Solingen (; ) is a city in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany, 25 km east of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

along the northern edge of the

Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, ) is a low mountain range in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of the Rhine and south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by forests, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over twenty artificial lakes ...

, south of the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , 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 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

. After

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of the regional authority of the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

. Solingen is called the "City of Blades", and has long been renowned for the manufacturing of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by firms such as WKC, P.D Rasspe Söhne, DOVO,

Wüsthof Wüsthof (, often styled in all capital letters; also known as Wüsthof Dreizackwerk ( German) and Wüsthof Trident ( English); sometimes spelled ''Wusthof'' or ''Wuesthof'') is a knife-maker based in Solingen, Germany. The company's main produc ...

, Zwilling J. A. Henckels,

Böker Böker () was one of the first companies to offer ceramic knives as a featured product line. History Böker traces its origin to the 17th century as a tool maker in Germany graduating to swords and blades by the 1800s. The company claims it wa ...

, Güde, Hubertus, Diefenthal, Puma, Clauberg/Klauberg, Eickhorn, Linder, Carl Schmidt Sohn, Dreiturm, Herder, Martor Safety Knives, Wolfertz, Ralf Aust and numerous other manufacturers. The medieval

swordsmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

s of Solingen designed the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. In the late 17th century, a group of swordsmiths from Solingen broke their guild oaths by taking their sword-making secrets with them to

Shotley Bridge Shotley Bridge is a village, adjoining the town of Consett to the south in County Durham, England, 15 miles northwest of Durham, England, Durham. It is located on the A694 road (Great Britain), A694 road starting from Consett and Blackhill, Con ...

, County Durham, in England.

Geography

Solingen lies southwest of

in the

. The city has an area of , of which roughly 50% is used for agriculture, horticulture, or forestry. The city's border is long, and the city's dimensions are east to west and north to south. The Wupper river, a right tributary of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, flows through the city for . The city's highest point at 276 metres (906 ft) is in the northern borough of

Gräfrath Gräfrath or Graefrath is a district of Solingen in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, about east of Düsseldorf. History There was an abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under th ...

at the Light Tower, previously the

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, and the lowest point at 53 metres (174 ft) is in the southwest.

Neighbouring cities and communities

The following cities and communities share a border with Solingen, starting in the northeast and going clockwise around the city: *

( unitary urban district) *

Remscheid Remscheid () is a 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 side of the Ruhr area. Remscheid ha ...

(unitary urban district) *

Wermelskirchen Wermelskirchen (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Wärmelßkirrshe'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26 ...

(within the Rheinisch-Bergischer district) *

Leichlingen Leichlingen (; officially Leichlingen (Rheinland); Ripuarian: ''Lëijchlinge'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Leichlingen is a centre for apple and berry growing in the region. Geography Leichling ...

(Rheinisch-Bergischer district) * Langenfeld (within the district of Mettmann) *

Hilden Hilden () is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the Mettmann (district), District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town ...

(Mettmann) *

Haan Haan () is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated at the western edge of the Bergisches Land, 12 km southwest of Wuppertal and 17 km east of Düsseldorf. In 1975, Gruiten was incorporated ...

(Mettmann)

City administration

Solingen currently consists of five Stadtbezirke, or

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

s. Each borough has a municipal council of either 13 or 15 representatives (''Bezirksvertreter'') elected every five years by the borough's population. The municipal councils are responsible for many of the boroughs' important administrative affairs. The five city boroughs: *

* Wald (Solingen) * (Solingen-)Mitte * Ohligs/Aufderhöhe/Merscheid * Höhscheid/Burg Ohligs/Aufderhöhe/Merscheid and Höhscheid/Burg are divided into sections ("Stadtteile") that were once separate towns and are still statistical and planning units but are no longer self-governing. The city further comprises many neighborhoods with their own names, although they often lack precise borders: : Aufderhöhe: Aufderbech, Börkhaus, Gosse, Horn, Holzhof, Josefstal, Landwehr, Löhdorf, Pohligsfeld, Riefnacken, Rupelrath, Siebels, Steinendorf, Ufer, Wiefeldick :

Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

: Angerscheid, Höhrath :

: Central, Flachsberg, Flockertsholz, Focher Dahl, Fürkeltrath, Heide, Ketzberg, Külf, Nümmen, Piepersberg, Rathland, Schieten, Zum Holz : Höhscheid: Balkhausen, Bünkenberg, Dorperhof, Friedrichstal, Fürkelt, Glüder, Grünewald, Haasenmühle, Hästen, Katternberg, Kohlsberg, Meiswinkel, Nacken, Pfaffenberg, Pilghausen, Rölscheid, Rüden, Schaberg, Schlicken, Unnersberg, Weeg, Widdert, Wippe : Merscheid: Büschberg, Dahl, Dingshaus, Fürk, Fürker Irlen, Gönrath, Hübben, Hoffnung, Limminghofen, Scheuren, Schmalzgrube : Mitte: Entenpfuhl, Eick, Grunenburg, Hasseldelle, Kannenhof, Kohlfurth, Krahenhöhe, Mangenberg, Meigen, Müngsten, Papiermühle, Scheidt, Schlagbaum, Schrodtberg, Stöcken, Stockdum, Theegarten, Vorspel, Windfeln : Ohligs: Brabant, Broßhaus, Buschfeld, Caspersbroich, Deusberg, Engelsberger Hof, Hackhausen, Keusenhof, Mankhaus, Maubes, Monhofer Feld, Poschheide, Scharrenberg, Schnittert, Suppenheide, Unterland, Wilzhaus, Verlach : Wald: Bavert, Demmeltrath, Eschbach, Eigen, Fuhr, Garzenhaus, Itter, Kotzert, Lochbachtal, Rolsberg, Vogelsang, Weyer

Climate

Solingen's climate is classified as

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''; Trewartha: ''Dolk''). The average annual temperature in Solingen is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The Solingen weather station has recorded the following extreme values: * Highest Temperature on 18 June 2002. * Warmest Minimum on 9 August 1992. * Coldest Maximum on 1 February 1956. * Lowest Temperature on 27 January 1942. * Highest Daily Precipitation on 17 April 1936. * Wettest Month in September 1957. * Wettest Year in 1954. * Driest Year in 1959. * Earliest Snowfall: 28 October 1950. * Latest Snowfall: 3 May 1979.

History

Middle Ages

Solingen was first mentioned in 1067 by a chronicler who called the area "Solonchon". Early variations of the name included "Solengen", "Solungen", and "Soleggen", although the modern name seems to have been in use since the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Blacksmiths' smelters, dating back over 2000 years, have been found around the town, adding to Solingen's fame as a Northern Europe blacksmith centre. Swords from Solingen have turned up in places such as the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the British Isles. Northern Europe prized the quality of Solingen's manufactured weaponry, and they were traded across the European continent. Solingen today remains the knife-centre of Germany. It was a tiny village for centuries, but became a fortified town in the 15th century.

Thirty Years' War

After being ravaged by the plague with about 1,800 deaths in 1614–1619, Solingen was heavily fought over during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, repeatedly attacked and plundered, and the Burg Castle was destroyed.

Modern Age

Early in the 20th century, Ohligs's chief manufactures were

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. While most cutlers ...

and hardware, and there were iron-foundries and

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

s. Other industries were brewing, dyeing, weaving and brick-making. In 1929, Ohligs located in the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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

, by rail north of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

became part of Solingen. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Old Town was completely destroyed by a

bombing raid Strategic bombing is a systematically organized and executed military attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy' ...

