Dusseldorf
Details
- Names
Düsseldorf
Dusseldorf
- Place Type
- inhabited place
- Description
- The northwestern German city of Düsseldorf is situated on both banks of the Rhine river some 21 miles northwest of Cologne. Known from at least 1159, it received its charter in 1288. It served as the capital of the duchies of Berg and Jülich from 1511 until it came under the Palatine-Neuberg line of rulers in 1609. It went to Prussia in 1815, and developed considerably in the 1870s as iron and steel industries and various commercial activities established themselves. World War II caused heavy damage to the city, but much of its historic architecture has been restored and much new development undertaken, notably the famous shopping street called the Königsallee. Restored historic structures include the 13th-14th-century St. Lambertuskirche, whose crooked tower has become the town symbol, the old town hall of 1567-1588, the tower of the castle of the electors palatine, built 1752-1763, Benrath Castle built 1755-1773 by Nicolas de Pigage, and the ruins of the palace of Frederick I Barbarossa. The first German skyscraper, the Wilhelm-Marx-Haus was built herein 1924. The city is a cultural center, housing a museum of ceramics, the state museum, and the city library, which features a collection of works by and about the poet Heinrich Heine, born in Düsseldorf. The city is a hub for transportation and communications, with an airport and three harbors. Economic activities include commerce and banking, and the manufacture of glass, chemicals, iron, steel, and textiles. The estimated population for 2004 was 572,900.
- Authority
- Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Source
- Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer (1961); Encyclopaedia Britannica (1988); Getty Vocabulary Program rules; LC Name Authority Headings. [online] (2002-); NGA/NIMA database (2003-); National Archives and Record Administration database (1987-); National Gallery of Art database, Washington (1987-); Times Atlas of the World (1990); Van Marle, Pittura Italiana (1932); Webster's Geographical Dictionary (1984); Webster's Geographical Dictionary (1988); World Gazetteer [online] (1990-2006);
- Died
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