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Duisburg ( German: [ˈdyːsbʊʁk] ; Low German : Duisborg , pronounced [ˈdʏsbɔɐ̯χ] ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . Lying on the confluence of the Rhine ( Lower Rhine ) and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region , Duisburg is the 5th largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 15th-largest city in Germany .

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96-463: The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung ( WAZ ) is a commercial newspaper from Essen , Germany, published by Funke Mediengruppe . Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung was founded by Erich Brost and first published 3 April 1948. The paper has its headquarters in Essen. During the third quarter of 1992 Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung had a circulation of 626,000 copies. After the turn of the millennium,

192-612: A World Heritage Site since 2001. Notable accomplishments of the city in recent years include the title of European Capital of Culture on behalf of the whole Ruhr area in 2010 and the selection as the European Green Capital for 2017. Essen is located in the centre of the Ruhr area, one of the largest urban areas in Europe comprising eleven independent cities and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants into

288-402: A megalopolis . The city limits of Essen itself are 87 kilometres (54 mi) long, and border ten cities – five belonging to a district ( kreisangehörig ) and five independent – with a total population of approximately 1.4 million. The city extends over 21 kilometres (13 mi) from north to south and 17 kilometres (11 mi) from west to east, mainly north of

384-453: A railway bridge between Duisburg and Rheinhausen across the Rhine. It was 860 metres (2,820 ft) long, and constructed in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes, a record time. It was named the "Victory Bridge". A total of 299 bombing raids had almost completely destroyed the historic cityscape. 80% of all residential buildings had been destroyed or partly damaged. Almost the whole of

480-692: A brand new sports stadium for various kinds of sports such as football and American football. During the summer months of 2005 the World Games took place in Duisburg. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Duisburg was the stage for preparation of the Portuguese team and the residence of the Italian football team , who won the cup in the final match against France. Duisburg is also known for its Rhein-Ruhr-Marathon , its rowing and canoeing regattas and

576-618: A bypass east of the city and mostly serves through traffic. A59 runs parallel to A3 and serves the city from north to south with 14 interchanges, much more than most other cities in the Ruhr area. The A40 and A42 are two east–west routes that serve central and northern Duisburg. Autobahn A40 also serves major through traffic from the Netherlands to Berlin and points east. A short spur, A524 serves southern Duisburg. Most Autobahns have six lanes or are upgraded to six lanes (A59). Apart from

672-907: A large brewery, König . In the early Middle Ages, it was a royal court of the Franks, first mentioned in writing in 883. Duisburg is in the Lowland Rhine area at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr and near the outskirts of the Bergisches Land . The city spreads along both sides of these rivers. The following cities border Duisburg (clockwise starting from the north-east): Oberhausen , Mülheim an der Ruhr , Ratingen , Düsseldorf, Meerbusch , Krefeld , Moers , Rheinberg , and Dinslaken . Since 1 January 1975, Duisburg has been divided into seven districts or boroughs ( Stadtbezirke ) from north to south: Duisburg has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). On 25 July 2019 , Duisburg recorded

768-567: A major role in the shaping of the city and the Ruhr area in the late 19th and early 20th century. Riots broke out in February 1917 following a breakdown in the supply of flour. There were then strikes in the Krupp factory. On 11 January 1923 the Occupation of the Ruhr was carried out by the invasion of French and Belgian troops into the Ruhr. The French Prime Minister, Raymond Poincaré ,

864-467: A number of municipal parks. On 24 July 2010, 21 people were killed and hundreds injured in the city during the Love Parade disaster . The Love Parade was an electronic dance music festival and technoparade . Duisburg is involved in many kinds of sports. Nevertheless, most important for its inhabitants is the local football club MSV Duisburg . Recently, with the new MSV Arena the city received

960-598: A region where many ash trees were found or to a region in the east (of the Frankish Empire ). The oldest archaeological find, the Vogelheimer Klinge , dates back to 280,000 – 250,000  BCE . It is a blade found in the borough of Vogelheim  [ de ] in the northern part of the city during the construction of the Rhine–Herne Canal in 1926. Other artifacts from

1056-565: A small town within the sphere of influence of an important ecclesiastical principality , Essen Abbey , until the onset of industrialization. The city then—especially through the Krupp family's iron works—became one of Germany's most important coal and steel centres. Essen, until the 1970s, attracted workers from all over the country; it was the fifth-largest city in Germany between 1929 and 1988, peaking at over 730,000 inhabitants in 1962. Following

