Duisburg () is a city in the
Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German
state of
North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
and the
Ruhr rivers in the center of the
Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the
15th-largest city in Germany.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, it was a
city-state and a member of the
Hanseatic League, and later became a major centre of iron, steel, and chemicals industries. For this reason, it was heavily bombed in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Today it boasts the world's largest
inland port, with 21 docks and 40 kilometres of wharf.
Status
Duisburg is a city in Germany's
Rhineland, the fifth-largest (after
Cologne, Düsseldorf,
Dortmund and
Essen) of the nation's most populous federal state of
North Rhine-Westphalia. Its 500,000 inhabitants make it Germany's
15th-largest city. Located at the confluence of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
river and its
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
the
Ruhr river
__NOTOC__
The Ruhr is a river in western Germany ( North Rhine-Westphalia), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine.
Description and history
The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at ...
, it lies in the west of the
Ruhr urban area, Germany's largest, of which it is the third-largest city after Dortmund and Essen. The Ruhr itself lies within the larger
Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, one of Europe's largest conurbations. The city lies on both sides of the Rhine, with the city centre and most boroughs on the river's right bank, and is the only city of the Rhine-Ruhr region lying on both the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. Duisburg is one of the largest cities in the
Meuse-Rhenish (closely related to
Dutch) dialect area and the largest in the South Guelderish area (north of the
Uerdingen Isogloss).
Duisburg has the world's largest
inland port, "Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen", in Duisburg-
Ruhrort. Germany's third-largest and the Rhine-Ruhr region's main airport,
Düsseldorf Airport, lies near the city, in
Düsseldorf-Lohausen
Lohausen is an urban quarter in the north of Düsseldorf, bordering on Stockum, Kaiserswerth, Unterrath, Wittlaer, the river Rhine and Ratingen
Ratingen ( li, Rotinge) is a town in the district of Mettmann in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...
. With 42,747 students, the
University of Duisburg-Essen is Germany's ninth-largest university. It has campuses in Essen and Duisburg, and a
university hospital in Essen. Duisburg is a result of numerous incorporations of surrounding towns and smaller cities. The city is renowned for its
steel industry. All
blast furnaces in the Ruhr are now located in Duisburg. In 2000, 49% of all hot metal and 34.4% of all
pig iron in Germany were produced here. It also has a large brewery,
König. In the early Middle Ages, it was a royal court of the Franks, first mentioned in writing in 883.
Geography
Duisburg is in the Lowland Rhine area at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr 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 the north-east):
Oberhausen,
Mülheim an der Ruhr,
Ratingen, Düsseldorf,
Meerbusch
Meerbusch () is a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been an incorporated town since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Geography
Meerbusch is a town i ...
,
Krefeld,
Moers,
Rheinberg, and
Dinslaken
Dinslaken is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its harness racing track, its now closed coal mine in Lohberg and its wealthy neighborhoods ''Hiesfeld'' and ''Eppinghoven''.
Geography
Dinslake ...
.
Districts
Since 1 January 1975, Duisburg has been divided into seven districts or boroughs (''
Stadtbezirk
A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as " borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a me ...
e'') from north to south:
* Walsum (51,528)
*
Hamborn (71,528)
*
Meiderich/Beeck (73,881)
*
Homberg/
Ruhrort/Baerl (41,153)
* Duisburg-Mitte (center) (105,961)
*
Rheinhausen (77,933)
* Duisburg-Süd (73,321)
Climate
Duisburg has an
oceanic climate (
Köppen: ''Cfb''). On
25 July 2019, Duisburg recorded a temperature of , which is the highest temperature to have ever been record in Germany.
Politics
Mayor
The current Mayor of Duisburg is Sören Link of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD), who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2017.
The most recent mayoral election was held on 24 September 2017, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
, -
,
, align=left, Sören Link
, align=left,
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
, 127,793
, 56.7
, -
,
, align=left, Gerhard Meyer
, align=left,
Christian Democratic Union
, 57,815
, 25.7
, -
,
, align=left, Erkan Kocalar
, align=left,
The Left
, 13,306
, 5.9
, -
,
, align=left, Thomas Wolters
, align=left,
Free Democratic Party
, 12,776
, 5.7
, -
,
, align=left, Melanie Händelkes
, align=left,
National Democratic Party
, 7,519
, 3.3
, -
,
, align=left, Yasar Durmus
, align=left,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
, 5,478
, 2.4
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 224,687
! 98.7
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 3,009
! 1.3
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 227,696
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 365,646
! 62.3
, -
, colspan=5, Source
City of Duisburg
City council
The Duisburg city council (''Duisburger Stadtrat'') governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
,
, align=left,
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD)
, 43,051
, 30.8
, 10.1
, 32
, 3
, -
,
, align=left,
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, 29,966
, 21.5
, 3.3
, 22
, 1
, -
,
, align=left,
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
, 24,728
, 17.7
, 10.3
, 19
, 13
, -
,
, align=left,
Alternative for Germany (AfD)
, 12,968
, 9.3
, 5.7
, 10
, 7
, -
,
, align=left,
The Left (Die Linke)
, 7,714
, 5.5
, 1.0
, 6
, ±0
, -
,
, align=left,
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, 4,333
, 3.1
, 0.7
, 3
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, Young Duisburg (JUDU)
, 4,091
, 2.9
, 0.8
, 3
, 1
, -
,
, align=left,
Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutz)
, 2,599
, 1.9
, New
, 2
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Duisburg Alternative List (DAL)
, 1,709
, 1.2
, 0.1
, 1
, ±0
, -
,
, align=left,
Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
, 1,596
, 1.1
, New
, 1
, New
, -
,
, align=left, We Shape Duisbug (WGD)
, 1,471
, 1.1
, New
, 1
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Socially Just Independent (SGU)
, 1,384
, 1.0
, 0.1
, 1
, ±0
, -
,
, align=left, Solidarity for Duisburg (SfD)
, 958
, 0.7
, New
, 1
, New
, -
, colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey,
, -
,
, align=left, BIG-Dergah
, 890
, 0.6
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Civic Liberals (BL)
, 608
, 0.4
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left,
National Democratic Party (NPD)
, 550
, 0.4
, 1.3
, 0
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, Alliance Duisburg (Allianz)
, 377
, 0.3
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Alliance for Duisburg (BfD)
, 290
, 0.2
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Independent Gisela Schiffers
, 141
, 0.1
, New
, 0
, New
, -
, -
,
, align=left, Digital Ecological Social (DOS)
, 83
, 0.1
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Independent Marliese Lenz
, 57
, 0.0
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Awakening Duisburg (Aufbruch Du)
, 41
, 0.0
, New
, 0
, New
, -
! colspan=2, Valid votes
! 139,605
! 98.9
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Invalid votes
! 1,618
! 1.1
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 141,223
! 100.0
!
! 102
! 18
, -
! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout
! 360,750
! 39.1
! 1.4
!
!
, -
, colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer
State Landtag
In the
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, Duisburg is divided between three constituencies: 61 Duisburg I (containing Süd district and most of Mitte), 62 Duisburg II (Walsum, Rheinhausen, and most of Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl), and 63 Duisburg III (Hamborn, Meiderich/Beeck, and parts of Mitte and Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). After the
2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, all three constituencies were held by the SPD. Duisburg I was represented by Sarah Philipp, Duisburg II by Rainer Bischoff, and Duisburg III by Frank Börner.
Federal parliament
In the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...
, Duisburg is divided between two constituencies: 115 Duisburg I (Rheinhausen, Süd, and Mitte) and 116 Duisburg II (Walsum, Hamborn, Meidereich/Beeck, Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). In the
20th Bundestag, both are held by the SPD. Duisburg I is represented by
President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas, and Duisburg II by
Mahmut Özdemir.
History
The first syllable of the name of the city could go back to the
Proto-Indo-European root ''*dʰeus-'', meaning something like "wet area" or "flood plain". Duisburg therefore could mean "fortified place in the floodplain". Another interpretation assumes that the name is derived from the Old German "duis" which means "hill". Duisburg could mean something like "castle on the hill". Thus, a place on a hill overlooking the Rhine, that could refer to the area of the present Town Hall. Duisburggau (Diuspurgau) was also the name of the medieval
Gau (country subdivision) on the Lower Rhine.
