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Krefeld

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Krefeld
Castle Linn at Night
Castle Linn at Night
Coat of arms of Krefeld
Krefeld is located in Germany
Krefeld
Coordinates 51°20′0″N 6°34′0″E / 51.333333°N 6.566667°E / 51.333333; 6.566667
Administration
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Düsseldorf
District Urban district
Lord Mayor Gregor Kathstede (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area 137.68 km2 (53.16 sq mi)
Elevation 39 m  (128 ft)
Population 235,414 (31 December 2009)1
 - Density 1,710 /km2 (4,429 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate KR
Postal codes 47701-47839
Area code 02151
Website www.krefeld.de

Krefeld (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁeːfɛlt]), also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located southwest of the Ruhr area, its center just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Krefeld is accessed by the autobahns A57 (Cologne - Nijmegen) and the A44 (Aachen - Düsseldorf - Dortmund - Kassel)

Krefeld is also called the "Velvet and Silk City".

In more recent decades the city has hosted an honors program in foreign language (German) studies. The program annually places thirty specially selected high school students with families in and around Krefeld for intensive German language training.2

Krefeld's residents speak Hochdeutsch, the standard German taught to all people in Germany. However, the native dialect is a Low German variety, sometimes locally called "Krefelder Plattdeutsch," "Krieewelsch Platt," "Plattdeutsch,," or sometimes simply "Platt." The Uerdingen line isogloss, separating general dialectical areas in Germany and neighboring Germanic-speaking countries, runs through and is named for Krefeld's Uerdingen district, originally an independent municipality.3

Contents

History

The origins of the town were in Roman times, when the legions founded the military camp of Gelduba (today the borough of Gellep). Krefeld itself was first mentioned in 1105 under the name of Krinvelde. Uerdingen was originally an independent town east of Krefeld, founded in 1255. In medieval times it was larger and more important than Krefeld.

The growth of the town began in the 17th century, when Krefeld was one of few towns spared the horrors of the Thirty Years' War. Because the town was quickly overpopulated, in 1683 a group of thirteen families (Mennonites) left Krefeld, crossed the Atlantic and founded the settlement of Germantown (now incorporated in Philadelphia), thus beginning the Pennsylvania German ethnic identity. The town of Uerdingen was less fortunate; it was completely destroyed in the Thirty Years' War by troops from Hesse and almost ceased to exist.

After the 1702 death of William III of Orange, Krefeld passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. The Battle of Krefeld occurred nearby in 1758 during the Seven Years' War. Krefeld and Uerdingen were included within the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1815 (after 1822 the Rhine Province. In 1872 Krefeld became an independent city within Rhenish Prussia. In 1929 Krefeld and Uerdingen merged to form Krefeld-Uerdingen; in 1940 the name was shortened to simply Krefeld. The town became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia after World War II.

Points of interest

Districts

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

Linn, with its own history reaching to between 1090 and 1120, was situated on the banks of the Rhine. There is in Linn a park built around a Wasserburg, a castle built at the water's edge, and with a water-filled moat. The Burg Linn, as the castle is known, has been preserved for the city's residents as a park and museum.

567

Annexations

Here are the old cities and places that were incorporated into Krefeld:

Historical population of Krefeld

Year Population
1604 350
1722 1,499
1787 7,896
1830 18,511
1871 57,105
1875 ¹ 62,905
1880 73,872
1 December 1890 ¹ 105,376
2 December 1895 ¹ 107,245
1 December 1900 ¹ 106,928
1 December 1905 ¹ 110,344
1 December 1910 ¹ 129,406
8 October 1919 ¹ 124,325
Year Population
16 June 1925 ¹ 131,098
16 June 1933 ¹ 165,305
17 May 1939 ¹ 170,968
13 September 1950 ¹ 171,875
6 June 1961 ¹ 213,104
31 December 1970 222,700
30 June 1975 230,500
30 June 1980 223,400
30 June 1985 217,000
1 January 1989 235,423
30 June 1997 246,800
31 December 2003 238,565
31 December 2007 240,548

¹ Census data

Mayors of Krefeld from 1848

City counsellors 1946 until 1999

Transport

Krefeld is connected to the Deutsche Bahn network with several stations, however they all carry local trains only. The Düsseldorf-based Rheinbahn operates a Stadtbahn service to the centrally located Rheinstraße stop. This line was the first electric inter-city rail line in Europe, established in 1898, and commonly called the K-Bahn because of the letter "K" used to denote the trains to Krefeld. Nowadays, in the VRR notation it is called U76, with the morning express trains numbered as U70, the line number there being of a red colour instead of the usual blue used for U-Bahn lines. The term 'K-Bahn', however, prevails in common usage.

The city of Krefeld itself operates four tramway and several bus lines under the umbrella of SWK Mobil, a city-owned company. The tram network, however, has fallen into disrepair as the newest rolling stock has already passed 25 years of age and is not at all friendly towards handicapped passengers.citation needed The tramway's future is presently being discussed.

Krefeld is connected via the following rail lines:

Preceding station   Db-schild.svg DB AG   Following station
RE 2
Rhein-Haard-Express
Terminus RE 7
Rhein-Münsterland - Express
toward Rheine
toward Aachen Hbf
 RB 33
Rhein-Niers-Bahn
toward Wesel
Preceding station   NordWestBahn   Following station
toward Kleve
 RE 10
Niers - Express

Sister Cities

Notable natives

Scientists:

Writers, poets and journalists:

Musicians:

Artists:

Aviators:

Sportspeople:

References

  1. ^ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. 31 December 2009. http://www.it.nrw.de/statistik/a/daten/amtlichebevoelkerungszahlen/index.html. 
  2. ^ Indiana.edu
  3. ^ Uerdingen Line
  4. ^ Kunstmuseenkrefeld.de
  5. ^ Burg Linn
  6. ^ Linn
  7. ^ Herzlich willkommen im Museumszentrum Burg Linn! Besuchen Sie unser Museum

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Crefeld.
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Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany
Urban districts Deutschland Lage von Nordrhein-Westfalen.svg
Rural Districts