Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), is a 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 States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

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 betwe ...

. It is located northwest 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 th ...

, its center lying just a few kilometers to the west of the river

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

; the borough of

Uerdingen Uerdingen () is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 17,888 (2019). Originally a separate city in its own right, Uerdingen merged with the city of Krefeld in 1929. Today, Uerdingen is best known for a local distillery ...

is situated directly on the Rhine. Because of its economic past, Krefeld is often referred to as the "Velvet and Silk City". It is accessed by the

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

s A57 (

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

–

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

) and

A44 A44 may refer to : * A44 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Oxford, England and Aberystwyth, Wales * A44 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Aachen at the German-Belgian border and Kassel * A44 motorway (Netherlands), a motorway in the Nethe ...

(

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

–

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

–

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

). Krefeld's residents now speak ', or standard German, but the native dialect is a

Low Franconian Low Franconian, Low Frankish, NetherlandicSarah Grey Thomason, Terrence Kaufman: ''Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics'', University of California Press, 1991, p. 321. (Calling it "Low Frankish (or Netherlandish)".)Scott Shay ...

variety, sometimes locally called ', ', ', or sometimes simply '. The

Uerdingen line The Uerdingen Line (german: Ürdinger Linie, Uerdinger Linie, nl, Uerdinger linie; named after Uerdingen by Georg Wenker) is the isogloss within West Germanic languages that separates dialects which preserve the ''-k'' sound in the first person ...

isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss (see Etymology below), is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Major d ...

, separating general dialectical areas in Germany and neighboring Germanic-speaking countries, runs through and is named after Krefeld's Uerdingen district, originally an independent municipality.

History

Early history

Records first mention Krefeld in 1105 under the name of ''Krinvelde''. In February 1598, Walburga, wife of

Adolf van Nieuwenaar Adolf van Nieuwenaar, Count of Limburg and Moers (also: Adolf von Neuenahr) (c. 1545 – 18 October 1589) was a statesman and soldier, who was stadtholder of Overijssel, Guelders and Utrecht for the States-General of the Netherlands during ...

, and last Countess of Limburg and Moers, gave the

County of Moers The County of Moers (german: Grafschaft Moers, nl, Graafschap Meurs) was a historical princely territory on the left bank of the Lower Rhine that included the towns of Moers and Krefeld as well as the surrounding villages and regions. History ...

, which included Krefeld, to

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

. After her death in 1600, John William of Cleves took possession of these lands, but Maurice successfully defended his heritage in 1601. Krefeld and Moers would remain under the jurisdiction of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...

and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

during the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

.Ada Peele
Een uitzonderlijke erfgenaam: De verdeling van de nalatenschap van Koning-Stadhouder Willem III
Uitgeverij Verloren, 2013, Germany, pp. 36-39. The growth of the town began in that century, partially because Krefeld was one of few towns spared the horrors of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

(1618–1648). The town of Uerdingen, incorporated into Krefeld in the 20th century, was less fortunate, almost ceasing to exist, destroyed at the hands of troops from

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

during the Thirty Years' War. After the death of

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

in 1702, Krefeld passed to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

. The

Battle of Krefeld The Battle of Krefeld (sometimes referred to by its French name of Créfeld) was a battle fought at Krefeld near the Rhine on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian- Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War. Background The Hano ...

occurred nearby in 1758 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Krefeld and Uerdingen were included within the Prussian

Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (german: Provinz Jülich-Kleve-Berg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1822. Jülich-Cleves-Berg was established in 1815 from part restored and part newly annexed lands by the Kingdom of Prussia from Franc ...

in 1815 (after 1822 the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

). In 1872 Krefeld became an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

within Rhenish Prussia. In 1918 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

used it as a base during the

occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland from 1 December 1918 until 30 June 1930 was a consequence of the collapse of the Imperial German Army in 1918, after which Germany's provisional government was obliged to agree to the terms of the 1918 armist ...

. In 1929 Krefeld and Uerdingen merged to form Krefeld-Uerdingen; in 1940 the name was shortened to simply ''Krefeld''.

