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Düsseldorf The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as b is the capital city of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Located on the Rhine near Cologne, it is one of the main centres of the densely populated Rhine-Ruhr area.

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When the Roman Empire was strengthening its position throughout Europe, a few Germanic tribes clung on to their marshy territory off the eastern banks of the Rhine River.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the odd farming or fishing settlement could be found at the point where the small river Düssel flows into the Rhine. It was from such settlements that the city of Düsseldorf grew.

The first written mention of the town of Düsseldorf dates back to 1135 (then called i). It was told that under Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa the small town of Kaiserswerth, lying to the North of Düsseldorf, became a well fortified outpost, where soldiers kept their watchful eyes over every movement on the Rhine. Kaiserswerth eventually became a suburb of Düsseldorf in 1929.

In 1186 Düsseldorf came under the rule of Berg. The counts of Berg moved their seat to the town in 1280.

14 August 1288 is one of the most important dates in the history of Düsseldorf as it was on this day that the sovereign Count Adolf V of Berg granted the village on the banks of the Düssel city rights.

Prior to that announcement, a bloody struggle for power had taken place between the Archbishop of Cologne and the count of Berg, culminating in the Battle of Worringen. The Archbishop of Cologne's forces were wiped out, paving the way for Düsseldorf's elevation to city status, which is remembered today with a monument on the Burgplatz. It is often said that from this day to the present, there has been a kind of hostility between the citizens of Cologne and Düsseldorf. This is, however, historically wrong because Dusseldorf's citizens fought side by side with those of Cologne. The rivalry between the two cities started towards the end of the 19th century when Düsseldorf started to grow very quickly as a result of its industrialisation. Today it finds its expression mainly in a humorous form (especially during the Rhineland i).

A market square sprang up on the banks of the Rhine and the square was protected by city walls in all four directions. In 1380, Düsseldorf was made regional capital of the Duchy of Berg. During the following centuries several famous landmarks were built, including the Collegiate Church of St. Lambertus. In 1609, the ducal line of Jülich-Berg-Cleves died out, and after a virulent struggle over succession, Jülich and Berg fell to the Counts of Palatinate-Neuburg, who made Düsseldorf their main domicile, even after they inherited the Palatinate, in 1685, becoming now Prince-electors as Electors Palatine.

Düsseldorf's growth was even more impressive under the leadership of Johann Wilhelm II (r. 1690-1716) in the 18th century, also known to his people as Jan Wellem. Greatly influenced by his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the art lover designed a vast art gallery with a huge selection of paintings and sculptures that are currently housed in the i (city castle).

After the death of childless Jan Wellem, the flourishing royal capital fell back to hard times, especially Elector Karl Theodor inherited Bavaria and moved the electoral court to Munich. Destruction and poverty struck Düsseldorf after the Napoleonic Wars.

By the mid-19th century, Düsseldorf enjoyed a revival thanks to the Industrial Revolution as the city boasted 100,000 inhabitants by 1882 before the figure doubled in 1892.

However, the First and Second World Wars soon plunged Düsseldorf into depression. During World War II, the city was virtually reduced to a pile of rubble as round-the-clock air attacks took their toll.

In 1946 Düsseldorf was made capital of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The city's construction proceeded at a frenetic pace and the economic transformation saw Düsseldorf growing into the wealthy city of trade, administration and service industries as it is known today.

Düsseldorf is not only widely known as a stronghold of the German advertising and fashion industry. In the last few years the city on the Rhine has become a top telecommunications center in Germany. Today, there are 18 internet providers located in the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia. With two of the four big German providers of mobile frequencies, D2 Vodafone and E-Plus, Düsseldorf is leading the German mobile phone market. This pioneer position is being demonstrated by the presence of the many foreign trading centers in Düsseldorf such as NTT, Ericsson, Nokia or GTS.

Along with the abundant advertising industry, these companies serve as an important motor for the new economy. There are 400 advertising agencies in Düsseldorf, among them three of the big ones in Germany: BBDO Group, Publicis Group and Grey Group. A number of affiliates of foreign agencies have to be mentioned as well, such as Ogilvy Mather, Dentsu, Hakuhodu, Digital District and DDB. Against this background so many internet agencies in Düsseldorf have their roots in the classical world of advertising.