by the RAF in 1944; 1,800 people died and over 1,500 people were injured. As such, there are few pre-war sites in the centre. From 1945 to 1949 Solingen was part of the British occupation zone. Reconstruction of the old town began in 1949. The newly built Protestant church in Fronhof was consecrated in 1954, and the destroyed towers of the Catholic church of St. Clemens were rebuilt in a different style. By the end of the 1970s, the city's population had increased due to numerous new housing developments in all parts of the city. The city's infrastructure continued to grow, with the opening of the theatre and concert hall in 1963 and the construction of the Viehbachtalstraße motorway through the city in the late 1970s. In 1975, the city grew again with the incorporation of the previously independent town of Burg an der Wupper. In 1993, Solingen made international headlines for a right-wing extremist arson attack in which five Turkish girls and women were killed. The attack was followed by demonstrations and riots in the city. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the ''Klingenstadt'' has undergone a massive transformation as a result of urban development projects such as Regionale 2006 and City 2013. For example, the new Korkenzieherstrasse cycle path was created and the demolition of the Turmhotel and the former Karstadt Passage made it possible to build a new shopping centre on Neumarkt in Solingen-Mitte. After the closure of the old central station in Solingen-Mitte, Ohligs station was officially named the new Solingen central station by

Deutsche Bahn AG (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

on 10 December 2006. On 23 August 2024, a mass stabbing by islamic terrorist occurred in which three German citizens were killed during a festival for the city's 650th founding anniversary.

Population

Solingen's population doubled between the years 1880 and 1890 due to the incorporation of the town of Dorp into Solingen in 1889, at which time the population reached 36,000. The population again received a large boost on 1 August 1929 through the incorporation of Ohligs, Wald, Höhscheid, and Gräfrath into the city limits. This brought the population above the 100,000 mark, which gave Solingen the distinction of being a "large city" (''Großstadt''). The number of inhabitants peaked in 1971 with 177,899 residents, and the 2006 population figure was 163,263. The following chart shows the population figures within Solingen's city limits at the respective points in time. The figures are derived from census estimates or numbers provided by statistical offices or city agencies, with the exception of figures preceding 1843, which were gathered using inconsistent recording techniques. 30.9% of the population of Solingen has foreign roots (statistics 2012).

Politics

Mayor

The people of Solingen have been able to elect a council and a mayor since 1374, the year the town was granted its charter. The mayor changed annually on 24 June. Solingen has had a mayor since 1896. During the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

(1933–1945), the mayor was appointed by the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

and not democratically elected by the people of Solingen. After the Second World War, the military government of the British occupation zone appointed a

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. From 1946, the Solingen City Council elected an honorary Lord Mayor and a full-time Lord Mayor from among its members. Until 1997, the honorary lord mayors had mainly representative functions, while the full-time lord mayors were the chief administrative officers of the city of Solingen. In 1997, the dual leadership of the city administration was abolished. Since then there has been only one full-time Lord Mayor. He is the chairman of the council, the head of the city administration and the first representative of the city. Since 1999, the Lord Mayor has been directly elected by the electorate in a secret ballot. The current mayor of Solingen is Tim Kurzbach 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 Form ...

(SPD), elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , , align=left, Tim Kurzbach , align=left,

, 31,836 , 55.4 , - , , align=left, Carsten Heinrich Becker , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 15,776 , 27.4 , - , , align=left, Raoul Torben Brattig , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 2,869 , 5.0 , - , , align=left, Andreas Lukisch , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 2,499 , 4.3 , - , , align=left, Adrian Scheffels , align=left, The Left , 2,172 , 3.8 , - , , align=left, Jan Michael Lange , align=left, Citizens' Association for Solingen , 1,624 , 2.8 , - , , align=left, Arnold Falkowski , align=left, Free Citizens' Union , 700 , 1.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 57,476 ! 99.1 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 523 ! 0.9 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 57,999 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 126,301 ! 45.9 , - , colspan=5, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Solingen 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 ! +/− , - , , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 17,326 , 30.2 , 3.9 , 16 , 1 , - , , align=left,

(SPD) , 16,229 , 28.3 , 1.3 , 15 , ±0 , - , , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 10,428 , 18.2 , 7.0 , 9 , 3 , - , , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 3,178 , 5.5 , 0.6 , 3 , ±0 , - , , align=left,

(AfD) , 2,892 , 5.0 , 2.1 , 3 , 1 , - , , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 2,435 , 4.2 , 0.7 , 2 , 1 , - , , align=left, Citizens' Association for Solingen (BfS) , 1,842 , 3.2 , 1.1 , 2 , ±0 , - , , 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 magazine ...