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1152-730: A strong identification of the population with "their" boroughs or districts and to a rare peculiarity: the borough of Kettwig , located south of the Ruhr River, and which was not annexed until 1975, has its own area code and remains part of the Archdiocese of Cologne , whereas all other boroughs of Essen and some neighbouring cities constitute the Diocese of Essen . Essen has a typical oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ) with cool winters and warm summers (different from Berlin or Stuttgart ). Without large mountains and

1248-626: A studio in Essen, which is responsible for the central Ruhr area. Each day, it produces a 30-minute regional evening news magazine (called Lokalzeit Ruhr ), a five-minute afternoon news programme, and several radio news programmes. A local broadcasting station went on air in the late 1990s. The WAZ Media Group is one of the most important (print) media companies in Europe and publishes the Ruhr area's two most important daily newspapers, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ; 580,000 copies) and Neue Ruhr/Rhein Zeitung (NRZ; 180,000 copies). In Essen,

1344-487: A temperature of 41.2 °C (106.2 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Germany. The current mayor of Duisburg is Sören Link of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2017. The most recent mayoral election was held on 24 September 2017, and the results were as follows: The Duisburg city council ( Duisburger Stadtrat ) governs

1440-409: A year. The city became increasingly important strategically. Resident in Essen since the 16th century, the Krupp family dynasty and Essen shaped each other. In 1811, Friedrich Krupp founded Germany's first cast-steel factory in Essen and laid the cornerstone for what was to be the largest enterprise in Europe for a couple of decades. The weapon factories in Essen became so important that a sign facing

1536-428: Is a so-called arms of alliance ( Allianzwappen ) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities use a mural crown instead of a heraldic crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to the secularized ecclesiastical principality of Essen under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right) escutcheon shows

1632-693: Is one of Germany's orchestras with an international reputation. Due to its history as a harbour city and a trade and industrial center, Duisburg offers a variety of architectural places of interest, such as the German Inland Waterways Museum . Buildings vary from old churches such as St. Johann Baptist in Duisburg-Hamborn, which was built in 900, to modern age buildings such as Micro-Electronic-Centrum in Duisburg-Neudorf, built in 1995. Another subject of interest

1728-525: Is part of the German television and radio network ARD . Duisburg hosts a comprehensive range of cultural facilities and events. A highlight is the annual "Duisburger Akzente", a festival focusing on modern social, political and cultural topics. Besides Düsseldorf Duisburg is a residence of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein , one of the major opera houses in Germany. The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra

1824-474: Is referred to as "Essen's earliest preserved example of architecture". Essen was part of the settlement areas of several Germanic peoples ( Chatti , Bructeri , Marsi ), although a clear distinction among these groupings is difficult. The Alteburg  [ de ] castle in the south of Essen dates back to the eighth century, the nearby Herrenburg  [ de ] to the ninth century. Recent research into Ptolemy 's Geographia has identified

1920-808: Is served by the InterCityExpress and InterCity long-distance network of the Deutsche Bahn , in addition line S1 of the S-Bahn line connects Duisburg with other cities of the Rhine-Ruhr area. The Duisburg Stadtbahn , the Duisburg tramway network , and a bus system, all operated by the Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft, provide local services. Stadtbahn line U79, the so-called "D-Bahn" ("D-Line"), connects to

2016-776: Is the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord an abandoned industrial complex open to the public and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage . The city center contains the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, the municipal theatre and the shopping street known as the "fountain mile". The city also contains two botanical gardens , the Botanischer Garten Duisburg-Hamborn and the Botanischer Garten Kaiserberg , as well as

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2112-784: Is the only city of the Rhine-Ruhr region lying on both the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. Duisburg is one of the largest cities in the Meuse-Rhenish (closely related to Dutch ) dialect area and the largest in the Kleverlandish area (north of the Uerdingen Isogloss ). Duisburg has the world's largest inland port , "Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen", in Duisburg- Ruhrort . Germany's third-largest and the Rhine-Ruhr region's main airport, Düsseldorf Airport , lies near

2208-510: The 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election , all three constituencies were held by the SPD. Duisburg I was represented by Sarah Philipp, Duisburg II by Rainer Bischoff, and Duisburg III by Frank Börner. In the Bundestag , Duisburg is divided between two constituencies: 115 Duisburg I (Rheinhausen, Süd, and Mitte) and 116 Duisburg II (Walsum, Hamborn, Meidereich/Beeck, Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). In

