Düsseldorf, capital of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia and administrative center of the industrial area of North Rhineland-Westphalia, lies on the Lower Rhine, here some 310m/340yd wide. It is a university town, a center of art and fashion, a city of congresses and trade fairs. This old electoral capital is a town of wide streets crowded with traffic and lined by elegant shops, with a ring of parks and gardens encircling the city center.
The Ehrenhof is a complex of museums and venue halls. Among the highlights in this area are the Museums of Art and the Landesmuseum Volk und Wirtschaft.
The Düsseldorf city center is bounded on the north by the large Hofgarten, a park originally laid out around 1770. On its south side are the Academy of Art (Kunstakademie), the Opera Haus (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), the Theater (Schauspielhaus; 1968-70) and the high-rise Thyssen Building (Thyssen-Hochhaus).
In Düsseldorf's Immermannstrasse is the Japanese Center, built in 1977-79, with a massive entrance front of polished stone (Japanese shops, restaurants, hotel, offices).
Facilities: Gift shop, On-site accomodations, Restaurant or food service
Düsseldorf's elegant shopping street and promenade is the Königsallee (familiarly known as the "Kö"), lined by exclusive shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes. It extends on both sides of the old town moat from Graf-Adolf-Platz in the south to the Hofgarten in the north. There are two new shopping arcades, the Kö-Galerie and the Kö-Karree, opened in 1985. At the north end of the Kö is the Triton Fountain.
On the banks of the Rhine in Düsseldorf lies the recently laid out Rheinpark Bilk. In the park are the 234 m/768ft high Rheinturm, with a restaurant (views), and the new Landtag (the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia), on a ground-plan of intersecting circles. Here the Rhine is spanned by the Rheinkniebrücke, opened to traffic in 1969.
10km/6mi southeast of Düsseldorf, in the district of Benrath (incorporated in the city in 1929), is Schloss Benrath, a Roccoco palace built by Nicolas de Pigage in 1756 (sumptuous interior; park; museum of local natural history).
View to the Benrath, Dusseldorf.
Address: Schloss Benrath, Benrather Schlossallee 100-106, D-40597 Düsseldorf, Germany
A bridge links the Südpark with the campus of Düsseldorf University (founded 1965). The University Botanic Garden (open to the public) has a domed hothouse and an Alpine garden.
At the east end of Jägerhofstrasse in Düsseldorf is the Baroque Schloss Jägerhof, with the Goethe Museum (Kippenberg Foundation) and a collection of porcelain.
Kaiserswerth was incorporated in Düsseldorf in 1929. In the 13th C. church of St Suitbertus can be seen the beautiful reliquary of the saint (13th-14th C.). Nearby are the ruins of an imperial stronghold (Kaiserpfalz) of the Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa).
Opposite Düsseldorf's Art Collection, on the south side of the Heinrich-Heine-Allee in Grabbeplatz, is the Kunsthalle (periodic exhibitions), with a piece of sculpture by Max Ernst, "Habakkuk".
At the Breitscheid motorway junction, 16km/10mi northeast of Düsseldorf, is Minidomm, a miniature city with models of both historic and modern buildings.
10km/6mi east of Düsseldorf is the Neander valley, in which the skull of Neanderthal Man was discovered. In the valley are a prehistoric museum and a game park.
The Neanderthal Museum tells the story of the original discovery of the famous Neanderthal skeleton. A number of animals, supposedly reverse evolutionized, are present at the museum. Exhibits at the Neanderthal Museum trace humans throughout history. The valley itself where the discovery has been made is now a pleasant nature preserve.
In Düsseldorf's Grabbeplatz, on the left of the Heinrich-Heine-Allee, which runs parallel to the Kö, can be found a new building (1986) with a facade of polished dark-colored stone which houses the North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection, with a notable collection of works by Paul Klee, numerous works of modern art and the Julius Bissier Collection.
Address: North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection, Grabbeplatz 5, D-40213 Düsseldorf, Germany
The Railway Station in Düsseldorf was reopened in 1985 after complete rebuilding at a cost of some 600million DM. It is a junction for the Federal Railways, the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn. There is a large shopping mall.
Southeast of the station is Bertha-Süttner-Platz (new layout), with steel sculpture by Horst Antes and a pool. The buildings facing the square are examples of Post-Modern architecture.
The Rhineland Music Festival is an annual 10-day event that takes place in early June and includes a wide array of events.
Since its inception in 1984, the festival has offered daily performances of symphonic, chamber and choral performances, film screenings, organ recitals, ballets, theater performances and jazz concerts. These are complemented with lectures on various topics.
The three Rhineland cities (Aachen, Cologne and Düsseldorf) take turns hosting the festival and the performances take place in the most prominent buildings of each city.
This 17th C. moated castle is to be found in the Ruhr valley within easy reaching distance from either Essen of Dusseldorf. Throughout its halls can be found valuable paintings and antique furnishings.
On the grounds are a castle chapel, a terrace and tennis court.
Address: Hotel Schloss Hugenpoet, August Thyssenstrasse 51, D-45219 Essen, Germany
Facilities: On-site accomodations, Restaurant or food service
Read More
Ehrenhof
Read More
Read Less
Schloss Benrath, Dusseldorf
Railroad Station, Dusseldorf
Dusseldorf
