Wuppertal (; "''

Wupper The Wupper is a right tributary of the Rhine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous region of the Bergisches Land in Berg County and enters the Rhine at ...

Dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia * Dale (woreda), district ;Norway * ...

''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and towns of Elberfeld, Barmen, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg and Vohwinkel, and was initially "Barmen-Elberfeld" before adopting its present name in 1930. It is regarded as the capital and largest city of the Bergisches Land (historically this was

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 ...

). The city straddles the densely populated banks of the River

, a tributary of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

called ''Wipper'' in its upper course. Wuppertal is located between the Ruhr ( Essen) to the north,

to the west, and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

to the southwest, and over time has grown together with Solingen, Remscheid and

Hagen Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (me ...

. The stretching of the city in a long band along the narrow Wupper Valley leads to a spatial impression of Wuppertal being larger than it actually is. The city is known for its steep slopes, its woods and parks, and for being the greenest city in Germany, with two-thirds green space of the total municipal area. From any part of the city, it is only a ten-minute walk to one of the public parks or woodland paths. The Wupper Valley was, along with the Ore Mountains and before the Ruhr, the first highly industrialized region of Germany, which resulted in the construction of the Wuppertal Schwebebahn suspension railway in the then independent cities of Elberfeld and Barmen. The increasing demand for coal from the textile mills and blacksmith shops from those cities encouraged the expansion of the nearby Ruhr. Wuppertal still is a major industrial centre, being home to industries such as textiles, metallurgy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, automobiles, rubber, vehicles and printing equipment.

Aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...

originates from Wuppertal, patented in 1897 by Bayer, as does the Vorwerk Kobold

vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

. The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and the European Institute for International Economic Relations are located in the city. Barmen was the birthplace of

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Wuppertal in its present borders was formed in 1929 by merging the industrial cities of Barmen and Elberfeld along with the communities of Vohwinkel, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg,

Langerfeld Langerfeld is a borough of the German city of Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. ...

and Beyenburg. The initial name Barmen-Elberfeld was changed in a 1930 referendum to Wuppertal ("Wupper Valley"). The new city was administered as part of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

's Rhine Province. Uniquely for Germany, it is a "

linear city Linear city may refer to: * Linear settlement * Linear city (Soria design), an 1882 concept of city planning * Linear city (Graves and Eisenman design), a 1965 proposal for a settlement in New Jersey * The linear city model of Hotelling's law See ...

", owing to the steep hillsides along the river

. Its highest hill is the Lichtscheid, which is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. The dominant urban centres Elberfeld (historic commercial centre) and Barmen (more industrial) have formed a continuous urbanized area since 1850. During the succeeding decades, "Wupper-Town" became the dominant industrial agglomeration of northwestern Germany. During the 20th century, this conurbation had been surpassed by

, Düsseldorf and the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

, all with a more favourable topography. From July 5, 1933, to January 19, 1934, the

Kemna concentration camp Kemna concentration camp (german: Konzentrationslager Kemna, KZ Kemna) was one of the early Nazi concentration camps, created by the Third Reich to incarcerate their political opponents (ostensibly in protective custody) after the Nazi Party first ...

was established in Wuppertal. It was one of the early

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

, created by the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

incarcerate Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

their political opponents upon gaining power in 1933. The camp was established in a former factory on the Wupper in the Kemna neighborhood of the Barmen part of Wuppertal. 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 ...

, about 40% of buildings in the city were destroyed by Allied bombing, as were many other German cities and industrial centres (see

Bombing of Wuppertal in World War II During the Second World War, the city of Wuppertal suffered numerous Allied air raids, primarily nighttime attacks from the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command during its Battle of the Ruhr bomber offensive. The largest raids were on the night of 29- ...

). However, a large number of historic sites have been preserved, such as: * Ölberg, literally "Oil mountain", Germany's largest original working class district, is protected as a historic monument. The name came about during the 1920s as the district continued using oil lamps while the surrounding bourgeois residential quarters were electrified. In traditional use, the name "Ölberg" refers to the Mount of Olives in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. * Brill is one of Germany's largest districts of Gründerzeit villas, i.e. middle class mansions built by industrial entrepreneurs during the second half of the 19th century. The US 78th Infantry Division under Major General

Edwin P. Parker Jr. Major General Edwin Pearson Parker Jr. (July 27, 1891 – June 7, 1983) was a senior officer in the United States Army. Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe, campaigns of World Wa ...

captured Wuppertal against scant resistance on April 16, 1945. Wuppertal became a part of the British Zone of Occupation, and subsequently part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. Population development since 1929: Largest groups of foreign residents by December 31, 2017:

Main sights

In total, Wuppertal possesses over 4,500 buildings classified as national monuments, most exemplifying styles such as

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely ...