2304-558: The 20th Bundestag , both are held by the SPD. Duisburg I is represented by President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas , and Duisburg II by Mahmut Özdemir . The first syllable of the name of the city could go back to the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeus- , meaning something like "wet area" or "flood plain". Duisburg therefore could mean "fortified place in the floodplain". Another interpretation assumes that

2400-582: The Allies during World War II , with industrial areas and residential blocks targeted by Allied incendiary bombs . On the night of 12–13 June 1941, British bombers dropped a total of 445 tons of bombs in and around Duisburg. As part of the Battle of the Ruhr , another British raid of 577 bombers destroyed the old city between 12 and 13 May 1943 with 1,599 tons of bombs. During the bombing raids , 96,000 people were made homeless with countless lives lost. In 1944

2496-533: The Archbishop of Cologne , marched into the city and erected a city wall together with the population. This proved a temporary emancipation of the population of the city from the princess-abbesses, but this lasted only until 1290. That year, King Rudolph I restored the princess-abbesses to full sovereignty over the city, much to the dismay of the population of the growing city, who called for self-administration and imperial immediacy . The title free imperial city

2592-517: The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: The Essen city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it

2688-649: The Hanseatic League , and later became a major centre of the iron, steel, and chemicals industries. For this reason, it was heavily bombed in World War II . Today it boasts the world's largest inland port , with 21 docks and 40 kilometres of wharf. Duisburg is a city in Germany's Rhineland , the fifth-largest city (after Cologne , Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen ) in the nation's most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia . Its 500,000 inhabitants make it Germany's 15th-largest city . Located at

2784-634: The Red Dot industrial product design award. In early 2003, the universities of Essen and the nearby city of Duisburg (both established in 1972) were merged into the University of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and a university hospital in Essen. In 1958, Essen was chosen as the seat to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen , often referred to as the diocese of the Ruhr ( Ruhrbistum ). Founded around 845, Essen remained

2880-648: The River Ruhr . The Ruhr forms the Lake Baldeney  [ de ] reservoir in the boroughs of Fischlaken, Kupferdreh, Heisingen and Werden . The lake, a popular recreational area, dates from 1931 to 1933, when some thousands of unemployed coal miners dredged it with primitive tools. Generally, large areas south of the River Ruhr (including the suburbs of Schuir and Kettwig ) are quite green and are often quoted as examples of rural structures in

2976-605: The Stone Age have also been found, although these are not overly numerous. Land utilization was very high—especially due to mining activities during the Industrial Age—and any more major finds, especially from the Mesolithic era, are not expected. Finds from 3,000  BCE and onwards are far more common, the most important one being a Megalithic tomb found in 1937. Simply called Chest of Stone ( Steinkiste ), it

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3072-532: The main railway station welcomed visitors Hitler and Mussolini to the "Armory of the Reich " ( Waffenschmiede des Reiches ) in 1937. The Krupp Works also were the main reason for the large population growth beginning in the mid-19th century. Essen reached a population of 100,000 in 1896. Other industrialists, such as Friedrich Grillo , who in 1892 donated the Grillo-Theater to the city, also played

3168-419: The polis or oppidum Navalia as Essen. Around 845, Saint Altfrid (around 800–874), the later Bishop of Hildesheim , founded an abbey for women ( coenobium Astnide ) in the centre of present-day Essen. The first abbess was Altfrid's relative Gerswit (see also: Essen Abbey ). In 799, Saint Liudger had already founded Benedictine Werden Abbey on its own grounds a few kilometres south. The region

3264-477: The synagogue was sacked, but remained through the whole war in the exterior almost intact. The Steele synagogue was completely destroyed. During the Nazi era, tens of thousands of slave labourers were forced to work in 350 Essen forced labour camps. Here, they did mining work and worked for companies like Krupp and Siemens. Alfried Krupp was convicted in the Krupp trial at Nuremberg for his role in this but

3360-463: The verb for "eating" (written as lowercase essen ), and/or the German noun for food (which is always capitalized as Essen , adding to the confusion). Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of the name, there remain a few noteworthy interpretations. The oldest known form of the city's name is Astnide , which changed to Essen by way of forms such as Astnidum, Assinde, Essendia and Esnede. The name Astnide may have referred either to

