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 Lever ...

Dale''") 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 States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and towns of

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a docu ...

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...

Ronsdorf Ronsdorf is a district of the German city of Wuppertal. It has population of about 22,500. Ronsdorf was first mentioned in 1494, and in 1745 it received its town charter. It was founded only a few years before by Elias Eller when he relocated the ...

, 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 The Bergisches Land (, ''Berg Country'') is a low mountain range region within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over ...

(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 th ...

). 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= , so ...

called ''Wipper'' in its upper course. Wuppertal is located between the

Ruhr 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 ...

(

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

) to the north,

to the west, and

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 ...

to the southwest, and over time has grown together with

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

Remscheid Remscheid () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south ...

and

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

. 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

, the first highly industrialized region of Germany, which resulted in the construction of the

Wuppertal Schwebebahn 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 cars ...

suspension railway A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail in which the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track (as opposed to a cable used in aerial tramways), which is built above streets, waterways, or existing railway track. History Experimental d ...

in the then independent cities of

and

. The increasing demand for coal from the textile mills and blacksmith shops from those cities encouraged the expansion of the nearby

. Wuppertal still is a major industrial centre, being home to industries such as textiles,

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

, 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 Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

, as does the

Vorwerk Vorwerk may refer to: *Vorwerk, Lower Saxony, a municipality in the Rotenburg district, Lower Saxony *a locality of Altenmedingen, in the Uelzen district, Lower Saxony *a subdivision of Celle, Lower Saxony *a Vorwerk (fortification), an advanced fo ...

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 The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (official German name: ) is a German research institution for sustainability research focusing on impacts and practical application. It explores and develops models, strategies and inst ...

and the European Institute for International Economic Relations are located in the city.

was the birthplace of

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Wuppertal in its present borders was formed in 1929 by merging the industrial cities of

and

along with the communities of Vohwinkel,

, 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. I ...

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 em ...

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 ...

. 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 al ...

", 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''. The comb ...

. 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 firs ...

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 concen ...

, 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 politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

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

, 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 A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

. 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 The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

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

. *

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

is one of Germany's largest districts of

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

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. captured Wuppertal against scant resistance on April 16, 1945. Wuppertal became a part of the

British Zone of Occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

, 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 O ...

. 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 was ...

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 in ...

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 u ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

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., 200 ...

. The American TV station

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

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 accurately, ...

''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 mov ...

. *

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 Wuppertal Zoo (german: Zoologischer Garten Wuppertal or ''Zoo Wuppertal'') is a zoo in Wuppertal, Germany. About 5,000 animals representing about 500 species from around the world live at the zoo, including apes, monkeys, bears, big cats, eleph ...

, a large, nicely landscaped zoo. * Botanischer Garten Wuppertal, 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 The Arboretum Burgholz (about 250 hectares) is an arboretum maintained by the Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz Nordrhein Westfalen. It is located in the Staatsforst Burgholz at Friedensstraße 69, Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and open ...

, an extensive

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. *

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 Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

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 eng ...

'' 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 Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

is set in Elberfeld. * The 2000 movie ''

The Princess and the Warrior ''The Princess and the Warrior'' (german: Der Krieger und die Kaiserin, lit=The Warrior and the Empress) is a 2000 German romantic drama film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. It follows the life of Sissi (Franka Potente), a psychiatric hospit ...

'', 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 film), Heaven'' (2002), ''Perfume: The St ...

, was filmed in Wuppertal. * The 2001 movie ', by Benjamin Quabeck, was filmed in Wuppertal. * In the 2011 movie ''

Pina Pina may refer to: People * Pina (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname, surname or stage name Places * Pina, Nepal, a village development committee * Pina, Mallorca, Spain, a town * Pina de Ebro, a municipality of the provin ...

'', 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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, Wuppertal's most popular club is

Wuppertaler SV Wuppertaler SV is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – e ...

which currently play in the

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

, 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 Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leag ...

. 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 German association football club located in Wuppertal, N ...

, 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 footba ...

, 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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

for the first and only time in its history. After a first-round defeat by Polish side

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: fourteen-time national champions, and three-time winners of the Polish Cup. Currently the team play ...

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 The German amateur football championship was a national football competition in Germany organized by the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund; DFB) and in existence from 1950 to 1998. History Overview The championship w ...

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 Horst "Schimmi" Szymaniak (29 August 1934 – 9 October 2009) was a German footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Szymaniak was born in Oer-Erkenschwick. The clubs he played for include: SpVgg Erkenschwick, Wuppertaler SV, Karlsr ...

, as well as Cronenberg's

Herbert Jäger Herbert Jäger (15 February 1926 – 10 December 2004) was a German footballer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of ...

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 betwe ...

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

In team handball, handball, 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 Handball-Bundesliga, 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 Solingen, city of the same name. The club advertises itself as a representative of the entire

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

In volleyball, 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, 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 CEV Cup, 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 Wuppertal Wings, 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 List of German basketball champions#German champions (women), German champion and 12-time German Cup winner, they won a remarkable ten consecutive doubles between 1993 and 2002. During 1995–96 FIBA Women's European Champions Cup, 1996, they even won the EuroLeague Women, European Cup as the first and so far only German side, beating Italy's SFT Como in the final. A year later, they narrowly missed out on back-to-back trebles, losing to French side CJM Bourges in the 1997 EuroLeague Women, 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 as one of seven host cities.

