Russian troops
occupied Coblenz; and St Priest, their commander, added in irony these
words--"_Vu et approuve par nous, Commandant Russe de la Vitte de
Coblence: Janvier 1er, 1814._" In this quarter of the town, too, is the
Liebfrauenkirche, a fine church (nave 1250, choir 1404-1431) with lofty
late Romanesque towers; the castle of the electors of Trier, erected in
1280, which now contains the municipal picture gallery; and the family
house of the Metternichs, where Prince Metternich, the Austrian
statesman, was born in 1773. In the modern part of the town lies the
palace (Residenzschloss), with one front looking towards the Rhine, the
other into the Neustadt. It was built in 1778-1786 by Clement Wenceslaus
the last elector of Trier, and contains among other curiosities some
fine Gobelin tapestries. From it some pretty gardens and promenades
(_Kaiserin Augusta Anlagen_) stretch along the bank of the Rhine, and in
them is a memorial to the poet Max von Schenkendorf. A fine statue to
the empress Augusta, whose favourite residence was Coblenz, stands in
the Luisen-platz. But of all public memorials the most striking is the
colossal equestrian statue of the emperor William I., erected by the
Rhine provinces in 1897, standing on a lofty and massive pedestal, at
the point where the Rhine and Mosel meet. Coblenz has also handsome law
courts, government buildings, a theatre, a museum of antiquities, a
conservatory of music, two high grade schools, a hospital and numerous
charitable institutions. Coblenz is a principal seat of the Mosel and
Rhenish wine trade, and also does a large business in the export of
mineral waters. Its manufactures include pianos, paper, cardboard,
machinery, boats and barges. It is an important transit centre for the
Rhine railways and for the Rhine navigation.

_Coblenz_ (Confluentes, Covelenz, Cobelenz) was one of the military
posts established by Drusus about 9 b.c. Later it was frequently the
residence of the Frankish kings, and in 860 and 922 was the scene of
ecclesiastical synods. At the former of these, held in the
Liebfrauenkirche, took place the reconciliation of Louis the German with
his half-brother Charles the Bald. In 1018 the city, after receiving a
charter, was given by the emperor Henry II. to the archbishop of Trier
(Treves), and it remained in the possession of the archbishop-electors
till the close of the 18th century. In 1249-1254 it was surrounded with
new walls by Archbishop Arnol