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Name | Düsseldorf |
---|---|
Art | City |
Image photo | Düsseldorf Ansichten2.jpg |
Wappen | Stadtwappen der kreisfreien Stadt Düsseldorf.png |
Lat deg | 51 | lat_min = 14 | lat_sec = |
Lon deg | 6 | lon_min = 47 | lon_sec = |
Lageplan | North rhine w D.svg |
Bundesland | North Rhine-Westphalia |
Regierungsbezirk | Düsseldorf |
Kreis | urban |
Höhe | 38 |
Fläche | 217 |
Area metro | |
Einwohner | 584361 |
Stand | 2009-06-30 |
Pop ref | |
Plz | 40001-40629 |
Plz-alt | 4000 |
Vorwahl | 0211 |
Kfz | D |
Gemeindeschlüssel | 05 1 11 000 |
Nuts | DEA11 |
Locode | DE DUS |
Gliederung | 10 districts, 49 boroughs |
Adresse | Marktplatz 40213 Düsseldorf |
Website | www.Duesseldorf.de |
Bürgermeister | Dirk Elbers |
Bürgermeistertitel | Oberbürgermeister |
Partei | CDU |
Ruling party1 | CDU |
Ruling party2 | FDP |
Year |
Düsseldorf () is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.
Modern Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and also renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Culturally, as a city by the River Rhine, Düsseldorf is a stronghold for Rhenish carnival celebrations. Every year in July more than 4.5 million people visit the city's Largest Fair on the Rhine funfair.
Even though only the seventh most populous city in Germany by population within city limits, Düsseldorf is one of the country's five global cities. The Mercer's 2009 Quality of Living survey of cities with the highest quality of life ranked Düsseldorf sixth worldwide and first in Germany.
Düsseldorf is built entirely on alluvium, mud, sand, clay and occasionally gravel. The highest point in Düsseldorf is the top of Sandberg in the far eastern part of the city (Hubbelrath borough) at . The lowest point is at the far northern end in Wittlaer borough where the Schwarzbach (Black Creek) enters the Rhine, with an average elevation of .
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the odd farming or fishing settlement could be found at the point where the small river Düssel flows into the Rhine. It was from such settlements that the city of Düsseldorf grew.
The first written mention of the town of Düsseldorf dates back to 1135 (then called Dusseldorp in the local Low Rhenish dialect). It was told that under Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa the small town of Kaiserswerth, lying to the North of Düsseldorf, became a well fortified outpost, where soldiers kept their watchful eyes over every movement on the Rhine. Kaiserswerth eventually became a suburb of Düsseldorf in 1929.
In 1186 Düsseldorf came under the rule of Berg. The dukes of Berg moved their seat to the town in 1386. 14 August 1288 is one of the most important dates in the history of Düsseldorf as it was on this day that the sovereign Count Adolf V of Berg granted the village on the banks of the Düssel the Town privileges.
Prior to that announcement, a bloody struggle for power had taken place between the Archbishop of Cologne and the count of Berg, culminating in the Battle of Worringen. The Archbishop of Cologne's forces were wiped out by the forces of the count of Berg who were supported by citizens and farmers of Cologne and Düsseldorf, paving the way for Düsseldorf's elevation to city status, which is remembered today with a monument on the Burgplatz. In fact, the custom of turning cartwheels is credited to the children of Düsseldorf. There are variations of the origin of the cartwheeling children, but the most famous is the story. Today the symbol (Der Radschläger) represents the story and every year the Düsseldorfers celebrate by having a cartwheeling contest.
.]] , seen from the top of the Rheinturm.]] After this battle the relationship of the two cities deteriorated, because they were commercial rivals. It is often said that there is a kind of hostility between the citizens of Cologne and Düsseldorf. Today, it finds its expression mainly in a humorous form (especially during the Rhineland Karneval) and in sports.
A market square sprang up on the banks of the Rhine and the square was protected by city walls in all four directions. In 1380, Düsseldorf was made regional capital of the Duchy of Berg. During the following centuries several famous landmarks were built, including the Collegiate Church of St. Lambertus. In 1609, the ducal line of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg died out, and after a virulent struggle over succession, Jülich and Berg fell to the Wittelsbach Counts of Palatinate-Neuburg, who made Düsseldorf their main domicile, even after they inherited the Electoral Palatinate, in 1685, becoming now Prince-electors as Electors Palatine.
