Where the “coachman of Europe” saw the light of the earth
The Münzplatz
The Münzplatz square is located in the old town of Koblenz, its name is reminiscent of the former electoral coin (Münze).
The coins of the Electorate of Trier were minted in Koblenz from the middle of the 11th century onwards with few interruptions. In the 15th century, Koblenz even became the Prince Bishop’s main mint and so took over from Trier.
The mint was originally made of up several buildings (Schmelze, Strecke, Pochwerk, Schlosserei, Weißstückküche, Glühöfen, Probierhaus - melter, roller, stamping mill, metalworking shop, blanching, annealing furnaces and quality control), which were torn down at the beginning of the 19th century and made way for the Münzplatz of today.
Today only the Münzmeisterhaus remains, a baroque building with simple plaster facade.
Clemens Wenzeslaus von Metternich was born in “Haus Metternich” in 1773; he served as foreign minister to the House of Habsburg and state chancellor of the Austrian Empire. As the “coachman of Europe”, he led the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15 where it was decided that the Rhineland would fall to Prussia. Koblenz was the capital of the new Prussian Rhine province.
The fountain in the square, created by Willi Heinzen, was a gift from the Sparkasse Koblenz to the city and its citizens on the occasion of its 2,000 year anniversary in 1992.
