DÃœSSELDORF

• Name: Düsseldorf
• Country: Germany
• State: North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
• Population: 571,933 (conurbation 2,976,786)
• Time zone: UTC +1h, UTC +2 (DST)
• Location: 51°13'32"N 06°46'58"E
• Elevation: 38 m above sea level
• Area: 216.99 km² (conurbation 2404 km²)

The Düsseldorf-Rhine-Ruhr area covers a similar acreage as the international metropolitan cities of Chicago, Paris and London, the population of 11.1 million reflects these dimensions. In comparison to that, the other metropolitan areas have populations of 8.0 million in Chicago, 12.3 million in London and 12.3 million in Paris.

Düsseldorf-Rhine-Ruhr in figures:

• Home to a population in excess of 11.1 million
• The base for 312,000 companies
• Offers employment to more than 3.7 million people
• Provides 45 universities and technical colleges with more than 300,000 students

History

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 Düsseldorf dates back to 1135 (then called Düsseldorp). It is written that under Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa the little town of Kaiserswerth, lying to the north of Düsseldorf, became a well fortified outpost, where soldiers keep a watchful eye over every movement on the Rhine. (Kaiserswerth became an official district of Düsseldorf in 1929.)

In 1186 Düsseldorf came under the rule of Berg. The counts of Berg moved their seat to the town in 1280.

August 14, 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 right to call itself a city.

Prior to that announcement, a bloody power struggle 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, paving the way for Düsseldorf's elevation to city status, which is remembered today with a monument on the Burgplatz.

A market square sprang up on the banks of the Rhine and the square was protected by city walls on all four sides. In 1380, Düsseldorf was named regional capital of the Duchy of Berg. During this time several famous landmarks were built, including the Collegiate Church of St. Lambertus.

Düsseldorf's growth was even more impressive under the leadership of Johann Wilhelm II, also known to his people as Jan Wellem. Heavily influenced by his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the art lover designed a vast art gallery with a mammoth selection of paintings and sculptures that are currently housed in the Stadtschloss.

After the death of the childless Jan Wellem, the flourishing royal capital fell on hard times as successor Carl Theodor moved the royal court to Munich. And destruction and poverty struck Düsseldorf after the Napoleonic Wars.

By the mid-19th Century, Düsseldorf enjoyed a revival thanks to the Industrial Revolution as the city boasted 100,000 inhabitants by 1882 before the figure doubled in 1892.

However, the First and Second World Warss soon plunged Düsseldorf into depression. During World War II, the city was virtually reduced to a pile of rubble as round-the-clock air attacks took their toll.

The Jewish community was decimated through deportation and murder as only 249 survived out of the pre-War population of 5,100. The Mahn-und Gedenkstätte für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Memorial to the Victims of National Socialism) provides a horrific account of the darkest chapter in Düsseldorf's history.

The British occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia turned out to be a piece of luck as in 1946 Düsseldorf was made the capital of the Nordrhein-Westphalia region.

The city's construction proceeded at frightening pace and the economic transformation saw Düsseldorf turned into a metropolis of trade, administration and service industries that we know today.

Together with the strong advertising branch, these companies serve as an important motor for the new economy. 400 advertising agencies are located in Düsseldorf, amongst them three of the biggest in Germany: the BBDO Group, the Publicis Group and the Grey Group. Multiple dependencies of foreign agencies have to be named as well, such as Ogilvy & Mather, Dentsu, Hakuhodu and DDB. Thus, it is no wonder that so many internet agencies in Düsseldorf have their roots in the classical world of advertising.

The city of Düsseldorf also has an important impact on the world of finance: around 170 national and international credit institutes and 130 insurance agencies have settled here. Furthermore one of the biggest German stock exchanges is located here. The print media, represented in Düsseldorf by around 200 publishing houses, have adapted to the high interest in fields of economy - online and offline. Internationally famous titles such as Handelsblatt, Wirtschaftswoche, Deutsches Wirtschaftsblatt, VDI nachrichten or DM are published in the metropolis on the Rhine. Almost all of these titles are already very successful in the Internet. Furthermore Genios, the daughter of the publishing group Handelsblatt runs Germany's biggest online- economic database from here. Renown film suppliers, such as Germany's biggest cinema enterprise the Riech-Group and TV-channels such as CNN, NBC Giga and QVC have made Düsseldorf to a domain of moving images.

Gehry-buildings in Media harbour, looking from "Monkey Island"
larger version

Last but not least, Düsseldorf offers attractive locations for the new economy, for example along the well known Königsallee. Or in the new media harbour: whereas once old warehouses have characterised the image along the Rhine, today post-modern architecture is presented in front of historic scenery. The creative ambience that famous architects such as Gehry has created, has developed into a magnet for internet agencies, advertisement agencies and designers. Similarly, the short distances contribute to the attraction of the media harbour: it is often just a little step to successful networking. A whole range of exhibitions about the internet such as the Online Marketing-Exhibition, the Internet Commerce Expo, the digiMedia or the Venture-Capital-Congress are further evidence for the conglomeration of the new media branch in Düsseldorf.

After Frankfurt and Munich, Düsseldorf International is Germany’s third biggest commercial airport in 2000, with about 16 million passengers. Three of four passengers in North Rhine-Westphalia use the flight connections to the 180 destinations in total which the airport offers. Over 180,000 take-offs and landings take place in Düsseldorf annually, and over 100,000 tonnes of freight is handled.

Taking a Deutsche Bahn train is a relaxing, reasonably priced, environmentally friendly way of getting to Düsseldorf. More than 1,000 trains stop in Düsseldorf every day, so you're sure to find your ideal connection. The central railway station at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz is located right in Düsseldorf's city center and is one of the most cutting-edge facilities in Europe.

North Rhine-Westphalia has a closely-woven autobahn network where almost all routes lead to Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is directly connected to the A3, A44, A46, A52, A57 and A59 autobahns. You can't really go wrong - especially as Messe Düsseldorf and Flughafen Düsseldorf is clearly signed wherever you look.

Düsseldorf is also home to the Kling Klang studio, which is the base of the avant-garde band Kraftwerk.

Altstadt, Angermund, Benrath, Bilk, Derendorf, Düsseltal, Eller, Flehe, Flingern, Friedrichstadt, Garath, Gerresheim, Golzheim, Grafenberg, Hafen, Hamm, Hassels, Heerdt, Hellerhof, Himmelgeist, Holthausen, Hubbelrath, Itter, Kaiserswerth, Kalkum, Karlstadt, Lichtenbroich, Lierenfeld, Lohausen, Loerick (Lörick), Ludenberg, Moersenbroich (Mörsenbroich), Niederkassel, Oberbilk, Oberkassel, Pempelfort, Rath, Reisholz, Stadtmitte, Stockum, Unterbach, Unterbilk, Unterrath, Urdenbach, Vennhausen, Volmerswerth, Wersten and Wittlaer.