, Art Nouveau/ Jugendstil and

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

. The American TV station CNN recommended Wuppertal as one of 20 places worldwide to visit in the year 2020 because of the Schwebebahn, the architectural diversity and the Nordbahntrasse, a cycle route across the city 2020. Main sights include: * Schwebebahn or ''floating tram''. One of the city's greatest attractions is the globally unique suspended

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

''Wuppertaler Schwebebahn'', which was established in 1901. The tracks are above the streets and above the Wupper. * Wuppertaler Schwebebahn Kaiserwagen A guided tour of the suspension railway in a special tram. *

Wuppertal Opera Opernhaus Wuppertal (Wuppertal Opera House) is a German theatre in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. It houses mostly performances of operas, but also plays, run by the municipal Wuppertaler Bühnen. The house is also the venue for dance perfo ...

(Opernhaus Wuppertal). * Concerthall ''Stadthalle'', a fine piece of turn-of-the-century architecture with outstanding acoustics. Home of the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra (Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal) (Stadthalle). * Wuppertal Dance Theatre (''Tanztheater Wuppertal''), a world-famous centre of modern dance founded by the choreographer

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mo ...

. *

Engels-Haus Engels-Haus is a museum in Wuppertal, Germany, located in the house where Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) grew up. The museum is a constituent member of the in Wuppertal. The late baroque Berg house was built in 1775 by in what was then Bar ...

, 18th century-architecturally typical of the region, it houses a permanent display of materials associated with the co-founder of modern Communism,

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Wuppertal Zoo, a large, nicely landscaped zoo. *

Botanischer Garten Wuppertal The Botanischer Garten Wuppertal (2.5 hectares), also known as the Botanischer Garten der Stadt Wuppertal, is a municipal botanical garden located at Elisenhöhe 1, Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge. ...

, a municipal

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 ...

. * Arboretum Burgholz, an extensive arboretum. *

Von der Heydt Museum The Von der Heydt Museum is a museum in Wuppertal, Germany. The Von der Heydt Museum includes works by artists from the 17th century to the present time. History The museum is housed in the former city hall of Elberfeld, which in 1902 became a ...

is an important art gallery with works from the 17th century to the present time. The first of Picasso's works that ever appeared in public was displayed here. * Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, a sculpture park with exhibition hall, founded by sculptor

Tony Cragg Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg (born Liverpool 9 April 1949) is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Early life and training Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool."Tony Cragg." ''Contemporary Artists''. Farmington Hills, ...

Wuppertal in the arts

* In the 1974 Wim Wenders movie ''

Alice in the Cities ''Alice in the Cities'' (german: Alice in den Städten) is a 1974 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It is the first part of Wenders' " Road Movie trilogy", which also includes '' The Wrong Move'' (1975) and '' Kings of the Road'' (1976). ...

'', the main characters visit Wuppertal. * Part of the action of (1984) of the comic book ''

Yoko Tsuno ''Yoko Tsuno'' is a comics album series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis in '' Spirou'' magazine since its debut in 1970. Through thirty volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical e ...

'' series by

Roger Leloup Roger Leloup (; born 17 November 1933) is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé, who would rely upon him to create detailed, realistic drawings and elaborate decoration for ''The Adventures of Tintin''.

take place in Wuppertal and its '. * The play ''Die Wupper'' by Else Lasker-Schüler is set in Elberfeld. * The 2000 movie '' The Princess and the Warrior'', by

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films '' Run Lola Run'' (1998), ''Heaven'' (2002), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' ...

, was filmed in Wuppertal. * The 2001 movie ', by Benjamin Quabeck, was filmed in Wuppertal. * In the 2011 movie '' Pina'', several of the dance sequences take place in and around Wuppertal. In several sequences, the elevated tram is used as a setting, as well as a backdrop.

Sports

Association football

In football, Wuppertal's most popular club is Wuppertaler SV which currently play in the Regionalliga West, the fourth tier of the

German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 season consisted of 2,235 leagues in up to 13 levels having 31,645 team ...