Düsseldorf's growth was even more impressive under the leadership of Johann Wilhelm II (r. 1690-1716) in the 18th century, also known to his people as Jan Wellem. Greatly influenced by his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the art lover designed a vast art gallery with a huge selection of paintings and sculptures that were housed in the Stadtschloss (city castle).
After the death of childless Jan Wellem, the flourishing royal capital fell back to hard times, especially after Elector Karl Theodor inherited Bavaria and moved the electoral court to Munich. With him he took the art collection, which became part of what is now the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Destruction and poverty struck Düsseldorf after the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon made Berg a Grand Duchy and Düsseldorf its capital. J. C. C. Devaranne, a leader of Solingen's resistance to Napoleon's conscription decrees, was executed here in 1813. After the defeat of Napoleon, the whole Rhineland including Berg was given to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815. The parliament of the Rhine Province was established in Düsseldorf later.
By the mid-19th century, Düsseldorf enjoyed a revival thanks to the Industrial Revolution as the city boasted 100,000 inhabitants by 1882; the figure doubled in 1892.
In 1920, Düsseldorf became the centre for the General Strike. On 15 April 1920 45 delegates of the German Miners Union were murdered by the Freikorps.
It was a target of strategic bombing during World War II, particularly during the RAF bombing campaign against the Ruhr industry in 1943 when over 700 bombers would be used in a single night. Raids continued late into the war. As part of the campaign against German oil facilities, the RAF raid of February 20/21 1945 on the Rhenania Ossag refinery in the Reisholz district of Düsseldorf halted oil production there.
In 1946 Düsseldorf was made capital of the new federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city's reconstruction proceeded at a frantic pace and the economic transformation saw Düsseldorf growing into the wealthy city of trade, administration and service industries as it is known today.
{| class="toccolours" align="center" style="margin:2 auto; backgrond:none;" | style="padding-right:1em;" | ; District 1 (Stadtbezirk 1) : Altstadt, Carlstadt, Derendorf, Golzheim, Pempelfort, Stadtmitte ; District 2 (Stadtbezirk 2) : Düsseltal, Flingern-Nord, Flingern-Süd ; District 3 (Stadtbezirk 3) : Bilk, Flehe, Friedrichstadt, Hafen, Hamm, Oberbilk, Unterbilk, Volmerswerth ; District 4 (Stadtbezirk 4) : Heerdt, Lörick, Niederkassel, Oberkassel ; District 5 (Stadtbezirk 5) : Angermund, Kaiserswerth, Kalkum, Lohausen, Stockum, Wittlaer | | ; District 6 (Stadtbezirk 6) : Lichtenbroich, Mörsenbroich, Rath, Unterrath ; District 7 (Stadtbezirk 7) : Gerresheim, Grafenberg, Hubbelrath, Ludenberg ; District 8 (Stadtbezirk 8) : Eller, Lierenfeld, Unterbach, Vennhausen ; District 9 (Stadtbezirk 9) : Benrath, Hassels, Himmelgeist, Holthausen, Itter, Reisholz, Urdenbach, Wersten ; District 10 (Stadtbezirk 10) : Garath, Hellerhof |}
Many of the internet companies in Düsseldorf have their roots in the world of advertising: there are 400 advertising agencies in Düsseldorf, among them three of the largest in Germany: BBDO Group, Publicis Group and Grey Group. A number of affiliates of foreign agencies deserve mention as well, such as Ogilvy & Mather, Dentsu, Hakuhodo, Digital District and DDB. There are also about 200 publishing houses in Düsseldorf.
In Düsseldorf there are about 170 national and international financial institutions, and about 130 insurance agencies, and one of the biggest German stock exchanges. Several other major companies have their headquarters in the city: L'Oréal Germany (Cosmetics and Beauty); Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Branded Consumer Goods and Industrial technologies); E.ON (energy); ThyssenKrupp (metallurgy); Metro (wholesale, retail); Ergo (insurance); LTU (air transport), Cognis (chemicals, headquarter in Monheim near Düsseldorf, but production mainly in Düsseldorf).
Daimler AG builds the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter light commercial vehicles in Düsseldorf. Since the 1960s, there has been a strong relationship between the city and Japan. Many Japanese banks and corporations have their European headquarters in Düsseldorf - so many that Düsseldorf has the third largest Japanese community in Europe, after London and Paris.