The Mennonites of Krefeld

From 1607

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

arrived in Krefeld, as in nearby Gronau, from neighboring Roman Catholic territories where they were persecuted. They sought refuge in the lands of the more tolerant

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

, at the time rulers of Krefeld; in 1657 their congregation was officially recognized and in 1693 they were allowed to build their own church, although hidden in a back yard (which still exists, reconstructed after World War II, with about 800 members). Also the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Evangelists received a sympathetic audience among the larger of the German-Mennonite congregations around Krefeld, Gronau,

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

and

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864, Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Alto ...

. In 1683 a group of thirteen Mennonite families (twelve of them Mennonite-Quakers) left Krefeld to re-settle in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in order to enjoy religious freedom. They crossed the Atlantic on the ship ''Concord'', and founded the settlement of

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

(now incorporated in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

), invited by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, and thus beginning the

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

ethnic identity. The most important Mennonite family of Krefeld were the

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

merchants and silk weaving industrialists Von der Leyen who, by 1763, employed half of Krefeld's population of 6,082 in their factories. Their residence, built from 1791, is the current City Hall.

The Jews of Krefeld

Jews were listed as citizens of Krefeld from 1617. In 1764 a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

was erected, and by 1812, under French rule, the town included 196 Jewish families, with three Jewish-owned banks. Under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, the town became the capital for the surrounding Jewish communities including over 5000 Jews, and by 1897 they comprised 1.8% of the population.Jews of Krefeld

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website. Town citizen Isaac Meyer Fuld, a member of the family of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

, was a prominent bank-owner in Germany at the time. In 1846 a Jewish representative was voted onto the town's municipal council, while rising antisemitism was noted during these elections. A

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

synagogue was built in 1876, arousing opposition from the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

community. A Jewish school existed in the town, with more than 200 students around 1900. In November 1938 during

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

, the two synagogues were attacked. In 1941 following an order from

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

to deport the German Jews to the east, Jews from the town were sent to the area around Riga and murdered there. In 1945, the U.S. Army occupied the city and placed

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, then an Army private and later Secretary of State of the United States, in charge of the city administration. In 2008 a new synagogue, library and Jewish cultural center were erected on the location of one of the demolished synagogues. Around 1100 Jews were reported to live in and around Krefeld at the time.

World War II

On 11 December 1941, 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a detailed report on the transport of Jews from Krefeld and its surroundings listed 1007 Jews from Krefeld and Duisburg, were deported to the Šķirotava Railway Station near

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, later to become

Jungfernhof concentration camp The Jungfernhof concentration camp ( lv, Jumpravmuižas koncentrācijas nometne) was an improvised concentration camp in Latvia, at the Mazjumprava Manor, near the Šķirotava Railway Station about three or four kilometers from Riga (now within ...

. They were transported in freezing conditions with no drinking water for more than two days.Report on Jewish Deportation to Riga
(Hebrew Translation of German document by

), Almost immediately upon arrival they were shot in the Rumbula forest massacre.(German) Gottwald, Fred, and Schulle, Diana: ''Die „Judendeportationen“ aus dem Deutschen Reich 1941–1945. (''The Jewish deportations by the German Empire from 1941 to 1945.'') Wiesbaden 2005, , p.121 ''I heard that the Jews were evacuated in rows - and as they left the train - they were shot" (Victor Klemperer, diary entry of 13 January 1942) On 21 June 1943 British bombs destroyed many buildings in the east part of the city; a firestorm consumed large parts of the city center (apart from the central train station, which remained intact apart from minor damage). On 3 March 1945 US troops entered Krefeld, among them the later U.S. Secretary of State

. During the Cold War, the city was host to the 16th Signal Regiment of the United Kingdom's Royal Corps of Signals stationed at Bradbury Barracks. The town became part of the new state of

after World War II.

Points of interest

* Linn Castle (German) * Botanischer Garten Krefeld, 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 ...

Krefeld Zoo Krefeld Zoo is a zoo in the city of Krefeld, Germany, specialized in management of primates, carnivores, fauna from the African savanna and tropical birds. History Foundation time The zoo was opened on 22 May 1938, as a youth education plac ...

