stationed units
5th Armored Division Armored Brigade 34 Medical Command II Support Command 4 State Command Hesse Parts Limburg Field News Center of the German Armed Forces Armored Artillery Regiment 5 Artillery Regiment 5 Field Equipment Regiment 501 Field Equipment Regiment 504 Hospital Regiment 74 (partially active) Mixed Hospital Regiment 13 (non- active) Mixed Hospital Regiment 13 (non-active) Field Battalion 6th Field Battalion 370 Field Service Battalion 5156 Field Police Battalion 5 (non-active) Quartermaster Battalion 5156 Quartermaster Battalion 5156 Field Battalion 6th Quartermaster Battalion 6 (non-active) Supply Battalion 5156 Quartermaster Battalion 5 Front message train 5 Front message training company 300 Military command and replacement battalion 852
Location of the barracks Schloss Oranienstein in Rhineland-Palatinate

After the Second World War , the French initially confiscated the castle and all of its outbuildings. As a legal successor, Oranienstein fell to the newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1947 , which, however, could not afford the considerable costs of the war and consequential damage. In 1957 the Je Maintiendrai Nassau Foundation was set up in Delft , the Netherlands , and saw it as its task to take care of the maintenance of all buildings reminiscent of the House of Nassau-Orange .

Initiated by a memorandum from the Diez Museum and History Association on the reuse of Oranienstein Castle, the then Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate , Peter Altmeier , managed to win over the then Federal Minister of Defense Franz Josef Strauss to take over the castle by the Federal Armed Forces . The Federal Ministry of Defense initiated a comprehensive renovation and restoration of the valuable stucco work and ceiling paintings. The ceremonial handover to the Bundeswehr and the simultaneous opening of the “Orange Nassau Museum” took place on May 23, 1962.

However, the use of the location began in 1956. At that time, the staff of the 501 Field Equipment Regiment was set up, but was moved to Ludwigsburg in 1956. The unit was renamed to Repair Regiment 2 in 1959, moved to Ulm in 1960 and in 1972 was reclassified to Repair Command 2 of the II Corps . In 1993 the command became the maintenance regiment 21 and came to Dornstadt . In 1996 it was merged with the supply / transport regiment 22 to form logistics regiment 22. In 2002, logistics regiment 22 was renamed logistics regiment 47. In 2015 the resolution finally came.

On May 16, 1957, the 504th Feldzeugregiment was born at Oranienstein Castle. In January 1958, this unit moved to the Rhine barracks in Koblenz, where in April 1959 it was renamed the 3rd Repair Regiment 3. Corps took place. In 1967 this unit received the designation as Corps repair commander 3. 1972 followed the restructuring into the repair command 3 of the III. Corps. In 1993 the repair command 3 was finally dissolved.

Also in 1957 the Feldzeugdepotkompanie 606 was set up in Oranienstein Castle. In 1958 this unit was relocated to the Rhine barracks in Koblenz . There it was renamed the spare parts company 453 on December 1, 1958. On October 1, 1966, the company was renamed to 5./Mediate Repair Battalion 450, and finally to 5./Maintenance Battalion 450 on October 1, 1972, before the company was merged into Repair Battalion 5 on October 1, 1975.

From 1 July 1956 in Andernach the Quartermaster Supply Battalion 907 with Stabszug 907, quartermaster supply company 929, quartermaster supply company 934 and quartermaster repair company 939 set. On February 1, 1957, the battalion received his leadership. On February 27, 1958, the battalion was renamed Quartiermeisterbataillon 907 and relocated to Diez with Quartermaster Supply Company 929 and Quartermaster Repair Company 939, with the staff moving into Castle Oranienstein, the two companies their quarters in the city barracks, later Wilhelm-von -Nassau-Kaserne Diez took. In Andernach only the quartermaster supply company 934 remained. On April 1, 1959, the battalion was renamed again to Material Battalion 310. On July 1, 1960, the units of the battalion were able to move into the new Freiherr-vom-Stein barracks in Diez, including the Headquarters of the 310 material battalion. On April 1, 1962, the 310 material battalion became the 310 supply battalion. In August 1996, the 310 supply battalion staff returned to Oranienstein Castle and remained there until the battalion was disbanded in 2002. Parts of the 310 supply battalion were used to set up the 46th Logistics Regiment in Diez.