3456-695: The Dutch stormed the city in 1629. She returned in the summer of 1631 following the Bavarians under Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim , only to leave again in September. She died 1644 in Cologne. The war proved a severe blow to the city, with frequent arrests, kidnapping and rape. Even after the Peace of Westphalia from 1648, troops remained in the city until 9 September 1650. The first historic evidence of

3552-458: The Essen show is smaller and is focused on car tuning and racing interests. Other important fairs open to consumers include SPIEL , the world's biggest consumer fair for tabletop gaming, and one of the leading fairs for equestrian sports , Equitana , held every two years. Important fairs restricted to professionals include "Security" (security and fire protection), IPM (gardening) and E-World (energy and water). The Westdeutscher Rundfunk has

3648-519: The Logport Logistic Center Duisburg stretches across an area of 2.65 km (1.02 sq mi). With 2.5 million TEU it is also the largest inland container port, based on 2011 figures. A number of companies run their own private docks and 114 million tonnes of goods yearly (2010) are handled in Duisburg in total. Duisburg is served by several autobahns , with 3 east–west routes and 2 north–south routes. A3 forms

3744-505: The Middle East. Numerous docks are mostly located at the mouth of the Ruhr where it joins the Rhine. Each year more than 40 million tonnes of various goods are handled with more than 20,000 ships calling at the port. The public harbour facilities stretch across an area of 7.4 square kilometres (2.9 sq mi). There are 21 docks covering an area of 1.8 km (0.7 sq mi) and 40 kilometres (25 miles) of wharf. The area of

3840-415: The Netherlands, all on the Rhine's right bank) was built by the namesake Tuisto , mythical progenitor of Germans, about 2395  BCE . There is nothing to establish any historical basis for such an early founding of Duisburg, which would have made it among the earliest cities in Europe. Latest archaeological studies show that the present-day market-place was already in use in the first century. It has been

3936-611: The Protestant city and the Catholic abbey opposed each other. In 1623, princess-abbess Maria Clara von Spaur, Pflaum und Valör, managed to direct Catholic Spaniards against the city in order to initiate a Counter-Reformation . In 1624, a "re-Catholicization" law was enacted, and churchgoing was strictly controlled. In 1628, the city council filed against this at the Reichskammergericht. Maria had to flee to Cologne when

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4032-518: The WAZ Group also publishes the local Borbecker Nachrichten  [ de ] and Werdener Nachrichten  [ de ] , both of which had been independent weekly newspapers for parts of Essen. Additionally, Axel Springer run a printing facility for their boulevard-style daily paper Bild in Essen. Duisburg In the Middle Ages , it was a city-state and a member of

4128-531: The WAZ came under economic pressure in the face of media change, so that several cost-cutting programs were adopted and editorial offices were closed. The last foreign offices were closed in 2013. In 2015, the local edition in Lünen, whose local content had previously no longer been produced in-house but supplied by Ruhr Nachrichten, was discontinued. WAZ's editorial independence was also gradually reduced: national reporting

4224-606: The allies, Essen was assigned to the British Zone of Occupation . On 8 March 1946, a German army officer and a civilian were hanged for the lynching of three British airmen in December 1944. Although weaponry is no longer produced in Essen, old industrial enterprises such as ThyssenKrupp and RWE remain large employers in the city. Foundations such as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach - Stiftung still promote

4320-591: The autobahns, no Bundesstraßen serve the city directly. B8 runs through the city, but uses A59's alignment. B288 runs in the extreme south of the city, and serves traffic to and from Krefeld . Several bridges span the Rhine, most prominently the A40 and A42 bridges, but also the L287 suspension bridge and the L237 arch bridge , a three-lane bridge with 2 lanes per peak direction with dynamic lane usage. Duisburg Hauptbahnhof

4416-541: The borough of Heidhausen at 202.5 metres (664 ft). The average elevation is 116 metres (381 ft). Essen comprises fifty boroughs which in turn are grouped into nine suburban districts (called Stadtbezirke ) often named after the most important boroughs. Each Stadtbezirk is assigned a Roman numeral and has a local body of nineteen members with limited authority. Most of the boroughs were originally independent municipalities but were gradually annexed from 1901 to 1975. This long-lasting process of annexation has led to

4512-624: The centres of resistance to Social Democracy and the Freikorps alike. During the Nazi era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by the Nazi Party . After World War II , the military government of the British occupation zone installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modelled on that of British cities. Later, the city council was again elected by the population. The mayor was elected by