(PARTEI) , 1,367 , 2.4 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Alternative Citizens' Initiative (ABI) , 635 , 1.1 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, Free Citizens' Union (FBU) , 531 , 0.9 , 0.5 , 0 , 1 , - , , align=left, Solingen Active (Aktiv) , 417 , 0.7 , 0.7 , 0 , 1 , - , , align=left, Independents , 34 , 0.1 , – , 0 , – , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 57,314 ! 98.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 695 ! 1.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 58,009 ! 100.0 ! ! 52 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 126,301 ! 45.9 ! 2.2 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Transport

Rail

Solingen Hauptbahnhof Solingen Hauptbahnhof is the only railway station in Solingen, Germany, to be served by ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally ...

is served by

Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn () is a polycentric S-bahn network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr (and cities such as Dortmund, Duisburg and Essen), the B ...

line S1 from

and

Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düsse ...

Station. S-Bahn line S7 links Solingen (including the station nearest the city centre, Solingen Mitte, and Solingen-Grünewald) to

via

, Remscheid-Lennep and Wuppertal-Ronsdorf. This line is currently operated by RheinRuhrBahn, a subsidiary of

Transdev Germany Transdev Germany is the largest private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Transdev. History In 1997, Aktiengesellschaft für Industrie und Verkehrswesen was purchased by a Veolia Transport, CGEA Group (60% ...

. The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn (RB 48) runs over the Gruiten–Köln-Deutz line to Bonn-Mehlem via

Opladen Opladen, now a district of Leverkusen, used to be the capital of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis (Rhine-Wupper-District) until 1975. Opladen station is located northeast from Cologne on the railway to Wuppertal. It is also on the Autobahn A3. Populati ...

and

. It has been operated by

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

as of 13 December 2015. Starting 11 December 2022, an additional line RE47, running from

via

Solingen Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...

has been established. This line is served by Regiobahn.

Trolleybus

Solingen has a

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

network, one of only three in Germany remaining besides

Eberswalde Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in Brandenburg in north-eastern Germany, about northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005). The town is often called Waldstadt (forest town), beca ...

and

Esslingen am Neckar Esslingen am Neckar (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor''; until 16 October 1964 officially '' Eßlingen am Neckar'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the Esslingen (district), Distri ...

Air transport

The nearest airports are

and

Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport () is an international airport in north-western Germany. It serves the country's fourth-largest city Cologne, as well as Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. With approximately 12.4 million passengers passing through i ...

. Both airports can be reached by train from Solingen-Hauptbahnhof (change trains at

Köln Messe/Deutz station Köln Messe/Deutz station (called ''Köln-Deutz'' until November 2004, Colognian dialect, Colognian: , ) is an important railway junction for long-distance rail and local services in the Deutz, Cologne, Deutz neighborhood of Cologne in the German ...

for the S-Bahn 13 to Cologne Bonn Airport). Other easily reached airports are

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

( ICE train stop),

Dortmund Airport Dortmund Airport is a minor international airport located east of Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It serves the eastern Rhine-Ruhr area, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany, and is mainly used for low-cost and leisure charter flight ...

(railway station "

Holzwickede Holzwickede () is a municipality in the district of Unna (district), Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is twinned with Weymouth, England, Weymouth, Louviers and Colditz. Mayors *1969–1975: Josef Wortmann *1975–1989: Heinrich Sch� ...

" on the RE7 trainline) and the low cost

Weeze Airport Weeze Airport , less commonly known as ''Niederrhein Airport'', is a minor international airport in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. It is used by Ryanair. The airport is situated southwest of the municipality of Weeze () and northwest of ...

(coaches from Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof).

Religion

Christianity

Solingen has belonged from its beginnings to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne (; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History At an early date Christianity came to Cologne with the Roman soldiers ...

