DIEZ,
SCENT OF HISTORY
The idyllic little town of DIEZ, set by the Lahn holiday route, is able to look back on a fascinating history. Some centuries ago, there were particularly close connections between the so-called "GÜLDENE GRAFSCHAFT" (golden county) of that time and the Netherlands. For a very long time, counts from Diez were required to serve as governors in Dutch provinces. They played a significant role in the liberation of the Netherlands from the Spanish rule of the
time. One important figure was Prince Ernst-Casimir of Nassau-Diez, a nephew of the famous William of Orange. Many monuments give some indication of the close connections which once existed between Diez and the Netherlands. These include the picturesque castle of the counts, which was built in the 11th century and now houses a modern youth hostel and the museum of local history and culture, and especially the Baroque-style Oranienstein castle, which was built in the 17th century upon the ruins of what used to be Dirstein monastery and today houses the Nassau-Orange museum. For this reason, diez is also known as the "ORANIENSTADT" (Orange town). The old town with its picturesque half timber houses and the remains of the town walls (14th century) is very popular with day-trippers.
Schedule of the Meeting
Wednesday, March 18
18-20 Council meeting
20 Participants arrival and dinner
21,30 Introduction in the history of "Hof von Holland" and the city of Diez
Encounter & warming up to the theme of the meeting
Thursday, March 19
8,30 breakfast
9,30-10,30 Large group meeting
11-12,30 General Assembly
Agenda:
President’s report
Treasurer’s report
Secretary’s report
Committees’ reports
Acceptance of new members
13 lunch
15-16 Ballot for the election of the new Council
16,30-17,30 First meeting of the new
Council and election of the Executive Committee
18,30-19,30 General Assembly with the new
Council
Executive Committee’s presentation
Settlement of the new membership fees
20 Dinner
Friday, March 20
8,30 breakfast
9,30-10,30 Large group meeting
11-12,30 Small groups’ work on the theme of the meeting
12,30-13,30 Feed back: small group reports in large group
13,30 lunch
15,30-18,30 Panel discussion and group interaction / Theme: FEPTO visions for the future
Saturday, March 21
8,30 breakfast
9,30-10,30 Large group meeting
11-12,30 Continuation of the small groups’ work on the theme of the meeting
12,30-13,30 Plenum big group
13,30 lunch
16 Visit Limburg city and bus tour of Lahn Valley
Sunday, March 22
8,30 breakfast
9-10 Council meeting
10,30-11,30 Committees’ meeting
11,30-12,30 Plenum and closure
Suggestion for theme of next meeting
13,30 lunch and departure
Practical information on the meeting
We’ll work and have meals in the Tagungszentrum (five minutes walk from the Diez train station – Taxis not available).
Only 32 persons can have a bed-room (double or single, with shower and WC) in this place. There are some hotels nearby: some of us have to sleep there.
Prices
for people sleeping at Tagugungszentrum (4 nights):
300 DM pro person (double room) including all meals
340 DM pro person (single room) including all meals
(when the Tagungszentrum is full, a reasonable priced pension will be arranged)
for people sleeping in the hotel Oranien, five minutes walk (per day):
145 - 165 DM for two persons (double room –single rooms are not available)
plus price to be arranged for lunch & evening meal at the Tagungszentrum
for all the participants:
100 DM pro person towards meeting expenses needs to be collected from each participant
bus fare for the Lahn Valley tour (to be determined)
price of meal on Saturday night (to be determined)
Travel
The main airports near Diez are:
Frankfurt – Köln – Düsseldorf
Train connections:
Frankfurt airport – Frankfurt Hbf – Limburg – Diez (h. 1,50 m.)
Köln Hbf – Koblenz (change train, direction Limburg) – Diez (h. 2)
(Please note: the connecting train to Limburg-Diez is at the far end of the track / platform)
All participants arriving by plane should state their airport arrival / departure times. Group taxi can possibly be arranged from Frankfurt to Diez (price unknown).
Those arriving by plane should allow minimum 3 – 4 hours travelling time to arrive at the Tagungszentrum.
How to register for the meeting
Send, only via fax or e-mail, your registration specifying your data:
Name
Mail address
Phone
Fax
Voting member/Guest
Belonging to the Organisation:
Name of airport, date and time of arrival
For hotel reservation, indicate two choices (putting nr 1, first choice; nr 2, second choice) from the following:
___ double room in the Tagungszentrum
___ single room in the Tagungszentrum
___ double room in the hotel Oranien (five
available)
In the case your choice cannot be accommodated, we’ll let you know in advance.