4608-513: The city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia , Duisburg is divided between three constituencies: 61 Duisburg I (containing Süd district and most of Mitte), 62 Duisburg II (Walsum, Rheinhausen, and most of Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl), and 63 Duisburg III (Hamborn, Meiderich/Beeck, and parts of Mitte and Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). After

4704-400: The city had to be rebuilt, and most historic landmarks had been lost. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the decline of Duisburg's steel and mining industry caused a significant loss of residents. While in 1975 approximately 590,000 people were living in Duisburg, the number had shrunk to 518,000 in 1985. Duisburg celebrated its 1100th anniversary in 1983. The city's population recovered a little in

4800-430: The city was again badly damaged as a total of 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on 22 May. On 14 October, the tonnage was repeated with 2,018 tons when Halifax , Lancaster , and Mosquito bombers appeared over Duisburg as part of Operation Hurricane . This daylight raid was followed by a night attack; over 24 hours about 9,000 tons of HE and incendiaries had been dropped on Duisburg. Numerous similar attacks followed until

4896-577: The city, in Düsseldorf-Lohausen . With 42,747 students, the University of Duisburg-Essen is Germany's ninth-largest university. It has campuses in Essen and Duisburg, and a university hospital in Essen. Duisburg is a result of numerous incorporations of surrounding towns and smaller cities. The city is renowned for its steel industry . All blast furnaces in the Ruhr are now located in Duisburg. In 2000, 49% of all hot metal and 34.4% of all pig iron in Germany were produced here. It also has

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4992-413: The city. Over 270 air raids were launched against the city, destroying 90% of the centre and 60% of the suburbs. On 5 March 1943 Essen was subjected to one of the heaviest air-raids of the war. 461 people were killed, 1,593 injured and a further 50,000 residents of Essen were made homeless. On 13 December 1944 three British airmen were lynched. The Krupp decoy site ( Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage )

5088-674: The city: the Emscher in the north, and in the south the Ruhr River , which is dammed in Essen to form the Lake Baldeney  [ de ] and Lake Kettwig  [ de ] reservoirs . The central and northern boroughs of Essen historically belong to the Low German Westphalian dialects area, and the south of the city to the Low Franconian Bergish area. Essen is seat to several of

5184-448: The coat of arms can be found on the roof of the Handelshof  [ de ] hotel near the main station . Essen has a population of 586,608 and is the 2nd largest city in Ruhr area after Dortmund and the 10th largest city in Germany. Essen has also the largest urban density with cities such as Bochum , Gelsenkirchen and Oberhausen borders this city. In 1960, the population reached its historical peak of over 720,000 (Essen

5280-425: The confluence of the Rhine river and its tributary the Ruhr river , it lies in the west of the Ruhr urban area, Germany's largest, of which it is the third-largest city after Dortmund and Essen. The Ruhr itself lies within the larger Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region , one of Europe's largest conurbations. The city lies on both sides of the Rhine, with the city centre and most boroughs on the river's right bank, and

5376-423: The corporate headquarters of Schenker AG , the logistics division of Deutsche Bahn. Other major companies include Germany's largest construction company Hochtief , as well as Aldi Nord , Evonik Industries , Karstadt , Medion AG and Deichmann , Europe's largest shoe retailer. The Coca-Cola Company had originally established their German headquarters in Essen (around 1930), where it remained until 2003, when it

5472-402: The council as its head and as the city's main representative . The administration was led by a full-time Oberstadtdirektor . In 1999, the position of Oberstadtdirektor was abolished in North Rhine-Westphalia and the mayor became both main representative and administrative head. In addition, the population now elects the mayor directly. The current mayor of Essen is Thomas Kufen of

5568-417: The court in 1670 was that the city had to be "duly obedient in dos and don'ts" to the abbesses but could maintain its old rights—a decision that did not really solve any of the problems. In 1563, the city council, with its self-conception as the only legitimate ruler of Essen, introduced the Protestant Reformation . The Catholic abbey had no troops to counter this development. During the Thirty Years' War ,

5664-543: The daughters and widows of the higher nobility; led by an abbess, the members other than the abbess herself were not obliged to take vows of chastity . Around 852, construction of the collegiate church of the abbey began, to be completed in 870. A major fire in 946 heavily damaged both the church and the settlement. The church was rebuilt, expanded considerably, and is the foundation of the present Essen Cathedral. The first documented mention of Essen dates back to 898, when Zwentibold , King of Lotharingia , willed territory on

5760-408: The development of the city within the Prussian Rhine Province . Large housing areas near production sites were being built as workers and their families moved in. A major logistical center in the Ruhr and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of Allied bombers . As such, it is considered by some historians to be the single most heavily bombed German city by

5856-475: The double-headed Imperial Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire , granted to the city in 1623. The sinister (heraldically left) escutcheon is one of the oldest emblems of Essen and shows a sword that people believed was used to behead the city's patron Saints Cosmas and Damian . People tend to connect the sword in the left shield with one found in the cathedral treasury. This sword, however, is much more recent. A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of

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5952-425: The end of 1944. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Duisburg in April 1945. The US 17th Airborne Division , acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, met only scattered resistance in the vicinity and captured the city on 12 April 1945. On 8 May 1945 the ADSEC Engineer Group A, led by Col. Helmer Swenholt , commanding officer of the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment , constructed

6048-407: The end of 2017. The city's exhibition centre, Messe Essen , hosts some 50 trade fairs each year. With around 530.000 visitors each year, Essen Motor Show is by far the largest event held there. It has been described as "the showcase event of the year for the tuning community" and as the German version of the annual SEMA auto show in Las Vegas . As contrasted with the Frankfurt Auto Show ,

6144-432: The following years, up to 537,000 in 1992. It declined to 488,000 in 2011. On 19 July 2004, it was hit by a tornado . The municipal theater and parts of the city center were damaged. The city hosted the 7th World Games in 2005. In 2010, 21 people died because of a mass panic at the Love Parade ; over 500 people were injured. In 2010, Duisburg had a population of 489,600, a slight decrease since 2006. Duisburg has one of

6240-412: The fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne , Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as the tenth-largest city of Germany. Essen lies in the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, second largest by GDP in the EU , and is part of the cultural area of Rhineland . Because of its central location in the Ruhr, Essen is often regarded as the Ruhr's "secret capital". Two rivers flow through

6336-666: The highest proportions of Muslims in Germany, with the city's Muslim population at approximately 15%, or 71,000 residents, as of 2011. Population structure of non-German residents: Duisburg is home to 85,000 people of Turkish origin. Other estimates suggest that the Turkish population is as large as 100,000. The neighborhood of Marxloh is a majority Muslim neighborhood, with over 54% of residents not having German citizenship as of 2018. Marxloh has experienced significant unemployment, poverty and high crime rates. The Wall Street Journal has referred to Marxloh as "Germany's quintessential Muslim ghetto." The new Merkez Mosque, one of

6432-498: The important mining tradition of Essen date back to the 14th century, when the princess-abbess was granted mining rights. The first silver mine opened in 1354, but the indisputably more important coal was not mentioned until 1371, and coal mining only began in 1450. At the end of the 16th century, many coal mines had opened in Essen, and the city earned a name as a centre of the weapons industry. Around 1570, gunsmiths made high profits and in 1620, they produced 14,000 rifles and pistols

6528-432: The largest Muslim places of worship in Western Europe, was built with help by the way of contribution of 3.2 million euro from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Asiye Nur Fettahoğlu , a Turkish-German actress, was born in Duisburg on 12 November 1980. Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen is the city's inland port. It is officially regarded as a seaport because seagoing river vessels go to ports in Europe, Africa and

6624-431: The major central trading place of the city since the 5th century. The city itself was located at the " Hellweg ", an important medieval trade route , and at a ford across the Rhine. The Romans already guarded the ford. Due to the town's favorable geographic position a palatinate was built and the town was soon granted the royal charter of a free city . Duisburg became a member of the Hanseatic League . Around 1000

6720-476: The name is derived from the Old German "duis" which means "hill". Duisburg could mean something like "castle on the hill". Thus, a place on a hill overlooking the Rhine, that could refer to the area of the present Town Hall. Duisburggau (Diuspurgau) was also the name of the medieval Gau (country subdivision) on the Lower Rhine. A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus (fl. 1525) holds that Duisburg (along with Deutz, Cologne , Duisdorf in Bonn , and Doesburg in

6816-425: The neighbouring city of Düsseldorf and is operated jointly with the Rheinbahn of Düsseldorf. All S-Bahn, Stadtbahn, and bus lines operate under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr . There are several newspapers reporting on local events and politics, including the Westdeutsche Allgemeine (WAZ), the Neue Ruhr Zeitung (NRZ) and the Rheinische Post (RP). The local radio station "Radio Duisburg"