. Playing their home games at the city's

Stadion am Zoo The Stadion am Zoo is a multi-purpose stadium in Wuppertal, Germany. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of Wuppertaler SV Wuppertaler SV is a Football in Germany, German association football club loc ...

, the club, which enjoyed its last season in a nationwide division during the 2009–10 season, looks back on a rich and eventful history since its establishment as the result of a 1954 merger between the two main Wuppertal clubs ''SSV 04 Wuppertal'' and ''TSG Vohwinkel 80''. The club spent a total of seven seasons in the top flight of German football, three of which in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...

, which they were promoted to during 1972. In their first season in the nationwide first division, the club reached a remarkable fourth place and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first and only time in its history. After a first-round defeat by Polish side Ruch Chorzów and another two widely unsuccessful Bundesliga campaigns, the club disappeared from the top flight again, though, and has yet to return. During 2004, the club merged with local rivals ''SV Borussia Wuppertal'' to form ''Wuppertaler SV Borussia'', though the name change remained the only visible attribute of the merger with the club's colours and crest remaining unaltered. The additional "Borussia" was scrapped again during 2013 due to fans' demand amidst a change of leadership which was brought about to lead the club through necessary insolvency proceedings which have been completed as of September 2014. Another noteworthy Wuppertal football club is Cronenberger SC from the district of Cronenberg. Their greatest success to date is reaching the 1952 German amateur football championship final which they lost 5–2 against VfR Schwenningen. Today, they play one tier below WSV in the

Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...

. Famous players include

Günter Pröpper Günter Pröpper (born 8 December 1941) is a German retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Dorsten, Pröpper started his career in amateur football before joining VfL Osnabrück in 1964. He spent three seasons with the ...

who scored 39 of WSV's 136 Bundesliga goals and

international Horst Szymaniak, as well as Cronenberg's Herbert Jäger who represented

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki during his stay with the club.

Team handball

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

, Wuppertal's most successful team is Bergischer HC, playing in the top-tier Handball-Bundesliga which they were promoted to for the second time during 2013, reaching 15th place during the 2013–14 campaign and therefore staying among the top scorers for a second consecutive season. ''BHC'' originates from a 2006 cooperation between the management, squad and main sponsor of LTV Wuppertal and rivals SG Solingen from the nearby city of the same name. The club advertises itself as a representative of the entire Bergisches Land region. The team plays its home games at both Wuppertal's '' Uni-Halle'' (3,200 seats) and Solingen's ''Klingenhalle'' (2,600 seats). Wuppertal's past most successful club are the aforementioned LTV Wuppertal. LTV spent most of their seasons in the second and third tiers, before they merged with ''Wuppertaler SV's'' handball section in 1996 to form ''HSG LTV/WSV Wuppertal''. The handball combination was promoted to the Bundesliga after its inaugural season, finishing 8th before dissolving again in 1998. However, the mere departure of Wuppertaler SV still allowed LTV Wuppertal, whose professional team were renamed ''HC Wuppertal'', to play another three seasons in the Bundesliga before returning to the 2nd division and re-introducing its old name. After the establishment of BHC in 2006, LTV lost its financial base and was relegated several times, currently playing in the fifth-tier Verbandsliga.

Volleyball

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, SV Bayer Wuppertal was one of Germany's leading men's teams for many years during the 1990s and 2000s. The team was part of the well-known mass-sports club originating in Leverkusen and was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1978. Reacting to low attendances, the eponymous Bayer AG decided to relocate the volleyball team to Wuppertal in 1992, where there also was a Bayer-funded club. After the move, the club won various titles, including the German championship in 1994 and 1997 and the German Cup in 1995. In addition to that, they finished runners-up to Greek side Olympiacos S.C. in the 1995–96 European Cup Winners' Cup, losing the final in five sets. After the wide-reaching retreat of Bayer AG from less popular professional sport during 2008, the club acquired the name ''Wuppertal Titans'' and later ''A!B!C Titans Berg. Land''. However, the loss of their main sponsor eventually resulted in the team having to terminate during 2012. Presently, they once more play by the name of Bayer Wuppertal in the third-tier Regionalliga, unable to promote with their current financial set-up.

