Duisburg

Duisburg is a German city in the western part of the Ruhr Area (Ruhrgebiet) in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an independent metropolitan borough within Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf. With the biggest inland harbour in Europe and its proximity to Düsseldorf International Airport Duisburg has become an important venue for commerce and steel production.

Since the 1960s the Universität Duisburg-Essen (University of Duisburg-Essen) has educated students from all over the world. With its 13 departments and more than 33,000 students (as of Winter Semester 2005/06), the University of Duisburg-Essen ranks among the 10 largest German universities.

Today's city is a result of numerous incorporations of surrounding towns and smaller cities. It is the 12th-largest city in Germany and the fifth city in North Rhine-Westphalia with 506,496 residents as of 31 December 2003. The city is renowned for its steel industry. There is still one coal mine in operation, but Duisburg has never been a coal-mining location to the same extent as the other places in the Ruhr. All blast furnaces in the Ruhr are now located in Duisburg. 49% of all hot metal and 34.4% of all crude steel in Germany is produced here (status 2000).

Geography

Duisburg's inner harbour

Duisburg is located in the Lowland Rhine area at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers and near the outskirts of the Bergisches Land. The city spreads along both sides of these rivers.

Adjacent cities

The following cities border Duisburg (clockwise starting from north-east):

Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Ratingen, Düsseldorf, Krefeld, Moers, Rheinberg and Dinslaken

History

Roman period

Latest archaeological studies show that today's market-place was already in use in the first century. It has been the major central trading place of the city since the fifth century. The city itself was located at the "Hellweg", an important medieval trade route, and at a ford across the River Rhine. The Romans already guarded the ford.
* 420 The Franks usurp the Roman settlement and re-colonisation of the old part of the town.
* 883 Normans conquer Duisburg and stay for the winter. First historic document mentioning Duisburg.

Middle Ages

Map of Duisburg, 1566

Due to the town's favourable 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 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").
* around 1000, the Rhine moves its river bed from Duisburg
* 1120 construction of the city wall
* 1279 "city charter" granted by King Lothar III
* 1445 attack by the Cologne Archbishop was thwarted
* 1566 Johannes Corputius completes his city map of Duisburg.
* 1666 Duisburg within the Duchy of Cleves becomes a part of Brandenburg and Prussia

Industrial revolution

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 the development of the city. Large housing areas near production sites were being built as workers and their families moved in.
* 1824 construction of the sulfuric acid factory Fr. W. Curtius. Beginning of the industry age in Duisburg.
* 1828 Franz Haniel builds a dockyard for steamships
* 1846 railroad line to Düsseldorf
* 1847 railroad line via Dortmund to Minden
* 1873 Duisburg becomes an independent city borough.
* 1904 Birth of the 100,000th resident (Ernst R. Straube)
* 1921 French Infantry occupy the city on 8 March to secure war reparation payments incurred during World War I.
* 1929 The city of Duisburg-Hamborn is renamed Duisburg.
* 1938 (November) The Nazis destroy the synagogue.

World War II

A major logistical center in the Ruhr and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of Allied bombers. Not only the industrial areas but also residential areas were attacked by Allied bombs. As an entry to the Ruhr, there were daily warnings of bombing raids in 1943.
* 1941 between 12/13 June British bombers drop a toal of 445 tonnes of bombs
* 1943 577 British bombers destroy the old city on 12/13 May with 1599 t of bombs: 96,000 people are made homeless.
* 1944 The city was badly damaged as a total of 2000 t of bombs drop on 22 May; on October 14 this amount was doubled when 2018 Halifax, Lancaster and Mosquito bombers appeared over Duisburg as part of Operation Hurricane. Numerous similar attacks follow.
* 1945 The city has under artillery barrage from 3 April 1945. On 12 April 1945 military units of the U.S. 9th Army enter Duisburg. On May 8, 1945 the ADSEC Engineer Group A, led by Col. Helmer Swenholt, commanding officer of the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, constructed a railroad bridge between Duisburg and Rheinhausen across the Rhine River. This bridge was 2,815 feet (0.86 km) long, and constructed in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes, a record time. This Bridge was named the "Victory Bridge"[1].

Post war period

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 the city had to be rebuilt, and most historic landmarks had been lost.
*1983 1100 year anniversary
*1989 Summer-Universiade in Duisburg.
*1999 The new Jewish community center with a synagogue is opened.
*2004 On 19 July Duisburg was hit by a tornado. The municipal theatre and parts of the city center were damaged.
*2005 Duisburg hosts the 7th World Games.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Watershed of the Rhine River

Duisburg Port

"Duisport" [2] is the largest inland port in Europe. It is officially regarded as a "seaport" because sea-going river vessels go to ports in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Numerous docks are mostly located at the mouth of River Ruhr.

Each year more than 40 million tonnes of various goods are handled with more than 20,000 ships calling at the port. The public harbor facilities stretch across an area of 7.4 km². There are 21 docks covering an area of 1.8 km² and 40 km of wharf. The area of the Logport Logistic Center Duisburg stretches across an area of 2.65 km². A number of companies run their own private docks and 70 million tonnes of goods yearly are handled in Duisburg on average.

Road and rail

Duisburg is connected to the German Autobahn system. Five such roads extend through the city area or pass it. Duisburg main station is serviced by the InterCityExpress and InterCity long-distance network of the Deutsche Bahn, in addition there is the inter-urban S-Bahn line connecting Duisburg with other cities of the Rhine-Ruhr area.A Stadtbahn light rail and a bus system, both operated by the Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft provide local traffic. The Stadtbahn line U79, the so-called D-Bahn, is a connection to the neighbouring city of Düsseldorf and serviced in joint operation with the Rheinbahn of Düsseldorf. All S-Bahn, Stadtbahn and bus lines operate under the umbrella of the VRR transport association.

Media

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).

There is a local TV station ("STUDIO 47"), which was the first local station to broadcast in North Rhine-Westphalia..

Culture

Duisburg hosts a comprehensive range of cultural facilities and events. A highlight is the annual "Duisburger Akzente" [3], 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 is one of Germany's orchestras with an international reputation.

Landschaftspark by night

Thanks to its history as a harbor city and a trade and industrial center Duisburg offers a variety of architectural places of interest. The spectrum goes from old churches such as "St Johann Baptist" in Duisburg-Hamborn, which was built in 900, to modern age buildings like Micro-Electronic-Centrum in Duisburg-Neudorf, built in 1995.

Another subject of interest is the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord [4] an abandoned industrial complex open to the public.

The city center locates the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum [5], the municipal theatre [6] and the shopping street known as "fountain mile".

Sports