Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land (German: [ˈbɛʁɡɪʃəs ˈlant], Berg Country) 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.[1] Wuppertal is the biggest town, while the southern part has economic and socio-cultural ties to Cologne. Wuppertal and the neighbouring cities of Remscheid and Solingen form the Bergisches Städtedreieck (Berg City Triangle).
Geography
Demarcation
Historically
The Bergisches Land emerged from the historic
Important places in the duchy were
The northern parts of the Bergisches Land included the cities of
The former lordships of Gimborn and Homburg in today's Oberberg district, on the other hand, were only added to the Grand Duchy of Berg during Napoleon's time. This originally non-Bergisch area includes Marienheide, Wiehl, Nümbrecht, the town of Bergneustadt and today's district seat of the Oberbergischer district: Gummersbach.
Geographically
The natural region Bergisches Land lies almost entirely in the main unit group Süder Uplands, which also includes almost the entire Sauerland. The Süder Uplands represent the north-eastern part of the Rhenish Massif on the right bank of the Rhine.
Natural
The largest part of the Bergisches Land is characterized by a varied low mountain range landscape with forests, meadows and hills as well as narrow notch valley s also called Siepen with small streams. Except for the areas that transition into the Sauerland, the Bergisches Land is referred to as peneplain due to the advanced erosion of the mountains.
Westwards from the low mountain range, across various
for the inhabitants of the surrounding cities.The Nature Park Bergisches Land also defines the area as a recreational area. Although the proportion of forest is quite large, there are only a few larger contiguous forest areas. Forested mountain ranges in long waves and meadow valleys characterize the landscape. To the east, the proportion of forest landscape increases due to the unfavorable weather conditions for agriculture associated with the altitude. Naturally, mainly beech forests and beech-oak forests would grow on the hillsides. However, since the considerable deforestation in the early modern period, large areas have been reforested with spruce, which was not native to the region. The Nutscheid on the southern edge of the Bergisches Land is one of the largest forest areas and largely uninhabited. Another large forest area is the Heckenberg Forrest between Engelskirchen, Drabenderhöhe and Overath-Federath .
Modern definitions
Today, the Bergisches Land corresponds to the "Bergisches Land low mountain range region". In the formerly Bergisch Rhine and Ruhr cities (Düsseldorf, southern districts of Oberhausen,
The capital of the Bergisches Land is usually no longer seen as the historic capital Düsseldorf, but rather as the city Wuppertal, which was created in 1929 and forms the economic, cultural and industrial center of the eastern Bergisches Land. However, the south of the region has now developed a stronger connection to Cologne.
Even in those districts of Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine that are historically and geographically part of the Bergisches Land, it can be seen that there is hardly any sense of belonging to the Bergisches Land, and that the inhabitants of these districts almost exclusively see themselves as Rhinelanders. An exception is the Rath/Heumar district of Cologne, which arose in the course of the Regional Reform in North Rhine-Westphalia and borders on Bergisch Gladbach and Rösrath, which according to the prevailing regional awareness is part of the Bergisches Land region. The long-established population in particular has a very strong sense of belonging to the Bergisches Land.[6]
History
Bergisches Land used to be territory of the County of Berg, which later became the Duchy of Berg, who gave the region its name.[7] The Duchy was dissolved in 1815 and in 1822 the region became part of the Prussian Rhine Province.
Amongst the population today, a sense of belonging to the region Bergisches Land is notable in the hilly northern part, but not so much anymore in the areas near the
Economic upswing
The region became famous during the period of its early industrialisation in the 19th century. At that time
After the industrial downturn from the 1960s on, the region lost importance but cooperations by Bergisches Land entrepreneurs, active citizens and politicians are bringing back some regional awareness and economic power.[9]
Cities and districts
City/district | affiliation | Part of the dukedom Berg (1789) | Part of the Bergisches Land in local awareness | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bad Honnef | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | ||
Bergisch Gladbach | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Bergneustadt | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Burscheid | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Düsseldorf | no affiliation | X | ||
Eitorf | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Engelskirchen | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Erkrath | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Gummersbach | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | ||
Haan | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Heiligenhaus | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Hennef
|
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Hilden | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Hückeswagen | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Kürten | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Langenfeld
|
Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Leichlingen | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Leverkusen | no affiliation | X | X | |
Lindlar | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Lohmar | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Marienheide | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | ||
Mettmann | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Monheim | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Morsbach | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Much
|
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Mülheim an der Ruhr
|
no affiliation | X | ||
Neunkirchen-Seelscheid | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Niederkassel | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | ||
Nümbrecht | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | ||
Odenthal | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Overath | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Ratingen | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Radevormwald | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Reichshof | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Remscheid | no affiliation | X | X | |
Rösrath | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Ruppichteroth | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Sankt Augustin | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | ||
Siegburg | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | ||
Solingen | no affiliation | X | X | |
Troisdorf | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | ||
Velbert | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Waldbröl | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Wermelskirchen | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Wiehl | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | ||
Windeck | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | X | X | |
Wipperfürth | Oberbergischer Kreis | X | X | |
Wülfrath | Kreis Mettmann | X | X | |
Wuppertal | no affiliation | X | X |
See also
- Bergische Museumsbahnen
- Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company
- Rhineland
- Berg house
References
- ^ "North Rhine-Westphalia experience, Bergisches Land". tourismus NRW. Archived from the original on 2006-11-23. Retrieved 2001-11-20.
- ISBN 978-3-89534-971-3.
- ISBN 978-3-89534-971-3.
- ^ "Kulturregionen: Bergisches Land und Rheinschiene – Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis". www.rbk-direkt.de.
- ^ "Kreisverwaltung Mettmann / Regionale Kulturpolitik Bergisches Land". Archived from the original on 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Home | Rath/Heumar".
- ^ Claudia Tenten. "Die Grafen von Berg". Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2001-11-20.
- ^ Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde. ""Das Ruhrgebiet! Von der Steinzeit bis zur Kulturhauptsatdt 2010" part 2" (in German). Retrieved 2001-11-20.
- ^ "Cooperation "Berg City Triangle"". Kompetenz Hoch3. Retrieved 2001-11-20.
External links
- www.bergisches-land.de by Bergisches Land Tourismus Marketing e.V (in German and Dutch)