According to abbreviationfinder, Düsseldorf is the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the administrative district of Düsseldorf, independent city, lies on both sides of the Rhine, 36 m above sea level, on the terraces of the Lower Rhine, based on the foothills of the Bergisches Land, (2019) 621,900 residents.
Düsseldorf is the seat of the state government and parliament; Public institutions include the main administration in North Rhine-Westphalia of the Deutsche Bundesbank (Düsseldorf branch), North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Finance Directorate (Düsseldorf branch offices), and the Higher Regional and Regional Labor Court. The city is also the seat of more than 200 associations (Association of Cities and Municipalities North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Association of German Economists and Business Economists, North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects, etc.) and organizations from business and technology as well as the administrations of major banks and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange.
Culture: Düsseldorf is the location of important educational institutions: Heinrich Heine University (founded in 1965 through the conversion of the Medical Academy) with university and state library, Düsseldorf University, Fliedner University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf for health, education, training and management, University of Fresenius (Düsseldorf study center with the Academy Mode & Design), State Art Academy Düsseldorf, Robert Schumann University Düsseldorf (RSH) for Music, Heinrich Heine Institute, IST University for Management, Max Planck Institute for Iron Research, Academy for Public Health, German Diabetes Center of Leibniz Community.
Important exhibition facilities are the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, natural history museums (including Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum), art collection North Rhine-Westphalia, Museum Kunstpalast, Kunsthalle, Goethe Museum in Jägerhof Palace, Hetjens Museum (ceramics) in Palais Nesselrode, art in the tunnel (under the Rhine promenade), theater, film, city museum, Neanderthal museum, museum for European garden art in Benrath Palace.
Other cultural institutions are the opera house (theater community Düsseldorf-Duisburg “Deutsche Oper am Rhein”), the theater and others. Stages (e.g. theater Kom [m] ödchen); EKŌ House of Japanese Culture with Buddhist temple and Japanese garden in the Niederkassel district (cultural center of the Japanese community); Motherhouse of the Kaiserswerther Diakonie (founded in 1836 by Th. Fliedner) in the district of the same name.
Economy: Düsseldorf is an important location for telecommunications, advertising and management consulting. Further focal points are machine and machine tool construction, vehicle construction, chemical, electrotechnical, paper and glass industry, breweries; Printers and publishers. Düsseldorf is known for its exclusive fashion shops and the art trade.
The city’s excellent traffic situation, the Düsseldorf-Neuss port facilities and the major Düsseldorf Airport in the Lohausen district (2017: 24.6 million passengers) have attracted business administrations and representatives of national and international companies and made Düsseldorf a trade fair (including for fashion), trade and congress city. Because of the close economic ties to Japan, the city is also called “Nippon on the Rhine”; Recently, there have also been an increasing number of Chinese branches in the city. Generous gardens, parks and promenades as well as the wide shopping streets, especially the Königsallee (»Kö«), establish Düsseldorf’s reputation as an elegant garden city (1987: Federal Garden Show). With (2017) 2.92 million visitors, 37.5% of them from abroad,
Urban traffic is served by the S-Bahn, trams and light rail. Three large bridges (Theodor-Heuss-Brücke in the north, 1957; Rheinkniebrücke in the south, 1969; Oberkasseler Brücke, 1976), all designed on the principle of the cable-stayed bridge, spanning the Rhine over a length of barely 4 km; three further bridges over the Rhine represent the connection with the district town of Neuss on the left bank of the Rhine; the airport bridge in the north was opened in 2002. With the lowering of the Rheinuferstraße in 1993, the 2 km long four-lane tunnel was put into operation and in 1995 the new Rheinuferpromenade was built.
History
The Düsseldorf settlement, first mentioned around 1150, was elevated to the status of city on August 14, 1288 by the Counts of Berg, who had acquired it before 1189. Around 1373 a “Rhine toll” was established, in 1384 and 1394 several surrounding “Honschaften” (farming communities) were incorporated.
Since the end of the 15th century, Düsseldorf has been the permanent residence of the (since 1380) Duchy of Berg and the capital of the countries Jülich, Berg, Kleve, Mark and Ravensberg, which were united from 1521; the citadel was laid out between 1528 and 1614. With the Jülich-Kleve succession dispute, Düsseldorf fell to Pfalz-Neuburg (from 1674 Pfalz-Sulzbach) in 1609 and finally in 1614 (with Jülich-Berg). The princes of Pfalz-Neuburg moved their residence to Düsseldorf in 1614 and promoted the expansion of the city and its fortification, especially Johann Wilhelm II., who resided in Düsseldorf as Elector Palatinate (1679–1716) (the city’s heyday until the residence was moved to Mannheim in 1716). After the Treaty of Lunéville (1801; demolition of the fortifications and subsequent greening, including the later »Kö« from 1804), Düsseldorf came under Bavarian administration (until 1806) and was the capital of the Napoleonic Grand Duchy under French administration (1806-13) Mountain. With its incorporation into the Kingdom of Prussia (1815), Düsseldorf became the seat of a district president, and in 1824 it became the seat of the provincial parliament of the Rhine Province.
Through the theater, art academy (since 1769; renewed in 1819, Düsseldorf school) and music festivals, it was an important cultural center in Vormärz. In 1838 the first railway line in the Rhineland (and West Germany) was opened with the railway line to Erkrath. With industrialization, Düsseldorf rapidly developed into a large city in the 19th century (from 1872 independent; population 1816: 23,000, 1855: 44,000, 1882: 100,000, 1900: 213,000, 1909: 328,000, 1939: 540,000). – In 1909, a.o. Gerresheim and the districts on the left bank of the Rhine (Oberkassel, Heerdt, Lörick), 1929 Benrath and Kaiserswerth, 1975 and others. Angermund, Kalkum and Wittlaer incorporated.
As a target for Allied air raids (1942–44), Düsseldorf was badly destroyed in World War II (85% of the city center, 49% in total; April 1945: 235,000 residents) and was captured by American troops on April 17, 1945 after seven weeks of fighting. Düsseldorf has been the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia since July 1946.
