WUPPERTAL: City,
North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. The
city extends for 10 miles (16 km) along the steep banks of the
Wupper River, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine, northeast of
Düsseldorf.
Formed as Barmen-Elberfeld in 1929 through the amalgamation of
the towns of Barmen, Elberfeld, Beyenburg, Cronenberg, Ronsdorf,
and Vohwinkel, the name was changed to Wuppertal ("Wupper
Valley") in 1930.
Barmen and Elberfeld, mentioned in the 11th and
12th centuries, jointly received the monopoly for yarn bleaching
for the Bergisches Land in 1527.
The introduction of ribbon making and linen weaving in the 16th
century, lace making (1750), silk weaving (1775), and red dyeing
(1785) gave added impetus to these towns' textile industries.
The 19th century`s industrialization added dye stuff and pharmaceutical industries. The most famous product originating from the Wupper valley is ASPIRIN, which still reliefs pain all over the world - more than 100 years since it was invented by an Elberfeld chemist named Felix Hoffmann.
The system of civic poor relief introduced in Elberfeld in 1853
was long regarded as a model throughout the world. A unique
monorail suspension railway was built along the Wupper River at
the turn of the 20th century in order to serve Barmen, Eberfeld,
and the other towns.
Wuppertal was severely damaged in World War II but was
subsequently rebuilt in parallel terraces on the river valley's
slopes, with numerous parks and public gardens and a well-known
zoo. Wuppertal is the centre of textile manufacturing in the
region. The city also manufactures chemicals, rubber, machinery,
vehicles, tools and printing equipment, printing works, and
publishing houses. Pop. (1989 est.) 371,283.
Views of Wuppertal
Wuppertal in der Welt
Wuppertal beschränkt sich nicht nur auf das Tal der Wupper in Deutschland, es finden sich auch in vielen Teilen der Welt Spuren von "Wuppertalern" - von Norwegen (Barmen) über Indiana (Elberfeld) und Lousiana (Barmen) bis nach Namibia (Gross Barmen) und Südafrika (Wupperthal).
Über einige "Wuppertaler" (z. B. Hermann Enters) gib es auch weiterführende Informationen.
zur Startseite
_____________________________________________
H. Henneböhle, Januar 2010