(''Erzbistum Köln''), and more specifically to the

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

ry of the Probst (''provost'') of St. Kunibert, the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

of Deutz. For reasons that are unclear, the city has long been associated with St. Clement, the third Pope, symbols of whose martyrdom appear on the city’s shield. Although the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

gradually made gains in the city, which was under the control of the

Counts 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. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Emp ...

, the population by and large remained Roman Catholic for a while. The Catholic community was newly endowed by the local lord in 1658 and in 1701 received a new church building. In 1827 Solingen became the seat of its own deanery within the newly defined Archdiocese of Cologne, to which the city's current parishes still belong. As mentioned, the Reformation only gradually gained a foothold in Solingen. A

reformed church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

affiliated with the Bergisch

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

was established in 1590, and the city's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

became reformed in 1649.

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

had been present in Solingen since the beginning of the 17th century, and a Lutheran congregation was founded in 1635. In 1672 a formalized religious agreement was reached between the city's religious groups. The Reformation was also introduced in Gräfrath in 1590, where a church council was apparently established in 1629. The Reformed and Lutheran churches were formed into a united church community in 1838 following the general merger of Reformed and Lutheran churches in

in 1817. The

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

parishes originally belonged to the district synod of Lennep, today part of the city

. A new synod was established in Solingen in 1843, and the city acquired its own superintendent, a form of church administrator. This formed the basis for the present-day Church District of Solingen, a member of the

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland The Protestant Church in the Rhineland (; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually the area covered by the former Prussi ...

. With the exception of the

free churches A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A f ...

, most Protestant churches belong to the Church District of Solingen. Today approximately 34% of Solingen's population belongs to Protestant churches, and roughly 26% belong to Catholic churches. Other church communities in Solingen include

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

, Evangelical Free (including

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and Brethren),

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

, and free churches.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

and the

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Ger ...

also have communities in Solingen.

Gallery

Solingen St. Clemens.jpg, Catholic Church St. Clemens Walder Kirche 1.jpg, Protestant Church Wald Rupelrath kapelle 01.jpg, Protestant Chapel of St. Reinoldi in Rupelrath Lutherkirche Solingen.jpg, Martin-Luther-Church in Solingen-Mitte Evangelische Kirche Solingen-Unterburg.jpg, Protestant Church Burg Solingen-Gräfrath Historischer Ortskern E 39.JPG, Protestant Church Gräfrath DorperKircheSG 004.JPG, Protestant Church, Dorp

Main sights

* Burg Castle, the castle of the counts of Berg *

Müngsten Bridge The Müngsten Bridge is the highest railway bridge in Germany. The bridge is high and spans the valley of the river Wupper, carrying the Wuppertal-Oberbarmen–Solingen railway between the cities of Remscheid and Solingen. It is used by line S ...

, a railway bridge connecting Solingen with the neighbour town of

. Standing at 107 m above the ground, it is the highest railway bridge in Germany. It was constructed in 1897 and originally named the ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke'' after

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

* ''Klosterkirche'', former convent church (1690)

Museums

* Rhineland Industrial Museum Hendrichs Drop Forge, an Anchor Point of ERIH, The

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

* German Blade Museum, presenting swords and cutlery of all epochs * Art Museum Solingen (Museum of Art) * Museum Plagiarius, the Plagiarius exhibition shows more than 350 product units – ''i.e.'', original products and their brazen plagiarisms – in direct comparison. The registered society conducts an annual competition that awards the anti-prize "Plagiarius" to those manufacturers and distributors that a jury of peers have found guilty of making or selling "the most flagrant" imitations. *

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

Museum
Zentrum für verfolgte Künste
(Center for Persecuted Arts)

Parks and gardens

* Botanischer Garten Solingen, a

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. is ...

* Bärenloch * Walder Stadtpark in Solingen-Wald * Gustav-Coppel-Park * Süd-Park * Brückenpark beneath the

Sports

American football

The is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club which was founded in 2006.

