Bad Hönningen is a municipality in the district of Neuwied

Neuwied (district)

Neuwied is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rhein-Sieg, Altenkirchen, Westerwaldkreis, Mayen-Koblenz, Ahrweiler.-History:...

, in Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. 15 km (10 mi) northwest of Neuwied

Neuwied

Neuwied is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne...

, and 30 km (20 mi) southeast of Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

.

Bad Hönningen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde

Verbandsgemeinde

A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...

("collective municipality") Bad Hönningen

Bad Hönningen (Verbandsgemeinde)

Bad Hönningen is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Bad Hönningen....

.
The town contains three other districts called Ariendorf, Girgenrath and Reidenbruch.

Governing mayor of the town is Guido Job (SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

).

History

Archeological findings suggest that the first settlers lived here over 1800 years ago when the Romans occupied the Rhineland

Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

.

The limes

Limes

A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...

 ran between Bad Hönningen and Rheinbrohl

Rheinbrohl

Rheinbrohl is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. A reconstructed Roman watchtower marks the beginning of the Germanic limes....

 which is today a tourist attraction.

In 1019, the town was documentary mentioned as "Besitztum Hohingen" for the first time.

During Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 in 1632 Bad Hönningen burned down except twelve houses.

The first bathhouse for medical treatment opened in 1895.
Because of this, the town is legitimated to have the title "Bad" since 1950.

On July 12, 1969, it got the grant privileges of a town.

Castle

The castle in Bad Hönningen is called Schloss Arenfels and was built in 1258/59 by "Gerlach von Isenburg".

During its history, the architectural style converted several times.

In 1848, it was changed by its new owner "Ludolf Friedrich von Westerholt" into a neo-gothic castle.

Sights

• Castles:

"Schloss Arenfels" in Bad Hönningen
"Burg Ariendorf" in Ariendorf (built 1840, neo-gothic)

• The "Hohe Haus" which was built in 1438 by the archbishop Raban von Helmstatt. Today a museum of the town is in there.
• The limes
  Limes
  A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
  
   began near the city limit of Bad Hönningen. Today there is a museum called "Limes Center".

On July 15 in 2005 the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 made this area a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

• The Schlossberg of Bad Hönningen is the biggest vineyard in Middle Rhine
  Middle Rhine
  Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the Rhine River flows as the Middle Rhine through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised...
  
   (9 hectare).

Tourism

Tourism is the main branch of the economy.

Because of its beautiful landscape, several cycling and hiking paths (such as Rheinsteig) go through Bad Hönningen.

In the summer times you can visit the town during a trip with one of the distinctive white ships which travel the Rhine.

The town also organizes many events such as funfair and several festivals.

External links

• Homepage Bad Hönningen