6912-598: The oldest preserved seven branched candelabrum, and the Golden Madonna of Essen , the oldest known sculpture of the Virgin Mary in the western world. Mathilde was succeeded by other women related to the Ottonian emperors: Sophia, daughter of Otto II and sister of Otto III , and Teophanu, granddaughter of Otto II. It was under the reign of Teophanu that Essen, which had been called a city since 1003, received

7008-563: The otherwise relatively densely populated central Ruhr area. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany , Essen with 9.2% of its area covered by recreational green is the greenest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the third-greenest city in Germany. The city has been shortlisted for the title of European Green Capital two consecutive times, for 2016 and 2017, winning for 2017. The city

7104-421: The presence of inland seas, it ends up extending a predominantly marine climate is found in Essen, usually a little more extreme and drier in other continents in such geographical location . Its average annual temperature is 10 °C (50 °F): 13.3 °C (56 °F) during the day and 6.7 °C (44 °F) at night. The average annual precipitation is 934 millimetres (37 in). The coldest month of

7200-561: The region's authorities, as well as to eight of the 100 largest publicly held German corporations by revenue, including three DAX -listed corporations. Essen is often considered the energy capital of Germany with E.ON and RWE , Germany's largest energy providers, both headquartered in the city. Essen is also known for its impact on the arts through the respected Folkwang University of the Arts , its Zollverein School of Management and Design, and

7296-536: The region-wide decline of heavy industries in the last decades of the 20th century, the city has seen the development of a strong tertiary sector of the economy . The most notable witness of this structural change ( Strukturwandel ) is the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex , which had once been the largest of its kind in Europe. Ultimately closed in 1993, both the coking plant and the mine have been listed by UNESCO as

7392-582: The right to hold markets in 1041. Ten years later, Teophanu had the eastern part of Essen Abbey constructed. Its crypt contains the tombs of St. Altfrid, Mathilde II, and Teophanu herself. In 1216, the abbey, which had only been an important landowner until then, gained the status of a princely residence when Emperor Frederick II called abbess Elisabeth I "Princess of the Empire" ( Reichsfürstin ) in an official letter. In 1244, 28 years later, Essen received its town charter and seal when Konrad von Hochstaden ,

7488-520: The river Rhine moved westward from the city. This put an end to the city's development as a trading town and it soon grew into a quiet rural city. The productions of cartographer Gerardus Mercator and the foundation of a university in 1655 established the city's renown as "Educated Duisburg" ("Duisburgum Doctum"). The rise of tobacco and textile industries in the 18th century made Duisburg an industrial center. Big industrial companies such as iron and steel producing firms ( Thyssen and Krupp ) influenced

7584-514: The river and Essen. Essen is twinned with: Essen cooperates with: Essen is home to several large companies, among them the ThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate which is also registered in Duisburg and originates from a 1999 merger between Duisburg-based Thyssen AG and Essen-based Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp . The largest company registered only in Essen is Germany's second-largest electric utility RWE AG . Essen hosts parts of

7680-606: The well-being of the city, for example by supporting a hospital and donating €55   million for a new building for the Museum Folkwang , one of the Ruhr area's major art museums. The administration of Essen had for a long time been in the hands of the princess-abbesses as heads of the Imperial Abbey of Essen . However, from the 14th century onwards, the city council increasingly grew in importance. In 1335, it started choosing two burgomasters , one of whom

7776-504: The western bank of the River Rhine to the abbey. Another document, describing the foundation of the abbey and allegedly dating back to 870, is now considered an 11th-century forgery. In 971, Mathilde II , granddaughter of Emperor Otto I , took charge of the abbey. She was to become the most important of all abbesses in the history of Essen. She reigned for over 40 years, and endowed the abbey's treasury with invaluable objects such as

7872-407: The year is January, when the average temperature is 2.4 °C (36 °F). The warmest months are July and August, with an average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F). The Essen weather station has recorded the following extreme values: In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it has the same form as the German infinitive of

7968-483: Was abandoned in 2012. While DerWesten was transformed into a tabloid site, the digital content of the WAZ editorial offices has since been published on waz.de again. In 2019, the WAZ central editorial office and the local editorial office in Essen moved to the Funke Media Group's new media building and the former publishing house was demolished. As part of a cost-cutting program, the printing plant in Essen