Association football

Until its bankruptcy in 1990,

SG Union Solingen SG Union Solingen was a German association football club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. History The side can trace its roots back to an earlier ''Union Solingen'' club founded in 1897 out of the merger of a number of clubs from the d ...

was the main club, playing at the

Stadion am Hermann-Löns-Weg The Stadion am Hermann-Löns-Weg was a football stadium in Solingen, Germany. The stadium is named after the street Hermann-Löns-Weg en is the former ground of 1. FC Union Solingen. 1. FC Union Solingen dissolved in 2010 after bankruptcy. The sta ...

Baseball

The Solingen Alligators are a baseball and softball club from Solingen. The club was founded in 1991 and the first men's team was promoted to the first division of the Baseball Bundesliga for the 2003 season. It has played there in every season since, winning the league championship in 2006 and 2014. The club claims over 250 members.

Chess

The ''Schachgesellschaft Solingen e.V. 1868'' is best known for its chess team, which plays in the Schachbundesliga (Chess Bundesliga), the top tier of the German chess league system, and is the most successful club in German chess history, having won a record 12 national titles (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1980/81, 1986/87, 1987/88, 1996/97 and 2015/16), three national cups (1986, 2006 und 2009) and 2 European cups (1976 and 1990).

Handball

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

, Solingen's most successful team is ''

Bergischer HC Bergischer Handball-Club 06 is a German handball club based in the cities of Wuppertal and Solingen that competes in the Handball-Bundesliga. History The club originates from a 2006 contract between Stefan Adam, then chairman of LTV Wuppertal, ...

'', playing in the top-tier

Handball-Bundesliga The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 to 2012, the league was sponsored by Toyota and was officially called the ''Toyota Handball-Bundesliga''. In 2012 the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) became t ...

which they were promoted to for the second time in 2013, reaching 15th place in the 2013–14 campaign and therefore staying in the top flight for a second consecutive season. ''BHC'' originates from a 2006 cooperation between the ''SG Solingen'' and rivals ''LTV Wuppertal'' from the nearby city of the same name. The club advertises itself as a representative of the entire

region. The team plays its home games at both Solingen's ''Klingenhalle'' (2,600 seats) and Wuppertal's ''Uni-Halle'' (3,200 seats).

Reception

In May 1955, the city of Solingen took over the partnership of the German general cargo ship ''Solingen'' of the Hamburg-American Packet Transit Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag).

Twin towns – sister cities

Solingen is twinned with: * Gouda, Netherlands (1957) *

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...

, France (1960) * Blyth, England, United Kingdom (1962) *

Jinotega Jinotega () (derived from Náhuatl: ''Xiotenko'' ‘place next to the jiñocuajo trees’) is the capital city of the Department of Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua. The city is located in a long valley surrounded by the cool climate and Da ...

, Nicaragua (1985) *

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona (, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a city in Central District (Israel), Central District, Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). Identification Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of the Arab ...

, Israel (1986) *

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

, Senegal (1990) * Aue, Germany (1990) Since 1990, Solingen also sponsors

Złotoryja County __NOTOC__ Złotoryja County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms pass ...

in Poland.

Notable people

Johann Wilhelm Meigen Johann Wilhelm Meigen (3 May 1764 – 11 July 1845) was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera. Life Early years Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margare ...

(1764–1845), entomologist * J. C. C. Devaranne (1784–1813), helped to lead resistance against Napoleonic occupation in 1813 * Karl Mager (1810–1858), school educator and school politician * Karl Adams (1811–1849), mathematician and teacher *

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was no ...

(1830–1902), landscape painter *

Adolf Kamphausen Adolf Kamphausen (10 September 1829 – 13 September 1909, in Bonn) was a German Protestant theologian. He was known for his liberal views in regard to Biblical exegesis.

(1829–1909), biblical scholar * Carl Klönne (1850–1915), banker *

Ernst Otto Beckmann Ernst Otto Beckmann (July 4, 1853 – July 12, 1923) was a German pharmacist and chemist who is remembered for his invention of the Beckmann differential thermometer and for his discovery of the Beckmann rearrangement. Scientific work Ernst Ot ...