The "Kö", which stands for Königsallee ("King's Avenue"), is a popular shopping destination. Some of the most reputed jewellery shops, designer labels, and galleries have their stores here. The Kö has about the highest rents for shops and bureaus in Germany. Messe Düsseldorf organizes several international congresses and trade fairs throughout the year, most notably boot Düsseldorf Boat Show, drupa Printing & Media and cdp Fashion Show.
After Frankfurt and Munich, Düsseldorf International Airport is Germany's third largest commercial airport, with 18.6 million passengers annually. The airport offers 180 destinations on 4 continents, and is served by 70 airlines. The airport buildings were partly destroyed by a devastating fire caused by welding works in 1996, killing 17 people. It was completely rebuilt and the Skytrain installed.
The city is a major hub in the Deutsche Bahn (DB) railway network. More than 1,000 trains stop in Düsseldorf every day. The central railway station at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz is located in Düsseldorf's city centre. Several S-Bahn lines connect Düsseldorf to the other cities of Rhine-Ruhr. Local light rail Stadtbahn traffic as well as bus traffic is carried out by the city-owned Rheinbahn which operates within the VRR public transport system. The light rail system also serves neighbouring cities and is partially operated underground.
The Central Station and the Airport Station (Flughafen-Bahnhof) are connected to the national and European high speed (Intercity / Eurocity, IC / EC) and extreme high speed InterCityExpress.
North Rhine-Westphalia has a closely-woven autobahn network with many routes leading directly to Düsseldorf. The city is connected to the A3, A44, A46, A52, A57, A59 and A524 motorways.
The name "altbier" first appeared in the 1800s to differentiate the beers of Düsseldorf from the new pale lager that was gaining a hold on Germany. Brewers in Düsseldorf used the pale malts that were used for the modern pale lagers, but retained the old ("alt") method of using warm fermenting yeasts.
The first brewery to use the name Alt was Schumacher which opened in 1838. The founder, Mathias Schumacher, allowed the beer to mature in cool conditions in wooden casks for longer than normal, and laid the foundation for the modern alt - amber coloured and lagered. The result is a pale beer that has some of the lean dryness of a lager but with fruity notes as well.
At present, there are four brewpubs in Düsseldorf which brew Altbier on premises: Füchschen, Schumacher, Schlüssel and Uerige. Three of the four are located in the Old Town (Altstadt); the other (Schumacher) is located between the Altstadt and the main rail station (Hauptbahnhof), and also maintains an establishment in the Altstadt, Goldener Kessel, directly across the street from Schlüssel.
Each produces a special, secret, seasonal "Sticke" version in small quantities, though the names vary: Schlüssel spells it "Stike", without the "c", while Schumacher calls its special beer "Latzenbier", meaning "slat beer", possibly because the kegs from which it was poured had been stored on raised shelves. Füchschen's seasonal is its Weihnachtsbier (Christmas beer), available in bottles starting mid-November, and served in the brewpub on Christmas Eve.
Together with the French city of Dijon, Düsseldorf is known for its mustard served in a traditional pot called "Mostertpöttche", which was eternalised in a still life by Vincent van Gogh in 1884.
* Apollo (varieté, circus; shows do not require knowledge of German language)
Other sports in Düsseldorf are ice hockey (the DEG Metro Stars, former DEG - Düsseldorfer Eislauf Gemeinschaft, which play in the new ISS-Dome) and American football. The Düsseldorf Panther are the most successful team in Germany with six national champion trophies and the Eurobowl 1995. In addition the Junior-Programm is the most successful youth-football program in Germany with thirteen national championship titles. Rhine Fire Düsseldorf was an established team of the NFL Europe and won the World Bowl two times in 1998 and 2000. Düsseldorf has a successful rugby union team (Düsseldorf Dragons), who play in the regional NRW league and consistently finish with a top 3 position. Table tennis is also played (Borussia Düsseldorf - the most successful team in Germany with Timo Boll), as are handball (HSG Düsseldorf), basketball (Düsseldorf Giants), baseball (Düsseldorf Senators) and dancing (Rot-Weiß Düsseldorf).
Other academic institutions include
{| cellpadding="10" |- style="vertical-align:top;" | Reading, United Kingdom (since 1947, officially since 1988) Haifa, Israel Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany Moscow, Russia Chongqing, China |}
}}
Category:Carnival cities and towns Category:German cities with light rail systems Category:German state capitals Category:Populated places on the Rhine Category:Turkish communities in Germany
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