A legend recorded by
Johannes Aventinus (fl. 1525) holds that Duisburg (along with
Deutz, Cologne
The Cologne borough of Deutz (german: Köln-Deutz ; ), is a part of central Cologne, Germany, and was once an independent town.
History
Deutz was established under Roman Emperor Constantine I in 310 AD, when he established ''Castrum Divitia'' ...
, Duisdorf in
Bonn, and
Doesburg in the Netherlands, all on the Rhine's right bank) was built by the namesake
Tuisto
According to Tacitus's '' Germania'' (AD 98), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the legendary divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and compariso ...
, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC. There is nothing to establish any historical basis for such an early founding of Duisburg, which would have made it among the earliest cities in Europe.
Roman period
Latest archaeological studies show that the present-day market-place was already in use in the first century. It has been the major central trading place of the city since the 5th century. The city itself was located at the "
Hellweg", an important medieval
trade route, and at a
ford across the Rhine. The
Romans already guarded the ford.
* 420: The
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...
usurp the Roman settlement and recolonize the old part of the town.
* 883: The
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
conquer Duisburg and stay for the winter. First historic document mentioning Duisburg.
Middle Ages
Due to the town's favorable geographic position a
palatinate was built and the town was soon granted the
royal charter of a
free city Free city may refer to: Historical places
* Free city (antiquity) a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras
* Free imperial city, self-governed city in the Holy Roman Empire subordinate only to the emperor
** Free City of ...
. 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").
*
1120: construction of the
city wall
* 1279: "city charter" granted by King
Lothar III
* 1290 Duisburg becomes part of the County (after 1417 Duchy) of
Cleves
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
* 1445 attack by Archbishop-Elector
Dietrich II von Moers (
de) of
Cologne was thwarted
* 1566
Johannes Corputius completes his
city map
A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduce ...
of Duisburg.
* 1666 Duisburg within the Duchy of Cleves becomes a part of
Brandenburg-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 within the Prussian
Rhine Province.
Large housing areas near production sites were being built as workers and their families moved in.
* 1823 a district ("Landkreis") Duisburg is established including the cities of
Essen and
Mülheim an der Ruhr.
* 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
railway line to Düsseldorf
* 1847
railway 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 Hamborn and Duisburg are joined together. The new city is given the name of Duisburg-Hamborn.
* 1935 Duisburg-Hamborn is renamed Duisburg.
* 1938 (November) The
Nazis destroy the city's 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. As such, it is considered by some historians to be the single most heavily bombed German city by the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, with industrial areas and residential blocks targeted by Allied
incendiary bombs
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
.
On the night of 12–13 June 1941, British bombers dropped a total of 445 tons of bombs in and around Duisburg. As part of the
Battle of the Ruhr, another British raid of 577 bombers destroyed the old city between 12 and 13 May 1943 with 1,599 tons of bombs. During the
bombing raids
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
, 96,000 people were made homeless with countless lives lost.
In 1944 the city was again badly damaged as a total of 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on 22 May. On 14 October, the tonnage was repeated with 2,018 tons when
Halifax,
Lancaster, and
Mosquito bombers appeared over Duisburg as part of
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the first test of a British atomic device. A plutonium implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island, in the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. With the success of Operation ...
. This daylight raid was followed by a night attack; over 24 hours about 9,000 tons of HE and incendiaries had been dropped on Duisburg. Numerous similar attacks followed until the end of 1944.
The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Duisburg in April 1945. The US
17th Airborne Division, acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, met only scattered resistance in the vicinity and captured the city on 12 April 1945.
On 8 May 1945 the
ADSEC Engineer Group A, led by Col.
Helmer Swenholt,
commanding officer of the
332nd Engineer General Service Regiment
332nd Engineer General Service Regiment or 332nd Engineer Regiment was activated as a Special Service Regiment in May 1942, as a unit in the United States Army. Later this unit was redesignated a General Service Regiment. The unit was formed ...
, constructed a
railway bridge between Duisburg and Rheinhausen across the Rhine. It was 860 meters long, and constructed in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes, a record time. It was named the "Victory Bridge".
