The earliest traces of settlement in the Bierstadt area date to the
Stone Age. However, Bierstadt was first mentioned in historical records, as "Birgidestad", in a deed of gift on March 12, 927. The town was founded by Irish monks, who named it after the Irish national saint, Brigid of Kildare. In the 11th–12th centuries, the (now
Protestant) Church of St. Nicholas was built. The church is not only the oldest existing church in Wiesbaden, but, after the
Roman-era Heathens' Wall in downtown Wiesbaden, is the second oldest building of any kind in the city. In the
Middle Ages, Bierstadt came under the dominion of
Nassau, but was subject to strong influences from the
Archbishop of Mainz. In the wake of the
Protestant Reformation, Bierstadt came fully under the control of Nassau; the church became Protestant and was called Evangelische Kirche. After the
Thirty Years' War, the town had only 17 inhabitants. Efforts at reconstruction were set back by a fire in 1691. By the middle of the 18th century, Bierstadt had about 500 residents. The remains of a medieval watchtower, the
Bierstadter Warte, are located on a height between Wiesbaden and the borough. The watchtower is now part of the borough's coat of arms. In 1898, a large observation tower, the
Wiesbaden Bismarck Tower, was planned to be built at this site. A temporary wooden tower was constructed in 1910, but funding for the permanent structure could not be obtained. The temporary tower was demolished in 1918. During the
Third Reich (1933–1945), Nazism dominated Bierstadt. On November 9, 1938, the synagogue, dating to 1827, was completely destroyed. After the
Allied victory in
World War II, about 1,800 apartments were built for
U.S. Air Force personnel. The remaining Aukamm and Crestview U.S. military housing areas, transferred to the
Army during the
Cold War, are located on the northwest and the west side of Bierstadt, respectively. ==Infrastructure==