* Lange and Esters Houses, neighbouring houses by early

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

, now serving as local contemporary art museum venues * Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, contemporary art museum * German Textile Museum * Galopprennbahn Krefeld, horse racing track * The well-preserved historic old towns of the formerly independent districts

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

and Hüls

Districts

There are a number of districts in Krefeld. Each has a municipal representative, with representatives chosen by local elections. The districts are:

Municipal absorptions

Cities and places that were incorporated into Krefeld: * 1901:

(

Stadtrecht Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

since 1314) * 1907: Bockum, Verberg und Oppum (all mayoralty Bockum) * 1929: ** Krefeld became an independent city **

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

(received municipal law in 1255/1344, added Hohenbudberg in today's Duisburg district Friemersheim) ** Fischeln, Krefeld district ** Traar, Krefeld district ** Gellep and Stratum (in Lank), Krefeld district ** Forstwald (Vorst), Krefeld district ** Benrad und Hülserberg (Hüls), Kempen * 1975: Locality of Hüls from Kempen (since 1970 integrated and belonged since 1929 to the Kempen-Krefeld district; in 1936 Orbroich had been independent)

Historical population of Krefeld

¹ Census data Largest migrant communities in Krefeld by 31.12.2017 are :

Politics

Mayor

The current Mayor of Krefeld is Frank Meyer 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), elected in 2015 and re-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, Frank Meyer , align=left,

, 36,025 , 43.4 , 37,125 , 62.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Kerstin Jensen , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 22,901 , 27.6 , 22,366 , 37.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thorsten Hansen , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

, 12,778 , 15.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Vincentz , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

, 4,186 , 5.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Joachim C. Heitmann , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 3,578 , 4.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Richard Jansen , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...

, 1,551 , 1.9 , - , , align=left, Salih Tahusoglu , align=left, We Make Krefeld , 1,047 , 1.3 , - , , align=left, Andreas Drabben , align=left, Independent Voters' Association/Free Voters , 783 , 0.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Peter Lommes , align=left,

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (german: Deutsche Kommunistische Partei, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports left positions and was an observer member of the European Left. At the end of February 2016 it left the European party. His ...

, 207 , 0.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 83,056 ! 98.8 ! 59,491 ! 99.0 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 990 ! 1.2 ! 612 ! 1.0 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 84,046 ! 100.0 ! 60,103 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 180,496 ! 46.6 ! 180,256 ! 33.3 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer
The following is a list of mayors of Krefeld from 1848: * 1848–1872: Ludwig Heinrich Ondereyck * 1872–1881: Friedrich Christian Roos * 1882–1903: Ernst Küper * 1903–1905: Wilhelm Hammerschmidt * 1905–1911: Adalbert Oehler * 1911–1930: Johannes Johansen * 1945–1946: Johannes Stepkes * 1946–1947: Wilhelm Warsch * 1947–1949: Hermann Passen * 1949–1951: Hanns Müller ( FDP) * 1951–1956: Johannes Hauser ( CDU) * 1956–1961: Josef Hellenbrock (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

) * 1961–1968: Herbert van Hüllen ( CDU) * 1968–1982: Hansheinz Hauser ( CDU) * 1982–1989: Dieter Pützhofen, first term in office ( CDU) * 1989–1994: Willi Wahl (

) * 1994–2004: Dieter Pützhofen, second term in office ( CDU) * 2004–2015: Gregor Kathstede ( CDU) * 2015–present: Frank Meyer (

) The following is a list of city counsellors from 1946 until 1999: * 1946–1949: Johan Stepkes * 1949–1964: Bernhard Heun * 1964–1986: Hermann Steffens * 1986–1988: Alfred Dahlmann * 1988–1999: Heinz-Josef Vogt