Post-World War II 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.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, the decline of Duisburg's steel and mining industry caused a significant loss of residents. While in 1975 approximately 590,000 people were living in Duisburg, the number had shrunk to 518,000 in 1985.
Duisburg celebrated its 1100th anniversary in 1983. The city's population recovered a little in the following years, up to 537,000 in 1992. It declined to 488,000 in 2011. On 19 July 2004, it was hit by a
tornado. The municipal theater and parts of the city center were damaged. The city hosted the 7th
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
in 2005. In 2010, 21 people died because of a mass panic at the
Love Parade; over 500 people were injured.
Demographics
In 2010, Duisburg had a population of 489,600, a slight decrease since 2006.
Population structure of non-German residents:
Turkish community
Duisburg is home to 85,000 people of
Turkish origin. Other estimates suggest that the Turkish population is as large as 100,000. The new Merkez Mosque, one of the largest Muslim
places of worship in Western Europe, was built with help by the way of contribution of 3.2 million euro from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Asiye Nur Fettahoğlu, a Turkish-German actress, was born in Duisburg on 12 November 1980.
Transport
Duisburg Port
Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen is the largest inland port in the world. It is officially regarded as a "seaport" because seagoing river vessels go to ports in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Numerous docks are mostly located at the mouth of the Ruhr where it joins the Rhine.
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 . There are 21 docks covering an area of and of wharf. The area of the Logport Logistic Center Duisburg stretches across an area of . With 2.5 million
TEU it is also the largest inland container port, based on 2011 figures. A number of companies run their own private docks and 114 million tonnes of goods yearly (2010) are handled in Duisburg in total.
Roads
Duisburg is served by several
autobahns, with 3 east–west routes and 2 north–south routes.
A3 forms a bypass east of the city and mostly serves through traffic.
A59 runs parallel to A3 and serves the city from north to south with 14 interchanges, much more than most other cities in the Ruhr area. The
A40 and
A42 are two east–west routes that serve central and northern Duisburg. Autobahn A40 also serves major through traffic from the Netherlands to Berlin and points east. A short spur,
A524 serves southern Duisburg. Most Autobahns have six lanes or are upgraded to six lanes (A59).
Apart from the autobahns, no
Bundesstraßen serve the city directly.
B8 runs through the city, but uses A59's alignment. B288 runs in the extreme south of the city, and serves traffic to and from
Krefeld. Several bridges span the Rhine, most prominently the A40 and A42 bridges, but also the L287
suspension bridge and the L237
arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
, a three-lane bridge with 2 lanes per peak direction with dynamic lane usage.
Public transport
Duisburg Hauptbahnhof is served by the
InterCityExpress and
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
long-distance network of the
Deutsche Bahn, in addition line of the
S-Bahn line connects Duisburg with other cities of the
Rhine-Ruhr area.
The
Duisburg Stadtbahn, the
Duisburg tramway network, and a bus system, all operated by the Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft, provide local services. Stadtbahn line U79, the so-called "D-Bahn" ("D-Line"), connects to the neighbouring city of
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
and is operated jointly with the
Rheinbahn of Düsseldorf. All S-Bahn, Stadtbahn, and bus lines operate under the umbrella of the
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr.
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).
The local
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
"Radio Duisburg" was the first local radio broadcaster in the
German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It started broadcasting in 1990.
There is a local television station ("STUDIO 47"), which was the first local station to broadcast in
North Rhine-Westphalia. It started broadcasting in 2006.
In its Duisburg studios the
WDR produces a local programme for the city of Duisburg and the
Lower Rhine region north of Düsseldorf. WDR is part of the German television and radio network
ARD.
Culture
Duisburg hosts a comprehensive range of cultural facilities and events. A highlight is the annual "Duisburger Akzente", a festival focusing on modern social, political and cultural topics.
Besides
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
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.
Due to its history as a harbor city and a trade and industrial center, Duisburg offers a variety of architectural places of interest, such as the
German Inland Waterways Museum. Buildings vary from old churches such as "St Johann Baptist" in Duisburg-Hamborn, which was built in 900, to
modern age buildings such as Micro-Electronic-Centrum in Duisburg-Neudorf, built in 1995. Another subject of interest is the
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord an abandoned industrial complex open to the public and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The
European Route of Industrial Heritage. The city center contains the
Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, the municipal theatre and the shopping street known as "fountain mile".
