Top 8 Historical Facts about Wuppertal

Wuppertal by JensD from Wikimedia Commons

Top 8 Historical Facts about Wuppertal

The largest city in the surrounding “Bergisches Land” region is Wuppertal. The city occupies a space of over 169.000 square kilometres and has a population of over 354.000. Wuppertal is now Germany’s seventeenth-largest city as a result.

Between the Ruhr (Essen) to the north, Düsseldorf to the west, and Cologne to the southwest is Wuppertal, which over time has developed alongside Solingen, Remscheid, and Hagen.

The city of Wuppertal is stretched out along the short Wupper Valley, giving the appearance that it is larger than it actually is. With two-thirds of the total municipal area being green space, the city is renowned for its steep slopes, woods, and parks as well as for being Germany’s greenest city. One of the public parks or woodland walks is merely a ten-minute walk from any location in the city.

Here are interesting facts you should read about the city.

1. Wuppertal in its present borders was formed in 1929 

Wupper valley by Ekem from Wikimedia Commons

The industrial cities of Barmen and Elberfeld, as well as the localities of Vohwinkel, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg, Langerfeld, and Beyenburg, were combined to form Wuppertal in its current location in 1929.

In a referendum held in 1930, Wuppertal’s original name of Barmen-Elberfeld was adopted (“Wupper Valley”). The Rhine Province of Prussia oversaw the administration of the new metropolis.

2. The Kemna concentration camp was established in Wuppertal

Wuppertal by Frank Vincentz from Wikimedia Commons

In Wuppertal, the Kemna concentration camp was established from July 5, 1933, to January 19, 1934. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, they established it as one of the first concentration camps in Germany in order to imprison its political rivals. The camp was created in an old factory on the Wupper in the Kemna section of Wuppertal’s Barmen district.

Around 40% of the city’s structures were destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, as were numerous other German cities and industrial hubs.

3. Wuppertal became a part of the British Zone of Occupation

Wuppertal by Im Fokus from Wikimedia Commons

On April 16, 1945, Wuppertal was taken by the US 78th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr.  Wuppertal was included in the British Zone of Occupation before being included in the newly created state of North Rhine-Westphalia in West Germany.

4. Wuppertal owns many buildings that are national monuments

Wuppertal Boettingerweg by Atamari from Wikimedia Commons

The majority of the Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Historicism, Art Nouveau/Jugendstil, and Bauhaus architectural styles can be seen in the more than 4,500 structures in Wuppertal that are designated as national monuments.

The Schwebebahn, the architectural variety, and the Nordbahntrasse, a 22-kilometer (14-mile) cycling route across the city, were all reasons why the American TV network CNN named Wuppertal as one of the 20 places in the world to visit in 2020.

5. Wuppertal’s most popular club is Wuppertaler SV

Mannschaft by Maren Menke from Wikimedia Commons

The most well-liked football team in Wuppertal is Wuppertaler SV, which competes in the Regionalliga West, the fourth division of the German football league structure. The club, which has played its home matches at the city’s Stadion am Zoo, looks back on a long and eventful history since its founding as the result of a 1954 merger between the two primary Wuppertal clubs SSV 04 Wuppertal and TSG Vohwinkel 80.

The club enjoyed its last season in a national division during the 2009–10 season. The team played in Germany’s top division for a total of seven seasons, including three in the Bundesliga after being promoted there in 1972. The team’s fourth-place finish in the nation’s first division during their inaugural season was astounding.

6. Wuppertal’s most successful handball team is Bergischer HC

The most successful handball team in Wuppertal is Bergischer HC. They compete in the Handball-Bundesliga, the top division, where they were promoted for the second time in 2013. Bergischer HC finished the 2013–14 season in 15th place, continuing their streak of being among the top scorers.

BHC was established as a result of a 2006 partnership between the management, team, and primary sponsor of LTV Wuppertal and its rival SG Solingen from the neighbouring city of the same name. As a representative of the entire Bergisches Land region, the club promotes itself. Both Wuppertal’s Uni-Halle (3,200 seats) and Solingen’s Klingenhalle are the venues where the team plays its home games (2,600 seats).

7. Wuppertal is well connected to the rail network 

The rail network is well connected to Wuppertal. The town serves as a long-distance traffic halt and is located on the Cologne-Hagen and Düsseldorf-Hagen railway lines.

Elberfeld is the neighbourhood where the central station is situated. At Oberbarmen, Barmen, Ronsdorf, and Vohwinkel, Regionalbahn trains and some Regional-Express trains also stop. Additionally, there are S-Bahn stations in Sonnborn, Langerfeld, Unterbarmen, Steinbeck, and Zoologischer Garten.

8. Its railway has been operating since 1901

Wuppertal by guillanst from Wikimedia Commons

The city and its surroundings are served by the Wuppertal Suspension Railway, a suspended railway. It has been in operation since 1901, and new vehicles were first introduced in December 2016. Tuffi, a baby elephant, was brought onto the Wuppertal Schwebebahn in 1950 to promote the Althoff Circus.

The elephant was upset by the swinging tram, which caused her to trumpet, charge, and fall 12 m (40 ft) into the river below. Tuffi was injured but only slightly, and she lived until 1989. The single fatal accident on the Schwebebahn occurred in 1999.

With extensive parks, public gardens, a renowned zoo, and other amenities, Wuppertal was significantly devastated during World War II but later rebuilt in parallel terraces on the slopes of the river valley. A technical university-level school and other museums are also located in the city.