City council

The Krefeld 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, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 24,977 , 30.2 , 3.4 , 17 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 23,599 , 28.6 , 6.1 , 17 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 16,662 , 20.2 , 9.0 , 12 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 4,834 , 5.9 , 0.5 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 4,476 , 5.4 , 1.2 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 2,664 , 3.2 , 1.4 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 2,031 , 2.5 , 1.3 , 1 , ±0 , - , , align=left, We Make Krefeld (WIR) , 1,200 , 1.5 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Independent Voters' Association/Free Voters (UWG/FW) , 1,023 , 1.2 , 0.5 , 1 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Voters' Association Our Future (WUZ) , 842 , 1.0 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independents , 267 , 0.3 , – , 0 , – , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(DKP) , 7 , 0.0 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 82,582 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,216 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 83,798 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 180,491 ! 46.4 ! 1.2 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Transport

Krefeld is connected to the

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 se ...

network with several stations, including its main station,

Krefeld Hauptbahnhof Krefeld Hauptbahnhof is the largest station of the city of Krefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The double-track and electrified Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway (KBS 425) and the Lower Left Rhine Railway (KBS 495) cr ...

. They are served by

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 ...

Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at f ...

and Regionalbahn trains. The

-based

Rheinbahn Rheinbahn is a public transport operator operating in Düsseldorf, Meerbusch and Kreis Mettmann. Its network consists of the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn, a network of 11 Stadtbahn (light rail) lines which are integrated in the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn netw ...

operates a

Stadtbahn ' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

service to the centrally located Rheinstraße stop. This line was the first electric

inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...

line in Europe, established in 1898, and commonly called the K-Bahn because of the letter "K" used to denote the trains to Krefeld. Nowadays, in the VRR notation, it is called U76, with the morning and afternoon express trains numbered as U70, the line number there coloured red instead of the usual blue used for

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...

lines. The term ''K-Bahn'', however, prevails in common usage. The city of Krefeld itself operates four tramway and several

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

lines under the umbrella of

SWK MOBIL The SWK MOBIL GmbH is a public transport operator in the city of Krefeld, and part of the Viersen district in Western Germany. The company is a fully owned subsidiary of ''Stadtwerke Krefeld'' (SWK), offering tramway and bus services. It is a me ...

, a city-owned company. Since 2010, 19 of the oldest trams of the type

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

GT8 were replaced by modern barrier-free trams of the type

Bombardier Flexity Outlook The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored, articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line (many of which are not low-floor), Flexity Outlook vehicles are ...

. SWK Mobil owns an option to buy another 19 trams of the same type to replace the last 19 Duewag M8 trams. The whole tram fleet will then be barrier-free. Next to that the city plans to extend the line 044 in Krefeld-Hüls to connect the northern district of Hüls with the Krefeld downtown area.

Economy

The headquarters of

Fressnapf Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH is a German franchise company for pet food. With over 1400 stores and 8000 employees in 12 European countries it is the largest European pet product retailer. History At 24 years of age, Torsten Toeller founded his ...

, a pet food retailer franchise company, are situated in Krefeld. The

Nirosta Outokumpu Nirosta is a business segment of Outokumpu, headquartered in Krefeld, Germany. It produces flats of stainless steel. Prior to January 2012, it was named ThyssenKrupp Nirosta and part of ThyssenKrupp AG. The unit has a plant in Bochum. Th ...

steelworks, once owned by

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and h ...

, was sold in 2012 to

Outokumpu Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the A ...

International relations

Since 1964, the city has hosted an "honors program in foreign language (German) studies" for high school students from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The program annually places approximately thirty carefully selected high school juniors with families in and around Krefeld for intensive German language training. Since 1973, the

fire services A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

of Krefeld and twin city

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

have played each other in an annual 'friendly' football match.

Twin towns – sister cities

Krefeld is twinned with: *

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

, Netherlands (1964) *

, England, United Kingdom (1969) *

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, Netherlands (1974) *

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, United States (1986) * Oder-Spree (district), Germany (1990) *

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

, Russia (1993) *

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

, Turkey (2009)

Notable people

Scientists and academics *

Charlotte Auerbach Charlotte "Lotte" Auerbach Royal Society, FRS Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (14 May 1899 – 17 March 1994) was a German geneticist who contributed to founding the science of mutagenesis. She became well known after 1942 when she discovered w ...