The city also contains two
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s, the
Botanischer Garten Duisburg-Hamborn and the
Botanischer Garten Kaiserberg, as well as a number of municipal parks.
On 24 July 2010, 21 people were killed and hundreds injured in the city during the
Love Parade disaster
On 24 July 2010, a crowd disaster at the 2010 Love Parade electronic dance music festival in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, caused the deaths of 21 people from suffocation as attendees sought to escape a ramp leading to the festiv ...
. The
Love Parade was an electronic dance music festival and
technoparade.
File:Theater Duisburg 2013.jpg, Theater Duisburg, venue of the Duisburg Philharmonic
File:Abtei Hamborn3.JPG, St.Johann Baptist Abbey
File:Duisburg, Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Erzbunker -- 2016 -- 1229-35.jpg, Landschaftspark Nord (''"Landscape Park North''"), on a former industrial estate
File:Innenhafen Duisburg Blaue Stunde 2014.jpg, Exiting area at the old inner harbor
File:Duisburg – Botanischer Garten - panoramio.jpg, Botanical Garden Kaiserberg
Sport
Duisburg is involved in many kinds of sports. Nevertheless, most important for its inhabitants is the local
football club
MSV Duisburg. Recently, with the new MSV Arena the city received a brand new sports stadium for various kinds of sports such as football and American football.
During the summer months of 2005 the
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
took place in Duisburg. During the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
, Duisburg was the stage for preparation of the Portuguese team and the residence of the Italian
football team, who won the cup in the final match against France.
Duisburg is also known for its
Rhein-Ruhr-Marathon, its
rowing and
canoeing regattas and the world championships that take place there regularly. Other popular sports are
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
, baseball,
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
,
water polo, and
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
.
Notable people
*
Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), Flemish cartographer, inventor of the
Mercator projection
*
Ludwig Susen (1807–1863), elementary teacher
*
Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881–1919), sculptor
*
August Thyssen
August Thyssen (; Eschweiler, 17 May 1842 – Landsberg Castle, Ratingen, near Kettwig, 4 April 1926) was a German industrialist.
Career and marriage
After he had completed his studies at the RWTH Aachen University, University of Karlsruhe and ...
(1842–1926), industrialist
*
Oswald Pohl (1892–1951), Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
*
Paul Bäumer (1896–1927), World War I flying ace
*
Ferdinand Simoneit (1925–2010), journalist and author
*
Lüder Lüers (1926–2022), German horticultural architect, engaged in founding
Kindernothilfe
*
Dieter Kürten (born 1935), sports journalist
*
Daisy Door (born 1944), Schlager music singer
*
Hans-Werner Gessmann (born 1950), psychologist
*
Ronny van Dyke (born Jörg T. Hartmann in 1956), singer and songwriter
*
Frank Peter Zimmermann (born 1965), violinist
*
Christoph Reuter (born 1968), musicologist
*
Christian Ehring (born 1972), comedian
*
Stefan Gertler (born 1972), singer
*
Ramin Djawadi (born 1974), German-Iranian composer and music producer
*
Nur Fettahoğlu (born 1980), Turkish-German actress
*
André Lotterer
André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi tea ...
(born 1981), Belgian-German racing driver
*
Lance David Arnold (born 1986), racing driver
*
Benjamin Leuchter (born 1987), racing driver
*
Jacob Goll (born 1992), ice hockey player
Twin towns – sister cities
Duisburg is
twinned with:
*
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
, England, UK (1950)
*
Calais, France (1964)
*
Wuhan, China (1982)
*
Vilnius, Lithuania (1985)
*
Gaziantep, Turkey (2005)
*
Perm, Russia (2007)
*
San Pedro Sula, Honduras (2008)
*
Lomé, Togo (2010)
*
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...
, United States (2011)
References
Bibliography
External links
*
''Gemeindeblatt der Jüdischen Gemeinde Duisburg (1928–1932)''is a digitized periodical at the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
{{Authority control
World War II strategic bombing
Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia
Populated places on the Rhine
Port cities and towns in Germany
Members of the Hanseatic League
Free imperial cities
Districts of the Rhine Province