Roller hockey

In Roller hockey (Quad), roller hockey, Wuppertal club RSC Cronenberg are one of the most successful German teams, having won the Rink Hockey Bundesliga, 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 (FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, men) and 2004 Ladies Rink Hockey World Championship, 2004 (FIRS Women's Roller Hockey World Cup, women) and the European Championship in 1992 Rink Hockey European Championship, 1992, 2010 Rink Hockey European Championship, 2010 (CERH European Roller Hockey Championship, men) and 2011 (CERH European Women's Roller Hockey Championship, women).

Education

Four institutions of higher education are in Wuppertal. * University of Wuppertal (Bergische Universität Wuppertal) * FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management, FOM University of Applied Sciences * Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, 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, Alliance 90/The Greens, Greens/Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU , 50,218 , 40.8 , 52,439 , 53.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Mucke , align=left, Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party , 45,524 , 37.0 , 45,645 , 46.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcel Hafke , align=left, Free Democratic Party (Germany), Free Democratic Party , 9,057 , 7.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Bernhard Sander , align=left, The Left (Germany), The Left , 5,941 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Panagiotis Paschalis , align=left, Independent politician, Independent , 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, Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 35,653 , 28.9 , 1.1 , 23 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union of Germany, 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 (Germany), Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 8,871 , 7.2 , 1.7 , 6 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Germany), 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 NRW, 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 , 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 Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof, central station is located in the district of Elberfeld. Regionalbahn trains and some Regional-Express trains also stop at Wuppertal-Oberbarmen station, Oberbarmen, Wuppertal-Barmen station, Barmen, Wuppertal-Ronsdorf station, Ronsdorf and Wuppertal-Vohwinkel station, Vohwinkel. There are also S-Bahn stations in Wuppertal-Langerfeld station, Langerfeld, Wuppertal-Unterbarmen station, Unterbarmen, Wuppertal-Steinbeck station, Steinbeck, Wuppertal-Zoologischer Garten station, Zoologischer Garten and Wuppertal-Sonnborn station, Sonnborn. The rail services that operate on the Elberfeld–Dortmund railway, mainline through the valley are the RE 4 (Wupper-Express), RE 7 (Rhein-Münsterland-Express), RE 13 (Maas-Wupper-Express), RB 48 (Rhein-Wupper Bahn) and four Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn services: the S7 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn), S 7, S8 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn), S 8, S9 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn), S 9 and S68 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn), S 68 (peak hours only). Every 30 minutes, it is served by a long-distance (Intercity-Express, Intercity (Deutsche Bahn), InterCity, EuroCity in Germany, EuroCity) service in each direction. With the exception of the Wuppertal-Oberbarmen–Solingen railway, line from Wuppertal to Solingen (operated as the S 7) and the Wuppertal-Vohwinkel–Essen-Überruhr railway, Prince William Railway 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 ''Wuppertaler Nordbahn''), the Burgholz Railway, the Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen–Hattingen railway, the Wupper Valley Railway and Solingen–Wuppertal-Vohwinkel railway, 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 Wuppertal Suspension Railway, a Suspension railway, 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 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 1999 Wuppertal Suspension Railway accident, only fatal accident. Between 1873 and 1987, Wuppertal was served by its own trams in Wuppertal, tram network.

Twin towns – sister cities

Wuppertal is Sister city, twinned with: * Beersheba, Israel * Košice, Slovakia * Legnica, Poland * Matagalpa, Nicaragua * Saint-Étienne, France * Schwerin, Germany * South Tyneside, England, United Kingdom * Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Tempelhof-Schöneberg (Berlin), Germany

Notable people

*Ian Ashley (born 1947), British-German Formula One driver *Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician *

(1940–2009), choreographer known for her work with the Wuppertal Dance Theater, died in Wuppertal *Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of the Friedrich Bayer paint factory, later Bayer, 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 (1900–1991), sculptor *Peter Brötzmann (born 1941), free jazz musician *Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970), philosopher of science *Udo Dirkschneider (born 1952), singer and songwriter *Rudolf Dreßler (born 1940), politician and ambassador *George Dreyfus (born 1928), Australian bassoonist, composer *Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), psychologist who studied memory *

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

(1869–1945), expressionist poet *Harald Leipnitz (1926–2000), actor *Ulrich Leyendecker (1946–2018), composer *Reimar Lüst (1923–2020), astrophysicist *Hans Moller (painter), Hans Moller (1905–2000), painter *Steffen Möller (born 1969), satirist and actor in Poland *Sylkie Monoff, 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 (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 *Annette Seiltgen (born 1964), operatic singer *Hans Singer (1910–2006), British economist *Ilse Steppat (1917–1969), actress *Rita Süssmuth (born 1937), former President of the German Parliament *Horst Tappert (1923–2008), actor *Helmut Thielicke (1908–1986), theologian *Stephen Timoshenko (1878–1972), Russian engineer and academician *Bettina Tietjen (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 (band), Accept *Armin T. Wegner (1886–1978), soldier, medic, human rights activist *Mathilde Wesendonck (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 University of Wuppertal {{Authority control Wuppertal, Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland Districts of the Rhine Province Historic Jewish communities 1929 establishments in Germany Populated places established in 1929