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{{Infobox German location
|type               = Stadt
|image_photo       = Bitburg.jpg
|image_coa            = DEU Bitburg COA.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|49|58|N|06|32|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Bitburg in BIT.svg
|state        = Rheinland-Pfalz
|district         = Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm
|elevation              = 320
|area            = 47.55
|postal_code               = 54634
|area_code           = 06561
|licence               = BIT
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 07 2 32 018
|website           = [https://www.bitburg.de/ www.bitburg.de]
|mayor             = Joachim Kandels<ref>[https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/direktwahlen/wahl-der-buergermeister-verbandsfreier-gemeinden/ Wahlen der Bürgermeister der verbandsfreien Gemeinden], Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 30 July 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2017&ndash;25
|party             = CDU
}}

'''Bitburg''' ({{IPA|de|ˈbɪtbʊʁk|-|De-Bitburg.ogg}}; {{langx|fr|Bitbourg}}; {{langx|lb|Béibreg}} {{IPA|lb|ˈbɜɪ̯bʀəɕ|}}) is a city in [[Germany]], in the state of [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] approximately 25&nbsp;km (16&nbsp;mi.) northwest of [[Trier]] and 50&nbsp;km (31&nbsp;mi.) northeast of [[Luxembourg (city)|Luxembourg]] city. The American [[Spangdahlem Air Base]] is nearby.

==History==
{{Onesource|section|date=December 2021}}
{{Quote box |width=19em |align=left |bgcolor=#B0D4DE
|title=Historical affiliations
|fontsize=85% |quote=<poem>{{flagicon image|Civil Ensign of Luxembourg.svg}} [[County of Luxembourg]] 1239–1353
{{flagicon image|Civil Ensign of Luxembourg.svg}} [[Duchy of Luxembourg]] 1353–1795
{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794-1815).svg}} [[French First Republic|French Republic]] 1795–1804
{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794-1815).svg}} [[First French Empire|French Empire]] 1804–1815
{{flag|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} 1815–1871
{{flag|German Empire}} 1871–1918
{{flag|Weimar Republic}} 1918–1933
{{flag|Nazi Germany}} 1933–1945
{{flag|Allied-occupied Germany}} 1945–1949
{{flag|West Germany}} 1949–1990
{{flag|Germany}} 1990–present</poem>
}}
The city's name derives from its [[Celts|Celtic]] [[toponymy|toponym]], ''Beda''.

Bitburg originated approximately 2,000 years ago as a stopover for traffic from [[Lyon]] through [[Metz]] and [[Trier]] to [[Cologne]]. The first name mentioned was ''Vicus Beda''. Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] expanded the settlement to a road castle around 330, the central part of which forms the town centre today. Bitburg is first documented only after the end of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman Empire]] around 715 as ''castrum bedense''. It subsequently became part of [[Franconia]].

The first mention of Bitburg in historic annals occurred in connection with the signing in 1239 of the Trier-Luxembourg Treaty between Archbishop Theoderich II of Trier and Countess Ermesinde II of Luxemburg, under which the town came under the archbishopric's protection. Bitburg received a town charter in 1262 from [[Henry V, Count of Luxembourg|Count Henry V of Luxembourg]].

In 1443, Bitburg came under the sway of the [[Duchy of Burgundy]], then in 1506 was acquired by the [[Austrian Netherlands]], which controlled most of modern Belgium. In 1794 the city came under [[France|French]] administration, and in 1798 became part of the newly created ''[[Département des Forêts]]''. This led to a short lived economic upturn, and Bitburg received among other things a court and a land registry.

In 1815, under agreements at the [[Congress of Vienna]] following the final defeat of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], Bitburg was, after having been a part of the [[Duchy of Luxemburg|Duchy of Luxembourg]] for centuries, transferred to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], where until 1822 it belonged administratively to the province of Lower Rhine, and afterwards to the Rhine province. With the unification of Germany under Prussian dominance in 1871, Bitburg became part of the German Empire, and after World War I the [[Weimar Republic]] of Germany.
[[File:Matzen Kriegerdenkmal.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Memorial to soldiers of two world wars]]
In the interwar years, Bitburg, like most of the [[Eifel]] region, was impoverished and comparatively backward. Economic growth began after the [[Nazi Seizure of Power]] and the Nazi regime's introduction of employment-boosting public works projects, including infrastructure for war, particularly the [[Westwall]]; new armed forces barracks; and the development of the [[Nims (river)|Nims]]-[[Sauer]] Valley railway. It is said that the building now used as the post office at Bitburg Annex (what is left of Bitburg Air Base) was the headquarters for [[Adolf Hitler]] when he was in the city.

In late December 1944, Bitburg was 85 percent destroyed by Allied bombing attacks, and later officially designated by the U.S. military as a "dead city." Subsequently, the town was occupied by [[Luxembourg]] soldiers, who were replaced by French forces in 1955.

In 1952 a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ([[NATO]]) base was opened at Bitburg by the U.S. Air Force. At the end of the 1980s, French troops were withdrawn and NATO took over the former French barracks. After the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]] most of the USAF forces were moved to the larger [[Spangdahlem Air Base]], about 12&nbsp;km east of Bitburg. In 1994, NATO turned the [[Bitburg Air Base]] over to the city, which devoted it to public works projects. The [[Nims (river)|Nims]]-[[Sauer]] Valley railway was abandoned step by step, beginning in 1969. Parts of it were converted into a bicycle path (''Radweg'').<ref>{{Citation |title=Nims-Sauertalbahn |date=2022-07-27 |url=https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nims-Sauertalbahn&oldid=224862156 |work=Wikipedia |language=de |access-date=2023-01-15}}</ref>

In 1985, Bitburg [[Bitburg controversy|came to international attention]] due to a ceremonial visit by U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] and German Chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] to the nearby Kolmeshöhe Military Cemetery – which among its 2,000 graves included those of 49 members of the [[Waffen-SS]].

==Economics and industry==
[[File:Bitburger Glass.JPG|thumb|Bitburger Pilsener]]
The most widely known Bitburg enterprise, and landmark of the city, is the [[Bitburger brewery]]. Its [[Pilsener]]-style lager beer ranks No. 3 among [[Beer in Germany#Breweries|Germany's best selling beers]], with sales of 3.86 million [[hectolitre]]s (in 2008).

In 1995, the former NATO base was designated the '''Bitburg Airfield Trade Area''', providing commercial development district where 180 enterprises have established themselves.

==Transport==
[[File:Fritz von Wille 0020.jpg|thumb|Fritz von Wille: ''Die blaue Blume'']]
[[Bitburg-Erdorf station]] is part of the [[Eifel line]] (KBS 474). Trains that pass through include:
*The Eifel Mosel express (RE 12) – [[Cologne]], [[Euskirchen]], [[Gerolstein]], [[Trier]]
* The Eifel line (RB 83) – Gerolstein, Trier

The nearest airports are [[Luxembourg Airport]] (61 km away) and [[Hahn Airport]] (79 km away).

==Points of interest==

The Regional Museum of Bitburg-Prüm is housed in a former agricultural school. It contains numerous artifacts of the history of Bitburg and the [[Eifel]] Region in general.

In the cultural centre ''Haus Beda'' are exhibited works of the [[Düsseldorf]] painter [[Fritz von Wille]] (1860–1941), the Eifel's most widely known artist. More than 100 paintings are on display, including ''Die blaue Blume'', ''Mosenberg'', ''Burg Reifferscheid im Winter'' and ''Ein klarer Tag''.

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Bitburg is partnered or [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Arlon]], [[Belgium]] since 1965
* {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Bad Köstritz]] ([[Thuringia]]), [[Germany]] since 1992
* {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Diekirch]], [[Luxembourg]] since 1962
* {{flagicon|France}} [[Rethel]], [[France]] since 1965
* {{flagicon|United States}} [[Shelbyville, Kentucky]] (USA) since 1962<ref name=sci>{{cite web|title=Interactive City Directory|url=http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Bitburg,%20Germany|work=[[Sister Cities International]]|access-date=12 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312224358/http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Bitburg,%20Germany|archive-date=12 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Born in Bitburg==
* [[Charles-Mathias Simons]] (1802–1874), Luxembourg jurist and politician
* [[Christopher Robbins]] (1946-2012) American writer
* [[Bertram Schäfer]] (born 1946), racing driver
* [[Tom G. Palmer]] (born 1956), libertarian author and theorist
* [[Jean-Marc Barr]] (born 1960), French actor, director, filmmaker and screenwriter

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Bitburg}}
* [http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id342.htm The Eighties Club: Bitburg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111185817/http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id342.htm |date=2019-11-11 }}

{{Cities and towns in Bitburg-Prüm (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Celtic toponyms]]
[[Category:Bitburg-Prüm]]