Quartermaster Battalion 5, which was set up in Diez in 1957 as a unit of the 5th Panzer Division , was disbanded on March 31, 1959, as a supply battalion was to be set up at brigade level according to Army Structure 2. On April 1, 1959, the battalion staff was reclassified to Supply Battalion 156 at the Oranienstein Castle location and subordinate to the Armored Brigade 15 . The battalion troops were stationed in the city barracks. In 1969 the entire battalion moved to the newly built Alsberg barracks in Rennerod . With Army Structure III, the supply battalion 156 was dissolved again in 1972 and the supply company 150 and the repair company 150 were formed at the Rennerod location on October 1. Both companies were subordinate to the 15th Panzer Brigade. They remained there until their dissolution in 1993 (repair company 150) and 1994 (supply company 150).

From August 15, 1956, the 5th Panzer Artillery Regiment was set up at the Grafenwöhr military training area and in March 1957 it was moved to the Deines-Bruchmüller barracks in Lahnstein. On April 1, 1959, it had to set up the tank artillery battalions 145 and 155 through extensive personnel charges. In 1960 it was relocated to Oranienstein Castle, where it was renamed Artillery Regiment 5 . It remained there until December 31, 1979. On January 1, 1980, the unit finally merged with the Artillery Training Regiment in Idar-Oberstein to form Artillery Training Regiment 5.

The 5th Panzer Division , which was set up on August 1, 1956 at the training area in Grafenwöhr , first moved into the Gneisenau barracks in Koblenz in 1957 , before the staff moved to Oranienstein Castle in Diez on May 1, 1962. The headquarters of the 5th Panzer Division remained here until April 1, 1994. By merging the Defense Area Command IV with the 5th Panzer Division on the same day, the Generalfeldzeugmeister barracks in Mainz became the new home of the 5th Panzer Division. On July 1, 2001, the Wehrbereichskommando IV was reclassified and given the new number II. The 5th Panzer Division, however, was dissolved on September 30, 2001. In the 1980s Oranienstein were the castle in connection Command Air Force for Division Command of the 5th Armored Division and the mobilization preparatory group of the Division housed.

In 1962, with the division command, Feldjägerkompanie 5 of the 5th Panzer Division, which was set up in 1956 on the Grafenwöhr military training area and has been based there since then, moved into Oranienstein Castle. The military police unit stayed here until it was dissolved in 1979.

The front message train 5 of the 5th Panzer Division was stored as a device unit from its installation on April 1, 1964 until it was disbanded on September 30, 1997 in the mobilization base of the castle.

Between October 1, 1975 and its dissolution on December 31, 2007, the 7406 reserve hospital group was stored as a unit in the mobilization base of the castle.

The military tribunal at the 5th Panzer Division was set up as a device unit on September 1, 1976 and held in the mobilization base of the castle until it was dissolved on March 31, 2002.

For the supply of replacement personnel in the event of a defense, the military command and replacement battalion 852 as well as the field replacement battalion 52 were located as equipment units during the Cold War . The Führerreserve II for the III. Corps was housed in the mobilization base of the castle.

In the first half of the 1990s, extensive renovation work took place in Oranienstein Castle, which was completed in 1994.

The 370 transport battalion, formed on May 1, 1963 in Zweibrücken from the 310 transport battalion, was initially stationed at the Hermeskeil Hochwald barracks from September 12, 1963 and relocated to Diez and Montabaur on April 1, 1993. The headquarters of the battalion was set up in Oranienstein Castle. On March 26, 2003, the battalion was disbanded. The unit was absorbed into the 46th Logistics Regiment.

On October 1, 1993, the partially active military hospital regiment 74 was formed at the site, which remained here until its dissolution on October 31, 2007.