Basketball

Perhaps one of the most successful Wuppertal sports clubs was the women's basketball team of Barmer TV (known as ''BTV Wuppertal'' between 1994 and 2000, ''BTV Gold-Zack Wuppertal'' between 2000 and 2002 and ''Wuppertal Wings'' internationally). An 11-time German champion and 12-time German Cup winner, they won a remarkable ten consecutive doubles between 1993 and 2002. During 1996, they even won the European Cup as the first and so far only German side, beating

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

SFT Como SFT is an initialism that could refer to: * Sabrina Frederick-Traub (born 1996), Australian rules footballer nicknamed SFT * Schema therapy * Search For Technosignature * Skellefteå Airport (IATA: SFT), Sweden * Solitary fibrous tumor, a rare me ...

in the final. A year later, they narrowly missed out on back-to-back trebles, losing to French side CJM Bourges in the newly christened EuroLeague's final. In 2002, the club withdrew from the Bundesliga due to financial troubles, their then-main sponsor ''Gold-Zack Werke'' filing for insolvency a year later. After a decade-long stay in amateur divisions, Barmer TV returned to the second-tier 2nd Bundesliga North in 2014. Wuppertal co-hosted the

1998 FIBA World Championship for Women The 1998 FIBA Women's World Championship (German: 1998 FIBA Frauen-Weltmeisterschaft) was hosted by Germany from May 26 to June 7, 1998. The USA won the tournament, defeating Russia 71-65 in the final. Venues * Münster * Wuppertal * Rotenburg ...

as one of seven host cities.

Roller hockey

In roller hockey, Wuppertal club RSC Cronenberg are one of the most successful German teams, having won the German championship and the German Cup in both men's and women's competitions. In total, the men won 13 German championships and nine cups, the women ten championships and nine cups. Both teams play their home games at ''Alfred-Henckels-Halle''. Wuppertal hosted several international tournaments, including the World Championship in 1997 ( men) and 2004 ( women) and the European Championship in 1992, 2010 ( men) and 2011 ( women).

Education

Four institutions of higher education are in Wuppertal. *

University of Wuppertal The University of Wuppertal (''Universität Wuppertal'') is a German scientific institution, located in Wuppertal, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The university's official name in German is ''Bergische Universität Wuppertal ...

(Bergische Universität Wuppertal) * FOM University of Applied Sciences * Cologne University of Music, section Wuppertal * College of Theology, Wuppertal/Bethel (Theologische Zentrum Wuppertal) The privately financed Junior Uni is a unique German initiative to educate youth from the age of 4 to 18 in science outside the school program.

Politics

Mayor

The current Mayor of Wuppertal is Uwe Schneidewind of Alliance 90/The Greens, who was elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Uwe Schneidewind , align=left, Greens/ CDU , 50,218 , 40.8 , 52,439 , 53.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Mucke , 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 ...

, 45,524 , 37.0 , 45,645 , 46.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcel Hafke , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 9,057 , 7.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Bernhard Sander , align=left, The Left , 5,941 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Panagiotis Paschalis , 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 ...

, 4,295 , 3.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Henrik Dahlmann , align=left, Free Voters , 4,045 , 3.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Mira Lehner , align=left, Die PARTEI , 4,020 , 3.3 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 123,100 ! 98.8 ! 98,084 ! 99.2 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,541 ! 1.2 ! 762 ! 0.8 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 124,641 ! 100.0 ! 98,846 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 265,748 ! 46.9 ! 265,748 ! 37.2 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Wuppertal city council 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 ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 35,653 , 28.9 , 1.1 , 23 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 29,790 , 24.2 , 4.9 , 20 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 24,121 , 19.6 , 4.6 , 16 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 8,871 , 7.2 , 1.7 , 6 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 8,152 , 6.6 , 1.4 , 5 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 7,529 , 6.1 , 3.7 , 5 , 3 , - , , align=left, Voters' Association for Wuppertal (WfW) , 3,581 , 2.9 , 1.8 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI) , 3,346 , 2.7 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=blue, , align=left, Pro Wuppertal , 1,761 , 1.4 , 1.1 , 1 , 1 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutz) , 365 , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=#99CC33, , align=left,

V-Partei³ V-Partei3, known officially as V-Partei³ – Party for Change, Vegetarians and Vegans (german: V-Partei³ – Partei für Veränderung, Vegetarier und Veganer), is a German political party that was founded in April 2016 in Munich, Bavaria. The ...

