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The Rhine-Ruhr urban area in which Düsseldorf is located is the most populous agglomeration in Germany and one the largest in Europe with a population of 11.1 million.
At a time when the Roman Empire was strengthening its position throughout Europe, a few Germanic tribes clung on to their marshy territory on the other side of the Rhine River.
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 the following centuries several famous landmarks were built, including the Collegiate Church of St. Lambertus. In 1609, the ducal line of Jülich-Berg- ClevesMap of Germany showing Cleves Cleves (in German Kleve sometimes used in English as well; Dutch: Kleef is a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, near the Dutch border and the river Rhine, at 51° 47' North 6° 11' East. Population: 49 died out, and after a succession struggle, Jülich and Berg fell under the rule of the Counts Palatine of Neuburg, who made their main seat in Düsseldorf, even after they inherited the PalatinateA palatinate is an area administered by a count palatine, originally the direct representative of the sovereign but later the hereditary ruler of the territory subject to the crown's overlordship. Germany More particularly, the Palatinate (German die Pfal, in 1685Events February 6 James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. February 18 Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. June 20, becoming now Prince-electorIn the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors or electoral princes German: Kurfurst (singular) Kurfursten (plural)—were the members of the electoral college of Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the king of Germany before his accession ass 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. Heavily influenced by his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' MediciAnna Maria Luisa de' Medici ( 1667- 1743), the wife of Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine ( 1690- 1716), was the last of the Medicis. Her most notable action was willing all the personal property of the Medicis to the Florentine state, provided that noth, 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, especially Elector Karl Theodor inherited Bavaria and moved the electoral court to Munich. And destruction and poverty struck Düsseldorf after the Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars lasted from 1804 until 1815. They were a continuation of the conflicts sparked by the French Revolution and covered the duration of the First French Empire. The First and Second Coalitions For a more detailed account see the French Rev.
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 Wars 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.
Somewhere in Düsseldorf was the location of the subcamp of the concentration camp in Buchenwald, where Polish prisoners were imprisoned.
The British occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia turned out well for Düsseldorf as in 1946 it 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.
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