The tank brigade 34, which was created on October 1, 1981 in the Gneisenau barracks in Koblenz by renaming the tank brigade 14, which was nicknamed "Koblenz" in 1990, moved on April 1, 1994 with staff and staff company to Oranienstein Castle in Diez. It remained here until it was dissolved on March 15, 2002.

The support command 4 , which was formed under the jurisdiction of the Defense Division IV on April 1, 1988 in the Generalfeldzeugmeister barracks in Mainz and was supposed to prepare the deployment of the V US Corps with the 3rd Corps Support Command in the event of a defense , was moved to Diez on May 16, 1994 moved to Oranienstein Castle. It was finally disbanded three years later, on March 31, 1997.

The mixed hospital regiment 13 (non-active) was in the area of ​​responsibility of III. Corps formed on October 1, 1996 in Diez. His device was stored in the mobilization base of the castle. It was dissolved on October 31, 2007.

The partially active front news training company was set up in the former gendarmerie barracks in Bad Ems in 1970 and moved to the Freiherr vom Stein barracks in Diez on October 1, 1971. Between 1979 and 1980 it was referred to as a partially active Front News Company 300, but returned to its old name in 1980. In 1999 the unit moved to Oranienstein Castle and in 2002 it was absorbed into the Bundeswehr's new field intelligence center . On March 31, 2008, the Field Message Center was also disbanded.

From October 1, 2001, the Medical Command II was set up in Oranienstein Castle. The commissioning roll call took place in April 2002. The command was based in the castle until its dissolution on December 31, 2012. On January 1, 2013, the new Regional Medical Support Command was created from the Medical Command II, which is still based in Oranienstein Castle to this day. In addition, since February 1, 2006, the reinforcement reserve for the district and district liaison commands, since January 1, 2007, the reinforcement reserves for clinics 1 to 9 and the reception and distribution organization reinforcement reserve, and since January 1, 2009, the reinforcement reserve for the management support staff, which initially belong to the medical command II and today serve the Regional Medical Support Command.

Between January 1, 2007 and January 31, 2013, parts of Limburg belonging to the Hesse State Command of the Bundeswehr were housed in Oranienstein Castle.

Since April 1, 2012, the Lion Hellmann Bundeswehr Bekleidungsgesellschaft mb H. has set up its Diez service station at Oranienstein Castle.

The remote signaling system 415/411 was set up in Oranienstein Castle.

From July 1, 1972, the medical area 41/3 at the site was equipped with material for medical care.

literature

• Ahrendts (Government Builder): The extension of the Cadet House Oranienstein near Diez ad Lahn . In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , vol. XXXIII, no. 29 (April 12, 1913), urn : nbn: de: kobv: 109-opus-46847 , pp. 195–199. (Seven illustrations).
• Christian Binz: The Wang organ in the chapel of Oranienstein Palace in Diez , in: Nassauische Annalen , Vol. 125 (2014), pp. 137–151.
• Michael Losse: Castles and palaces on the Lahn: from Biedenkopf and Marburg via Gießen, Wetzlar and Weilburg to Limburg, Nassau and Lahnstein . Imhof, Petersberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-86568-070-9 .

Web links

Commons : Schloss Oranienstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature about Oranienstein Castle in the Hessian Bibliography
• Literature on the national political educational institution Oranienstein in the DNB
• Nassau-Orange Museum in Oranienstein Castle
• Information from the city of Diez on Oranienstein Castle

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Newspaper article (DOC file; 393 kB)
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v} location database of the Bundeswehr in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the training grounds used by the Bundeswehr abroad of the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr
3. ↑ Franz Prox: On the history of the city of Diez ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ Franz Prox: Chronicle of the supply battalion 310
5. ↑ Lahnstein artillerymen - the 155er e. V .: History of the Panzerartillery Battalion 155 - From the installation to the dissolution (taken from the book "Memories of PzArtBtl 155" by Hansjörg Zak) 1959 - 1969 ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek: Holdings for the 5th Panzer Division in the Federal Archives
7. ^ History of the regional medical service support command at bundeswehr.de
8. ^ Rolf-Peter Kahl: "Enlightenment with the owl on your sleeve", in: Nassauische Neue Presse from June 15, 2015