, 36 , 0.0 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 123,205 ! 98.9 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,364 ! 1.1 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 124,569 ! 100.0 ! ! 80 ! 14 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 265,748 ! 46.9 ! 1.9 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Transport

Railways

Wuppertal is well connected to the rail network. The town lies on the Cologne–Hagen and the Düsseldorf–Hagen railway lines, and is a stop for long-distance traffic. The central station is located in the district of Elberfeld. Regionalbahn trains and some Regional-Express trains also stop at Oberbarmen, Barmen, Ronsdorf and Vohwinkel. There are also S-Bahn stations in

, Unterbarmen,

Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

Zoologischer Garten A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...

and Sonnborn. The rail services that operate on the mainline through the valley are the RE 4 (

Wupper-Express The Wupper-Express (RE 4) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) running from Aachen via Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Hagen to Dortmund. The service is operated every hour by DB Regio NRW. It ...

), RE 7 (

Rhein-Münsterland-Express The Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The hourly service initially runs to the south east from Krefeld via Neuss to Cologne and then turns to run to the northeast ...

), RE 13 (

Maas-Wupper-Express The Maas-Wupper-Express (RE 13) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from the Dutch border town of Venlo to Hamm in Westphalia. Route Together with the Wupper-Express (RE 4) and Rhine-Ruhr S- ...

), RB 48 ( Rhein-Wupper Bahn) and four Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn services: the S 7, S 8, S 9 and S 68 (peak hours only). Every 30 minutes, it is served by a long-distance (

Intercity-Express The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerl ...

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 ...

, EuroCity) service in each direction. With the exception of the line from Wuppertal to Solingen (operated as the S 7) and the

Prince William Railway The Prince William Railway Company (German: ''Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', PWE) was an early horse-drawn railway in Germany. It was founded as the ''Deil Valley Railway Company'' (''Deilthaler Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft'') in 1828 ...

to Essen (now S-Bahn line S 9), all of the branch lines connecting to main line in the city of Wuppertal are now closed. This includes, among others, the

Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd railway The Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd railway is a partially closed line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia from Düsseldorf-Derendorf station (formerly ''Düsseldorf RhE'' station) to Dortmund South station (formerly ''Dortmund ...

(the ''Wuppertaler Nordbahn''), the Burgholz Railway, the Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen–Hattingen railway, the

Wupper Valley Railway The Wupper is a right tributary of the Rhine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous region of the Bergisches Land in Berg County and enters the Rhine at Leve ...

and the Corkscrew Railway. Thus, there were once 31 stations in the Wuppertal area, including nine stations on the mainline. Nowadays only ten are serviced any more. Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof is the location of the lost luggage services for

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the ...

. The

Wuppertal Suspension Railway The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn ("Wuppertal Suspension Railway") is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. Its original name was ("Eugen Langen Monorail Overhead Conveyor System"). It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging car ...

, a suspended

, serves the city and its surroundings. It has operated since 1901, with new cars added beginning in December 2016. In 1950, a young elephant named

Tuffi Tuffi (born in 1946 in India, died in 1989 in Paris) was a female circus elephant that became famous in West Germany during 1950 when she accidentally fell from the Wuppertal Schwebebahn into the River Wupper underneath. On 21 July 1950 the ...

was put aboard the Wuppertal Schwebebahn (monorail), as a promotion for the Althoff Circus. The swinging tram upset the elephant, and she trumpeted, charged, and plummeted into the river below. Tuffi suffered minor injuries; she lived until 1989. In 1999, the ''Schwebebahn'' had its thus far only fatal accident. Between 1873 and 1987, Wuppertal was served by its own tram network.

Twin towns – sister cities

Wuppertal is twinned with: *

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

, Israel * Košice, Slovakia *

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 197 ...

, Poland * Matagalpa, Nicaragua * Saint-Étienne, France *

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

, Germany * South Tyneside, England, United Kingdom * Tempelhof-Schöneberg (Berlin), Germany

Notable people

* Ian Ashley (born 1947), British-German

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver * Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician *

(1940–2009), choreographer known for her work with the Wuppertal Dance Theater, died in Wuppertal *

Friedrich Bayer Friedrich Bayer (born Friedrich Beyer, 6 June 1825 in Barmen now Wuppertal – 6 May 1880 in Würzburg) was the founder of what would become Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company. He founded the dyestuff factory ''Friedrich Bayer' ...