8064-519: Was built in Velbert to divert Allied airstrikes from the actual production site of the arms factory in Essen. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Essen in April 1945. The US 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division , acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, entered the city unopposed and captured it on 10 April 1945. After the occupation of Germany by

8160-552: Was closed in 2021; since then, all WAZ editions have been produced at the Funke printing center in Hagen-Bathey. This German newspaper-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Essen Essen ( German pronunciation: [ˈɛsn̩] ) is the central and, after Dortmund , second-largest city of the Ruhr , the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of 586,608 makes it

8256-475: Was convinced that Germany failed to comply the demands of the Treaty of Versailles . On the morning of 31 March 1923, the culmination of this French-German confrontation occurred when a small French military command, occupied the Krupp car hall to seize several vehicles. This event caused 13 deaths and 28 injured. The occupation of the Ruhr ended in summer 1925. On the night of Kristallnacht on 10 November 1938,

8352-506: Was finally granted by Emperor Charles IV in 1377. However, in 1372, Charles had paradoxically endorsed Rudolph I's 1290 decision and hence left both the abbey and the city in imperial favour. Disputes between the city and the abbey about supremacy over the region remained common until the abbey's dissolution in 1803. Many lawsuits were filed at the Reichskammergericht , one of them lasting almost 200 years. The final decision of

8448-755: Was made part of the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg from 1815 to 1822, after which it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province until its dissolution in 1946. During the German Revolution of 1918–19 , Essen was the home of the Essen Tendency ( Essener Richtung ) within the Communist Workers' Party of Germany . In 1922 they founded the Communist Workers' International . Essen became one of

8544-519: Was moved to the capital Berlin. In light of the Energy transition in Germany , Germany's largest electric utility E.ON announced that, after restructuring and splitting off its conventional electricity generation division (coal, gas, atomic energy), it will move its headquarters to Essen in 2016, becoming a sole provider of renewable energy . The DAX -listed chemical distribution company Brenntag announced it would move its headquarters to Essen at

8640-528: Was outsourced to a Funke central editorial office in Berlin in 2015, while a Funke-wide "competence center" for sports was established in Essen in 2016. At the same time, the publishing house invested in digital content: In 2007, the online portal DerWesten.de went online, which bundled all of the WAZ Group's editorial reporting in North Rhine-Westphalia on one platform. However, this strategy

8736-584: Was pardoned by the US in 1951. There were several subcamps in Essen in Second World War , such as the subcamps Humboldtstraße  [ de ] , Gelsenberg  [ de ] , Schwarze Poth  [ de ] . As a major industrial centre, Essen was a target for allied bombing, the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping a total of 37,014 tonnes (82 million pounds ) of bombs on

8832-498: Was placed in charge of the treasury. In 1377, Essen was granted imperial immediacy but had to abandon this privilege later on. Between the early 15th and 20th centuries, the political system of Essen underwent several changes, most importantly the introduction of the Protestant Reformation in 1563, the annexation of 1802 by Prussia , and the subsequent secularization of the principality in 1803. The territory

8928-414: Was singled out for its exemplary practices in protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity and efforts to reduce water consumption. Essen participates in a variety of networks and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the city's resilience in the face of climate change. The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Karnap at 26.5 metres (86.9 ft), the highest point in

9024-451: Was sparsely populated with only a few smallholdings and an old and probably abandoned castle. Whereas Werden Abbey sought to support Liudger's missionary work in the Harz region ( Helmstedt / Halberstadt ), Essen Abbey was meant to care for women of the higher Saxon nobility. This abbey was not an abbey in the ordinary sense, but rather intended as a residence and educational institution for

9120-621: Was the fifth largest German city at that time) due to its booming industrial era of the Ruhr Area and the West German Wirtschaftswunder . Since 1970s, the population of Essen declined due to loss of jobs by coal and mining. Essen has a large migrant population, most of them are from Turkey , Syria and Poland . The City of Monessen, Pennsylvania , situated along the Monongahela River , was named after

9216-578: Was the first local radio broadcaster in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It started broadcasting in 1990. There is a local television station ("STUDIO 47"), which was the first local station to broadcast in North Rhine-Westphalia . It started broadcasting in 2006. In its Duisburg studios the WDR produces a local programme for the city of Duisburg and the Lower Rhine region north of Düsseldorf. WDR

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