(1899–1994)genetic scientist *

Edmund ter Meer Edmund ter Meer (31 July 1852 – 5 November 1931) was a German chemist who discovered the ter Meer reaction and founded in 1877 the ter Meer dye company in Uerdingen. After the fusion with the aniline factory of Julius Weiler the Weiler-ter Mee ...

(1859–1931)chemist and industrialist *

Felix Kracht Felix Kracht (born 13 May 1912 in Krefeld; died 3 October 2002 in Weyhe) was a German engineer. After graduating from the Technical University of Aachen, he put his theoretical knowledge into practice at the aeronautical association Flugwissensc ...

(1912–2002)aerospace engineer, an

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

pioneer and former Senior Vice President *

Fritz ter Meer Fritz ter Meer (4 July 1884 – 27 October 1967) was a German chemist, Bayer board chairman, Nazi Party member and war criminal. From 1925 to 1945 Fritz ter Meer was on the board of IG Farben AG. He was involved in the planning of Monowitz co ...

(1884–1967)chemist and industrialist *

Leopold Löwenheim Leopold Löwenheim �le:o:pɔl̩d ˈlø:vɛnhaɪm(26 June 1878 in Krefeld – 5 May 1957 in Berlin) was a German mathematician doing work in mathematical logic. The Nazi regime forced him to retire because under the Nuremberg Laws he was considere ...

(1878–1957)logician *

Max Zorn Max August Zorn (; June 6, 1906 – March 9, 1993) was a German mathematician. He was an algebraist, group theorist, and numerical analyst. He is best known for Zorn's lemma, a method used in set theory that is applicable to a wide range of ...

(1906–1993)mathematician *

Rudi Dornbusch Rüdiger Dornbusch (June 8, 1942 – July 25, 2002) was a German economist who worked in the United States for most of his career. Early life and education Dornbusch was born in Krefeld in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia. After completing his ...

(1942–2002)economist Writers, poets and journalists *

Bernhard Hennen Bernhard Hennen (born 1966 in Krefeld) is a German writer of fantasy literature. He is best known internationally for his series ''Die Elfen'' ("The Elves", since 2004), which has been translated into a number of European languages. Career He ...

(born 1966)writer of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

* Bodo Hauser (1946–2004)journalist and writer *

Erol Yesilkaya Erol Yesilkaya (born Juny 6, 1976 in Istanbul) is a Turkish-German screenwriter. Life and work Erol Yesilkaya was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1976 and then moved with his parents to Krefeld, where he grew up. After he finished the Gymnasium and ...

(born 1976)Turkish-German screenwriter * Johannes Floehr (born 1991)author and comedian * Michael, German in Venice aka GiV (born 1968)youtube personality, presenter, storyteller and journalist *

Kurt Feltz Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

(1910–1982)poet *

Margarethe Schreinemakers Margarethe Schreinemakers (born 27 July 1958) is a German television presenter, talk show host and journalist. Life Schreinemakers was born in Krefeld and studied sociology at the University of Bonn. She works as television presenter and journ ...

(born 1958)television presenter and journalist Musicians *

Albert Dohmen Albert Dohmen (born 17 June 1956) is a German operatic bass-baritone who is known internationally for performing leading roles by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has also worked in concert halls and given lieder recitals. Career Bo ...

(born 1956)opera singer * Andrea Berg (born 1966)singer *

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Heinrich Band Heinrich Band (1821 – 1860) was the inventor of the bandoneón; this 'hand-organ-like' instrument is a reed instrument in the concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It c ...

(1821–1860)inventor of the

bandoneón The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...

Maria Madlen Madsen Maria Madlen Madsen (23 March 1905 – 23 March 1990), temporarily also under the stage name Gerda Hansi, was a German operatic soprano, theatre, film and television actress. Life Training period Born in Krefeld, Madsen grew up in Hamburg, w ...