(1825–1880), founder of the Friedrich Bayer paint factory, later Bayer AG * Greta Bösel (1908–1947), concentration camp guard executed for war crimes * Gyles Brandreth (born 1948), English writer, broadcaster, actor, and former British Conservative Member of Parliament *

Arno Breker Arno Breker (19 July 1900 – 13 February 1991) was a German architect and sculptor who is best known for his public works in Nazi Germany, where they were endorsed by the authorities as the antithesis of degenerate art. He was made offici ...

(1900–1991), sculptor *

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus move ...

(born 1941),

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

musician * Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970), philosopher of science * Udo Dirkschneider (born 1952), singer and songwriter * Rudolf Dreßler (born 1940), politician and ambassador *

George Dreyfus George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer. Early life and orchestral career Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany. He was the younger of two sons b ...

(born 1928), Australian bassoonist, composer * Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), psychologist who studied

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remember ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' The Communist Manifesto'' (with

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

) * Kurt Franz (1914–1998), SS Officer, major perpetrator of genocide during the Holocaust, died in Wuppertal *

Daniel Gerlach Daniel Gerlach (born 1977) is a German author, journalist, publisher and Middle East expert. He is the current editor-in-chief of the German Middle East quarterly magazine zenith and director-general of the Candid Foundation. Career Gerlach s ...

(born 1977), journalist *

Christoph Maria Herbst Christoph Maria Herbst (born 9 February 1966) is a German actor and comedian. Early life Herbst was born in Wuppertal. After passing the Abitur, he became a trainee banker and was active at the free theatre scene in Wuppertal at the same time ...

(born 1966), actor and comedian * Carolina Hermann (born 1988), figure skater *

Felix Hoffmann Felix Hoffmann (21 January 1868 – 8 February 1946) was a German chemist notable for re-synthesising diamorphine (independently from C.R. Alder Wright who synthesized it 23 years earlier), which was popularized under the Bayer trade name ...

(1868–1946), scientist, synthesized aspirin while working at a Bayer facility in Wuppertal *

Raimund Hoghe Raimund Hoghe (12 May 1949 – 14 May 2021) was a German choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author. Because he was born with scoliosis, his early efforts were focused on journalism. His writings explored the human condition; a do ...

(1949–2021), choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author * Werner Hoyer (born 1951), politician (FDP), President of the European Investment Bank *

Ignaz Kirchner Ignaz Kirchner (born Hanns-Peter Kirchner-Wierichs; 13 July 1946 – 26 September 2018) was a German actor who made a career on German-speaking stages, especially at Vienna's Burgtheater where he played for 30 years. A character actor, he worked w ...

(1946–2018), actor * Linda Kisabaka (born 1969), middle-distance runner * Hans Knappertsbusch (1888–1965), orchestra conductor * Peter Kowald (1944–2002),

musician * Hans Peter Luhn (1896–1964), computer scientist * Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945), expressionist poet * Harald Leipnitz (1926–2000), actor * Ulrich Leyendecker (1946–2018), composer *

Reimar Lüst Reimar Lüst (; 25 March 1923 – 31 March 2020) was a German astrophysicist. He worked in European space science from its beginning, as the scientific director of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) from 1962 and as Director Genera ...

(1923–2020), astrophysicist * Hans Moller (1905–2000), painter *

Steffen Möller Steffen Möller (; born 22 January 1969This is the year Möller himself states in interviews. Möller's management gives contradictory information as to the year of birth, ranging from 1971 to 1973. Source: de.wikipedia in Wuppertal) is a German t ...

(born 1969), satirist and actor in Poland *

Sylkie Monoff Sylkie Monoff is a German born Singer-Songwriter and Music Producer and has appeared in films. Life Born in Wuppertal, she studied music at the Hamburg Conservatory. Her debut album '' Harbor in the Night'' BMG Ariola spawned the radio hit "D ...

, singer-songwriter * Simone Osygus (born 1968), swimmer * Siegfried Palm (1927–2005), cellist, director of Hochschule für Musik Köln, general manager of Deutsche Oper Berlin * Julius Plücker (1801–1868), physicist * Kolja Pusch (born 1993), footballer *

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In th ...

(1931–2006), politician (SPD), former Federal President of Germany. * Hans Reichel (1949–2011), composer, recording artist, and inventor of the Daxophone * Emil Rittershaus (1834–1897), poet * Alice Schwarzer (born 1942), one of the leaders of the German second wave

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Annette Seiltgen Annette Seiltgen (born 26 June 1964 in Wuppertal) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano/dramatic soprano. Career Seiltgen grew up in an artistic environment. Her father, , was intendant and long-time director of the Stadttheater Ingolstadt, her m ...