The city of Düsseldorf plays an important role in the financial world: some 170 national and international financial institutions and about 130 insurance agencies are based here. Furthermore, one of the biggest German stock exchanges is located here. The print media, represented in Düsseldorf by around 200 publishing houses, have adjusted to the requirements of various fields of the economy - online and offline. Important newspapers and journals such as Handelsblatt, Wirtschaftswoche, Deutsches Wirtschaftsblatt, VDI nachrichten or DM are being published in the city on the Rhine. Almost all of these papers are available online on the Internet. Further, Genios, the daughter of publishing group Handelsblatt runs Germany's biggest online economic database from here. Renowned film making companies, such as Germany's biggest cinema enterprise the Riech-Group and TV-channels such as CNN, NBC Giga and QVC have made Düsseldorf a city of moving images.

The "Kö", which stands short for Königsallee (King's Avenue) is i street to go shopping in Düsseldorf. Some of the most reputated jewelry shops, designer labels and galleries have their stores here, such as Cartier, Aigner, Lacoste, Eickhoff, Jil Sander, Benneton, Gucci, Esprit, Laurel, Armani, Chanel, Escada, Hugo Boss, Joop, Kookaï, Prada and many more.

Düsseldorf International Airport, also referred to as Rhein-Ruhr Airport, is located eight kilometres from the city centre and can easily be reached by train or urban railway (S-Bahn). After Frankfurt and Munich, Düsseldorf International Airport is Germany's third largest commercial airport, with about 16 million passengers annually. The airport offers 180 destinations on 4 continents, and is served by 70 airlines.

The city is a major hub in the Deutsche Bahn (DB) network. More than 1,000 trains stop in Düsseldorf every day. The central railway station at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz is located in Düsseldorf's city centre.

North Rhine-Westphalia has a closely-woven motorway network with many routes leading directly to Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is connected to the A3, A44, A46, A52, A57, A59 and A524 motorways.

Art-loving Elector Jan Wellem and his wife Anna Maria Luisa of Tuscany of the Medici dinasty, were the patrons of Düsseldorf's first significant cultural activities in the 17th and 18th centuries. Heinrich Heine, whose 200th birthday was celebrated in 1997, Clara and Robert Schumann as well as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy are the most prominent artists related to the city. Artistic impulses were often born in the Academy of Art and the names of Paul Klee, Joseph Beuys are associated with the institution. The Düsseldorf cultural scene comprises traditional and avant-garde, classical and glamorous. The world famous state art collection of North Rhine-Westphalia, the highly acclaimed Deutsche Oper am Rhein (opera), and the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus (theatre), artistic home of Gustaf Gründgens, are major elements of Düsseldorf´s reputation as a center of the fine arts.

Düsseldorf's most famous contribution to the culture of modern popular music is beyond doubt the avant-garde electronic music band Kraftwerk. Formed by a few Dusseldorf born musicians, Kraftwerk have often been regarded as the most significant band in the history of post-war German music and as pioneers in electronic music. Also one of Germany's most famous punk bands Die toten Hosen, which are not only famous in Germany but also in South America and parts of Asia and even toured the U.S. and Australia, was founded in Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf is also famous for its football team. Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 (Düsseldorfer Turn-und Sportverein 1895 e.V.) won the championship in 1933 and the DFB-Cup in 1979 and 1980. Fortuna also faced Barcelona FC in the Cup Winners Final in 1979, which they lost however. Today Fortuna is an ambitious team in the German Regionalliga (3rd Division) and their new stadium, the LTU-Arena opened its doors in January 2005. It has a capacity of 51,500 and is one of the most modern arenas in Europe.

One of the biggest cultural events in Düsseldorf is the Düsseldorfer Karneval or the "fifth season" which starts every year on 11 November at 11:11am, has its climax with the Rosenmontag containing a big parade through the streets of Düsseldorf and ends on Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday)

Düsseldorf today consists of the following districts:

Altstadt (Old Town), Angermund, Benrath, Bilk, Derendorf, Düsseltal, Einbrungen, Eller, Flehe, Flingern, Friedrichstadt, Garath, Gerresheim, Golzheim, Grafenberg, Hafen, Hamm, Hassels, Heerdt, Hellerhof, Himmelgeist, Holthausen, Hubbelrath, Itter, Kaiserswerth, Kalkum, Karlstadt, Lichtenbroich, Lierenfeld, Lohausen, Loerick (Lörick), Ludenberg, Moersenbroich (Mörsenbroich), Niederkassel, Oberbilk, Oberkassel (Official Homepage), Pempelfort, Rath, Reisholz, Stadtmitte, Stockum, Unterbach, Unterbilk, Unterrath, Urdenbach, Vennhausen, Volmerswerth, Wersten and Wittlaer.

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is located in the southern part of the city.

Other academic institutions include the Clara Schumann Musikschule, the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule (official website), the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Official Homepage), which is famous for high-profile artists like Joseph Beuys, Paul Klee and the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf (official website).

Düsseldorf Official English website of the city(there are also German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese)