Dietkirchen an der Lahn is a borough (Ortsbezirk) of Limburg an der Lahn, seat of the district of Limburg-Weilburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Limburg in 1971. The town is dominated by the basilica St. Lubentius, which was the most important early-medieval church building in the region.
Geography
Dietkirchen is situated directly on the west (left) bank of the Lahn River. Its prominent feature is the towering limestone bluff on which St. Lubentius is built. The central town of Limburg is located in a widening of the Lahn valley. Dietkirchen is situated at the eastern end of this widening, with the valley becoming narrow again near Runkel.
The old village is characterized by a large height differential, with housing plots situated on terraces formed by numerous retaining walls. The village itself is situated at an elevation of 120 to 170 meters. In the northern part of the borough, the landscape rises up to 180 meters, while in the southern part, on the banks of the Lahn below the church's bluff, it drops to 115 meters.
With a surface area of , Dietkirchen is the smallest borough of Limburg. Its surroundings consist almost exclusively of agricultural land, with the exception of the vegetation on the banks of the Lahn.
The borough is bordered to the north by the Runkel borough of Dehrn, in the east and south by Eschhofen, in the west by the central city of Limburg, and in the northwest by Offheim.
History
Early history
In the area of the church St. Lubentius, archaeologists have discovered traces of a cult site from the Copper Age (2000 to 4000 BC), as well as the remains of a settlement assigned to the Urnfield culture (1300 to 800 BC). Excavations in the Basilica suggest that before the Church was constructed the site on the limestone bluff had been a pagan cult and gathering place.
The Reckenforst, a judicial meeting place which exercised high jurisdiction over the wider environs in at least in the Early Middle Ages, was nearby. It was mentioned as early as 1217.
Dietkirchen is first mentioned in documents in 841 as "in ecclesia dietkircha". The village, however, is older. A low noble family, "the Dietkirchener Lords," resided there.
The meaning of the toponym is unclear. The second part, "kirchen" (German for church), refers, according to the unanimous opinion, to the St. Lubentius church. The problem is in the interpretation of the syllable "diet." Some historians speculate that it comes from Old High German, and means "the people." The village's name then meant "people's church" and refers to the prominent position of the Archdeaconate as a central church. Others advocate a pre-Germanic meaning of "diet" referring to the important ford on the Lahn below the church.
In the history of the village, the Christianization of the Lahn region and the St. Lubentius basilica play a special role. The legend that Lubentius himself ministered there is demonstrably wrong. The beginnings of Christianity in the Lahn region date approximately to between the 6th and the end of the 7th centuries. In this period was probably also the founding of the village.
St. Lubentius
The Romanesque basilica of St. Lubentius is situated in the midst of a park-like cemetery. Its architecture is typical of the time, characterized by heavy members and generally cubic bulkiness, from which only the interior manages in places to break away. The aspirations of the architecture and the quality of the interior decoration remind one today of the important role St. Lubentius played in church politics.
The first mention of the collegiate church of St. Lubentius dates to 841. It was built between 830 and 838. The parish counted around 425 souls at the time. According to archaeological finds, it replaced an earlier stone parish church built in about 720, which itself had replaced a wooden predecessor probably built as early as 580.
It became an archdeaconate of the Archdiocese of Trier, possibly as early as 900 and definitely by 1021. The entire part of the Diocese of Trier on right bank of the Rhine was managed from Dietkirchen. Six deaneries were subordinate to it.
Construction of the basilica may have already begun by 1021. The present structure was consecrated on August 5, 1225. Supposedly, the construction lasted only about ten years. In addition to St. Lubentius, St. Juliana was also selected as a patron of the church. In the Romanesque church lie the remains of St. Lubentius, around which many legends have formed. Probably his remains were transported from Kobern on the Mosel to Dietkirchen before 841.