Gerresheim is one of the City of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

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

's fifty quarters. Part of Borough 7, it is located in the eastern part of the municipality. Gerresheim is much older than Düsseldorf itself, having been an independent city with a rich history for over 1,000 years. Gerresheim merged voluntarily with Düsseldorf in 1909. Gerresheim has an area of , and 29,641 inhabitants (2020).

History

In 870, a frankish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

named Gerricus founded the church of the women's collegiate foundation (''Stift'') of St. Margaret's (Gerresheim Abbey). In 1368, the

Count of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the mod ...

made the village of Gerresheim surrounding the religious house a city with city rights. In the 17th century, many of the convent's aristocratic ladies moved away and the city of Gerresheim became increasingly impoverished. Soldiers raided Gerresheim during the

Cologne War The Cologne War (german: Kölner Krieg, Kölnischer Krieg, Truchsessischer Krieg; 1583–88) was a conflict between Protestant and Catholic factions that devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy ...

and later during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

. The city's reputation suffered in consequence. The

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

abolished the abbey in 1803 and 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''. ...

took over Gerresheim in 1815. Ferdinand Heye founded the ''Gerresheimer Glashütte'' 1864.

Buildings and attractions

* Basilica Saint Margaretha, formerly St. Hippolytus, Roman Catholic church,

Romano-Gothic Romano-Gothic refers to an architectural style, also called Early Gothic, which evolved in Europe in the 12th century from the Romanesque style, and was an early style in Gothic architecture. In England "Early English Gothic" remains the usual te ...

abbey church, was sanctified in 1236 in the place of a church of the Staufens. * The church's treasures comprise a crucifix from the 10th century and a

Gospel book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

from the 11th century. * Abbey buildings date from the 13th century. * Quadenhof Castle dates from the 15th century. * Gustav Adolf Church, Protestant (Lutheran) church dates from 1878. File:Gerresheim Rathaus 10598.JPG, City Hall File:Duesseldorf-Gerresheim Sonnbornstr.jpg, Villas in Gerresheim File:St. Margareta in Duesseldorf-Gerresheim, von Westen.jpg, Saint Margaretha, Vaticanic Basilika Minor File:Gustav-Adolf-Kirche in Duesseldorf-Gerresheim, von Westen.jpg, Protestant Gustav Adolf Church File:St. Katharina in Duesseldorf-Gerresheim, von Sueden.jpg, Rom.-Cath. St. Cathrina Church File:Duesseldorf-Gerresheim Evangelische Gnadenkirche.jpg, Protestant Mercy Church File:Duesseldorf-Gerresheim St Maria vom Frieden.JPG, Rom.-Cath. Saint Mary of Peace File:DEU_Gerresheim_(historic)_COA.svg, Coats of Arms

Infrastructure

Gerresheim has had its own railway station since 1838. Today, three regional train lines stop there: S8, S68, and S28. They connect with Düsseldorf Central Station, Düsseldorf-Bilk,

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. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Möncheng ...

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

Kaarst Kaarst (; li, Kaasj) is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is 5 km west of Neuss and 12 km east of Mönchengladbach. Division of the town Kaarst consists of 5 subdivisions * ...

, and

Mettmann Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...

. Tram lines 703, 709 and 713 connect Gerresheim with the Düsseldorf's central districts and bus lines with other parts of the city.

Literary references

It is at the Gerresheim Stadtbahn station that the hero of

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of D ...

's novel ''Die Blechtrommel'' (

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (german: Die Blechtrommel, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's ' ('' Danzig Trilogy''). It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Bes ...

) abandons his stolen

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

to save Victor Weluhn from execution, as the book draws to an end.

References

External links

Communal District Administration (German)

Communal Administration (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dusseldorf-Gerresheim Gerresheim