Germany
Wuppertal – A city with many faces
Wuppertal is a town in the west of Germany with many different places. In the town live 348.000 people in seven parts called Barmen, Elberfeld, Beyenburg, Cronenberg, Langerfeld, Ronsdorf and Vohwinkel. The town is located 100 to 350 meters above the sea level. Wuppertal has a size of 168.39 km2. The pretty sides of Wuppertal are the forests and the high hills. The river Wupper runs through the city and it gave the town its name. High above the river runs the Suspensions railway that is unique in the world. The story of the Wuppertal suspension railway began in the end of the 19th century. The cities in the Wuppertal area grew into a big city. Because of that the industrialization of the city rose fast. Trams took the streets of the city a lot of space. Faster connections are the suspension railway and the railroads. So the suspension railway is a suitable vehicle for the public transport. The questions of space and traffic problems were solved. The suspension railway runs between Vohwinkel und Oberbarmen and usually drives every five minutes. First traces of humans in the valley of the Wupper date back to 1000 B.C. In 1527 bleaching and twisting cotton was the main industry. Through this, the trading with yarn products arose. In addition, it was the basis for the development of the textile industry and for the entire industrial development of Wuppertal. At the beginning of the 18th century they produced also laces and other cloth. Up 1750 the mechanization followed, with the first hand-powered Plaiting machines. The textile industry was the biggest business in the valley. They were many weaving mills and productions halls. In the centre of Elberfeld was a world textile trade fair for many decades. In this fair many types of cloth were presented. Barmen and Elberfeld were in the middle of the 19th century two of the biggest economic centres in Germany and one of the biggest industrial regions in continental Europe. But from the beginning of the 20th century the industrial development changed and today there are chemical-, machine-building-, and electrical engineering industries. Wuppertal is today home of international market leaders. There are worldwide known firms like Vorwerk, Delphi and Bayer AG. The Bayer AG is very important for the chemical industry development in Germany. The firm is a pharmaceutical and chemical industry. The city has a lot of other attractions. One of them is the zoo. There are 5.000 Animals of 500 species from all over the world. Another popular place is the Hardt-Park together with the botanical garden. The park even shines full of green area where you can arrange a nice picnic. Who is interested in plants, particularly in flowers, will visit the botanical garden. Wuppertal is also a centre of culture. There are museums, theatres and an opera house. An interesting museum is the “Von der Heydt-Museum”. Here you find collections of art works. Those, who are interested in history can visit the “Museum of early industrialization” the “Engels-Haus”. This place documents the beginning of the industrial revolution in the first part of the 19th century at the former residence of the Friedrich Engels family.
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