(1905–1990)opera singer *

Ralf Hütter Ralf Hütter (born 20 August 1946) is a German musician and composer best known as the lead singer and keyboardist of Kraftwerk, which he founded with Florian Schneider in 1969. On May 12, 2021, Kraftwerk was announced as one of the inductees of ...

(born 1946)leader of electronic music pioneers

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

* Saki Kaskas (1971–2016)Greek-Canadian video game music composer Visual artists * Albert Oehlen (born 1954)artist * Charles J. Kleingrothe (1864–1925)photographer *

Heinrich Campendonk Heinrich Mathias Ernst Campendonk (3 November 1889 – 9 May 1957) was a painter and graphic designer born in Germany who became a naturalized Dutch citizen. Life Campendonk was born in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was the ...

(1889–1957)German-Dutch painter and graphic designer *

Johan Thorn Prikker Johan Thorn Prikker (6 June 1868, The Hague - 5 March 1932, Cologne) was a Dutch artist who worked in Germany after 1904. His activities were very eclectic, including architecture, lithography, furniture, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestries ...

(1868–1932)Dutch artist *

Johannes Itten Johannes Itten (11 November 1888 – 25 March 1967) was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus (''Staatliches Bauhaus'') school. Together with German-American painter Lyonel Feininger ...

(1888–1967)Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist *

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

(1921–1986)artist * Markus Oehlen (born 1956)artist *

Theo Akkermann Theo Akkermann (1 November 19071 August 1982) was a German sculptor who focused on public sculptures in churches and cemeteries. He held teaching positions at the University of Pretoria and in Ghent, Belgium. Life Akkermann and his baby sister ...

(1907–1982)sculptor Sportspeople *

Friedhelm Funkel Friedhelm Funkel (born 10 December 1953) is a German football manager and former player, who last managed 1. FC Köln. Coaching career Early career Funkel was manager of Duisburg between 13 May 1996 and 24 March 2000. He finished with a record o ...

(born 1953)football manager and player *

Juliane Schenk Juliane Schenk (born 26 November 1982) is a German badminton player. In March 2014 she retired from international play. Career In 2001, she won the European Junior Championships in women's singles. 2003 saw her win the women's doubles with Nic ...

(born 1982)German

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player * Martin Hyun (born 1979)German-American ice hockey player and author *

Philip Hindes Philip Hindes Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 22 September 1992) is a British Track cycling, track cyclist, specialising in Sprint (cycling), sprints. He holds dual nationality, having been born in Germany to a United Kingdom, British fath ...

(born 1992)British sprint cyclist *

Werner Rittberger Werner Rittberger (born 14 July 1891 in Berlin, Germany; died 12 August 1975 in Krefeld, Germany) was a German figure skater. Rittberger invented the Loop jump in 1910. German (and most other European) figure skaters call this jump “Rittberg ...

(1891–1975)figure skater Businessmen *

Ben Neumann Ben R. Neumann (born Bernd Neumann; May 27, 1966 in Krefeld, West Germany) was an American entrepreneur, investor, film producer and mixed martial artist, best known for founding early Internet hosting service Internet Communication Icom.com, ...

(1966–2020)American entrepreneur and film producer *

(1859–1931)chemist and industrialist *

(1912–2002)aerospace engineer, an

pioneer and former Senior Vice President *

(1884–1967)chemist and industrialist *

Thierry Hermès Thierry Hermès (10 January 1801 – 10 January 1878) was a French businessman who founded Hermès International and acquired the title as a fashion house designer. He was born in 1801 in Krefeld, Germany. Hermès originally established his busine ...

(1801–1878)French businessman and founder of

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

Military personnel *

Emil Schäfer Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau *Émile (novel), ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil an ...

(1891–1917)World War I aviator * Heinz Harmel (1906–2000)SS commander, Knight's Cross Holder *

Werner Voss Werner Voss (; 13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in Novem ...

(1897–1917)World War I aviator

References

External links

*
Krefeld-Linner Flachsmarkt

Krefeld Ice hockey team

KFC Uerdingen

Stadttheater Krefeld
{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Populated places on the Rhine Holocaust locations in Germany