GERMANY - Cochem castle

GERMANY stamps :






Location of COCHEM in GERMANY :

Cochem is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, capital of the district Cochem-Zell. It is situated in the valley of the Mosel, at the foot of a hill surrounded by a feudal castle, the Reichsburg, dating from 1051. The town is surrounded by vineyards.

In 1688, King Louis XIV of France, during his invasion of the Rhine and the Moselle, swept in and captured Cochem Castle. His troops completely occupied the area and on May 19, 1689 they destroyed Cochem castle by setting it afire, undermining it and blowing it apart. The town of Cochem was almost destroyed also.

During World War II, the operations staff of the underground subcamp Zeisig of the Natzweiler concentration camp between the villages Bruttig and Treis was located here. At its height, 13 ,000 people were imprisoned. They provided slave labour for Bosch, which made war-important spark plugs, ignition systems and glow plugs under brutal conditions.

The castle of Cochem was first mentioned in 1130. It was destroyed in 1689. In 1868 Jakob Louis Ravené purchased it for 300 Gold Marks and built it in its present form. Since 1978 the city of Cochem owns it.

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Postcard sent by Wilhelm , as "Willi"
Postcrossing - Reference DE-642042

Cochem castle

danke