(born 1964), operatic singer * Hans Singer (1910–2006), British economist *

Ilse Steppat Ilse Paula Steppat (30 November 1917 – 21 December 1969) was a German actress. Her husband was noted actor and director Max Nosseck. Biography She began her cinematic career at the age of 15 playing Joan of Arc. Steppat appeared regularly on ...

(1917–1969), actress * Rita Süssmuth (born 1937), former President of the German Parliament *

Horst Tappert Horst Tappert (26 May 1923 – 13 December 2008) was a German film and television actor best known for the role of Inspector Stephan Derrick in the television drama ''Derrick''. Biography Horst Tappert was born on 26 May 1923 in Elberfeld ...

(1923–2008), actor *

Helmut Thielicke Helmut Thielicke (; 4 December 1908 in Wuppertal – 5 March 1986 in Hamburg) was a German Protestant theologian and rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978. Biography Thielicke grew up in Wuppertal, where he went to a humanistic ...

(1908–1986), theologian * Stephen Timoshenko (1878–1972), Russian engineer and academician *

Bettina Tietjen Bettina Tietjen (* 5 January 1960 in Wuppertal) is a German television presenter and talkshow host. Life Tietjen studied German studies, art history and Romance studies at University of Münster and in Paris Paris () is the capital an ...

(born 1960), television presenter *

(born 1965), movie director and composer * Günter Wand (1912–2002), composer and orchestra conductor * Ute Vinzing (born 1936), operatic soprano * Henrik Freischlader (born 1982), blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer * Wolf Hoffmann (born 1959), metal guitarist, initiator of the musical band

Accept Accept may refer to: * Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc. * Accept (band), a German heavy metal band ** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979 * ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970 * ACCEPT (org ...

Armin T. Wegner Armin Theophil Wegner (October 16, 1886 – May 17, 1978) was a German soldier and medic in World War I, a prolific author, and a human rights activist. Stationed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Wegner was a witness to the Armenian g ...

(1886–1978), soldier, medic, human rights activist *

Mathilde Wesendonck Agnes Mathilde Wesendonck (née Luckemeyer; 23 December 182831 August 1902) was a German poet and author. The words of five of her verses were the basis of Richard Wagner's '' Wesendonck Lieder''; the composer was infatuated with her, and his ...

(1828–1902), poet, author, artist, muse of Richard Wagner

Gallery

Wuppertal Friedrichstraße 0003.jpg, Typical steep street in Wuppertal Cragg Skulpturenpark 05.JPG, Sculpturepark Waldfrieden - Tony Cragg ''Points of View'' (2008) Burgholz45.jpg, View of Burgholz woods with typical Bergisches farmerhouse oelberg wuppertal.jpg, Panoramic view of the Ölberg quarter in Wuppertal Wuppertal - Johannes-Rau-Platz - Bauernmarkt 2012 01 ies.jpg, City Hall Wuppertal-Barmen Wuppertal Schauspielhaus 2005.jpg, The theatre - Das Wuppertaler Schauspielhaus Schwimmoper an der Südstraße im Wohnquartier Elberfeld-Mitte im Stadtbezirk Elberfeld der kreisfreien Stadt Wuppertal in Nordrhein-Westfalen A1.jpg, The swimming arena "Schwimmoper" Elisenturm Wuppertal.jpg, Elisenturm Zoo Gaststätten Wuppertal 001.jpg, Zoo Wuppertal Wuppertal kaiserwagen.jpg, Special tours with the historical 'Kaiserwagen' Vohwinkeler-Flohmarkt-2.jpg, World's largest 'one day flea market' Wuppertal Hardt 0142.jpg, Botanic garden and view over the city Wuppertal Hardt 0165.jpg, The public park 'Hardt' in the center Wuppertal_Schwebebahn_Generation_15.jpg, The newest generation of the Schwebebahn Burgholz28.jpg, The river Wupper in the woods of Wuppertal Burgholz65.jpg, View from the Kiesberg woods Bergische Synagoge.jpg, "Neue Bergische Synagoge" Wuppertal_Beyenburg_-_Klosterkirche_02.jpg, Abbey Wuppertal-Beyenburg

Notes and references

External links

*
Wuppertal, Information , Photos
* * of the

{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland Districts of the Rhine Province Historic Jewish communities 1929 establishments in Germany Populated places established in 1929