Editing Koblenz (section)

===Modern era===
The city was a member of the league of the Rhenish cities which rose in the 13th century. The [[Teutonic Knights]] founded the [[Bailiwick of Koblenz]] in or around 1231. Koblenz attained great prosperity and it continued to advance until the disaster of the [[Thirty Years' War]] brought about a rapid decline. After [[Philipp Christoph von Sötern|Philip Christopher, elector of Trier]], surrendered Ehrenbreitstein to the French, the city received an imperial garrison in 1632. However, this force was soon expelled by the Swedes, who in their turn handed the city over again to the French. Imperial forces finally succeeded in retaking it by storm in 1636.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=612–613}}

In 1688, Koblenz was besieged by the French under [[Louis François Boufflers|Marshal de Boufflers]], but they only succeeded in bombing the Old City (''Altstadt'') into ruins, destroying among other buildings the Old Merchants' Hall (''Kaufhaus''), which was restored in its present form in 1725.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=613}} The city was the residence of the [[Archbishopric of Trier|archbishop-electors of Trier]] from 1690 to 1801.

In 1786, the last archbishop-elector of Trier, [[Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony]], greatly assisted the extension and improvement of the city, turning the [[Ehrenbreitstein]] into a magnificent baroque palace. After the fall of the [[Storming of the Bastille|Bastille]] in 1789, the city became, through the invitation of the archbishop-elector's chief minister, Ferdinand Freiherr von Duminique, one of the principal rendezvous points for French [[émigrés]]. The archbishop-elector approved of this because he was the uncle of the persecuted king of France, [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]. Among the many royalist French refugees who flooded into the city were [[Louis XVI]]'s two younger brothers, the [[Louis XVIII|Comte de Provence]] and the [[Charles X of France|Comte d'Artois]]. In addition, [[Louis XVI]]'s cousin, Prince [[Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé]], arrived and formed an army of young aristocrats willing to fight the [[French Revolution]] and restore the [[Ancien Régime]]. The ''[[Army of Condé]]'' joined with an allied army of Prussian and Austrian soldiers led by Duke [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick|Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand]] of [[Duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]] in an unsuccessful invasion of France in 1792.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} This drew down the wrath of the [[First French Republic]] on the archbishop-elector; in 1794, Koblenz was taken by the French Revolutionary army under [[François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers|Marceau]] (who was killed during the siege), and, after the signing of the [[Treaty of Lunéville]] (1801) it was made the capital of the new French [[Departments of France|department]] of [[Rhin-et-Moselle]]. In 1814, it was occupied by the [[Russia]]ns. The [[Congress of Vienna]] assigned the city to [[Prussia]], and in 1822, it was made the seat of government for the Prussian [[Rhine Province]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=613}}

After [[World War I]], France [[Occupation of the Rhineland|occupied]] the area once again. The city was the center of the American occupation force from 1919 - 1923. In defiance of the French, the German populace of the city insisted on using the more German spelling of '''Koblenz''' after 1926. During [[World War II]] it hosted the command of German [[Army Group B]] and, like many counterparts, was heavily bombed and rebuilt afterwards. From 16 &ndash; 19 March 1945, it was the scene of heavy fighting by the [[U.S. 87th Infantry Division]] in support of [[Operation Lumberjack]]. Between 1947 and 1950, it served as the [[Seat of government#Seat of government|seat of government]] of [[Rhineland-Palatinate]].

The [[Rhine Gorge]] was declared a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2002, with Koblenz marking the northern end. 
[[File:Koblenz im Buga-Jahr 2011 - Festung Ehrenbreitstein 45.jpg|center|thumb|upright=2.5|[[Ehrenbreitstein Fortress]] as seen from Koblenz]]
[[File:Koblenz hdr Panorama.jpg|center|thumb|upright=2.5|HDR panorama of Koblenz from Metternich]]