(1853–1923), chemist * Ludwig Woltmann (1871–1907), anthropologist, zoologist and neo-Kantian * Artur Möller van den Bruck (1876–1925), writer * Albert Müller (1891–1954), communist and politician * Paul Voss (1894–1976), designer * Paul Franken (1894–1944), socialist politician, victim of Stalinism *

Karl Allmenröder ''Leutnant'' Karl Allmenröder (3 May 1896 – 27 June 1917) was a German World War I flying ace credited with 30 aerial victories. The medical student son of a preacher father was seasoned in the trenches as an 18-year-old artilleryman in ...

(1896–1917), fighter pilot * Hanns Heinen (1895–1961), writer, journalist and publicist * Carl Clauberg (1898–1957), Nazi gynecologist and war criminal * Erwin Bowien (1899–1972), painter and writer * Hermann Friedrich Graebe (1900–1986), manager and engineer, 'Righteous Among the Nations' by Israel *

Josef Dahmen Josef Dahmen (21 August 1903 – 18 January 1985) was a German stage, film and television actor.Youngkin p. 462. Dahmen was married to the actress Gisela von Collande, with whom he had a daughter Andrea Dahmen. His granddaughter Julia Dahmen is ...

(1903–1985), actor *

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

(1906–1962), SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party ( NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ' was juni ...

'' and major organiser of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

* Georg Meistermann (1911–1990), painter of sacred and secular glass windows *

Jürgen Thorwald Jürgen Thorwald (born Heinz Bongartz, October 28, 1915 – April 4, 2006) was a German writer, journalist and historian known for his works describing the history of forensic medicine and of World War II. Thorwald was a native of Solingen, Rhen ...

(1915–2006), writer, journalist and historian * Christel Rupke (1919–1998), swimmer *

Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German statesman. A member of the Nazi Party who joined the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and ...

(1919–2016), politician ( FDP), the 4th

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

(1974–1979) * Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937–2020), painter and publicist * Klaus Lehnertz (born 1938), athlete * Adolf Weil (1938–2011), motocross rider *

Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...

(born 1940), musicologist *

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 stylised blend of dance move ...

(1940–2009), dancer and choreographer *

Ulay Frank Uwe Laysiepen (; 30 November 1943 – 2 March 2020), known professionally as Ulay, was a German artist based in Amsterdam and Ljubljana, who received international recognition for his Polaroid SX-70, Polaroid art and collaborative performan ...

(1943–2020), artist * Wolfgang Schwerk (born 1955),

Ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

runner *

Timotheus Höttges Timotheus Höttges (born 18 September 1962, Solingen) is a German businessman who has been serving as chief executive officer of Deutsche Telekom AG, the majority shareholder of T-Mobile US, since 2014. Early life He was born in Solingen in Nort ...

(born 1962), CEO of Deutsche Telekom * Richard David Precht (born 1964), philosopher, writer and publicist * Veronica Ferres (born 1965), actress *

Sebastian Thrun Sebastian Thrun (born May 14, 1967) is a German-American entrepreneur, educator, and computer scientist. He is chief executive officer of Kitty Hawk Corporation, and chairman and co-founder of Udacity. Before that, he was a Google vice preside ...

(born 1967), entrepreneur, educator and computer scientist *

Jens Weidmann Jens Weidmann (born 20 April 1968) is a German economist who served as president of the Deutsche Bundesbank between 2011 and 2021. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Before moving to the Bunde ...

(born 1968), President of

Deutsche Bundesbank The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 19 ...

* Mola Adebisi (born 1973), TV-presenter * Marco Matias (born 1975), German-Portuguese singer * Fahriye Evcen (born 1986), actress *

Kevin Kampl Kevin Kampl (born 9 October 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Born in Germany, he has represented the Slovenia national team at international level. Besides Germany, he has played in A ...

(born 1990), Slovenian footballer * Christoph Kramer (born 1991), footballer The founders of Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, which later became the automobile company

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...

, trace their lineage to bladesmen from the region who emigrated to America in 1736.

References

External links

*
Travel guide from ''die-bergischen-drei.de''
* * * {{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Hanseatic League Düsseldorf (region)