Mettmann

Coordinates: 51°15′N 6°58′E / 51.250°N 6.967°E / 51.250; 6.967
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mettmann
Town
Flag of Mettmann
Flag
Coat of arms of Mettmann
Coat of arms
Location of Mettmann within Mettmann district
Mettmann (district)North Rhine-WestphaliaEnnepe-Ruhr-KreisRemscheidWuppertalSolingenRheinisch-Bergischer KreisLeverkusenCologneRhein-Kreis NeussDüsseldorfDuisburgMülheim an der RuhrEssenMonheim am RheinLangenfeldHildenHaanErkrathMettmannWülfrathVelbertHeiligenhausRatingen
Mettmann is located in Germany
Mettmann
Mettmann
Mettmann is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Mettmann
Mettmann
Coordinates: 51°15′N 6°58′E / 51.250°N 6.967°E / 51.250; 6.967
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionDüsseldorf
DistrictMettmann
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Sandra Pietschmann[1]
Area
 • Total42.52 km2 (16.42 sq mi)
Elevation
125 m (410 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total39,134
 • Density920/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
40822
Dialling codes02104
Vehicle registrationME
Websitewww.mettmann.de

Mettmann (German: [ˈmɛtˌman] ⓘ) is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf and west of Wuppertal.

History

Located on the ancient trade route "strata coloniensis" the

Carolingian King, Louis the Child
, 904 AD, thus existing "officially" for more than 1100 years.

In 1363 Mettmann was one of eight administrative

Counsellor to the Earl of Cleves
and was allowed to build a wall and choose a mayor. The ability to toll and tax allowed the burgh to develop in commerce and trade.

In 1806 Mettmann became a part of the

Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat. During this time, Mettmann's burgomaster was called "Monsieur le Maire." Mettmann remained French for about 10 years and became a part of Prussia's Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. As the result of the Congress of Vienna (1814–15), in 1822 it was adsorbed into the Prussian Rhine Province
.

However, the Prussian rulers did not prove to be very popular, as during the bread-riots of 1848–49 and the ensuing political upheavals, which hit the district of Düsseldorf among the hardest, policing was done from Berlin, excluding local accountability. Thus, the Prussian government regarded the Rhinelands as more of a colony, furnishing the bureaucracy, which was based in Düsseldorf, with civil servants that were drafted in from other regions of Prussia.

Mettmann was liberated from the

Federal Republic of Germany
.

Demographics

Catholic Church (Sankt Lambertus) and town center

In the years following Germany's loss of World War II in 1945, Mettmann saw significant population increases driven mostly by the resettlement of citizens previously living in the eastern territories that had been ceded to Poland. Having seen almost no war-time destruction and being situated in a traditionally strong economic region, the town soon prospered, in line with a general period of rapid economic growth that acquired the moniker Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle).

A shortage of industrial workers led to several recruitment campaigns in

Rhenish-Westphalian
majority population and its traditions.

Due to festivals and other events that took place in Mettmann to which many Brazilians were flown in, the town also became the host of a sizeable Brazilian community, this fact was also featured in the German movie Samba in Mettmann by the German/Italian filmmaker duo Hape Kerkeling and Angelo Colagrossi.[3]

Government and politics

Mettmann gave its name to the District of Mettmann. Although the administrative centre of the District of Mettmann changed often over the years, in 1954 the parliament of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia eventually decided to make Mettmann the district's administrative centre. In 1974–75, with the administrative boundary reform, the district lost several councils to the neighbouring cities Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, and Wuppertal. The district name also changed from Düsseldorf-Mettmann to Mettmann during this reform. However, the regional Board of Inland Revenue—the "Finanzamt Düsseldorf-Mettmann"—serves both the municipalities forming the district of Mettmann, as well as the city of Düsseldorf proper.

Sites of interest

The market

In the nearby

Neanderthal, in the summer of 1856, quarry workers discovered the fossilised remains of what became known as the Neanderthal man or Homo neanderthalensis in Feldhof cave
.

  • Neanderthal
  • Historical downtown with central market, mansions typical black slate lining
  • Town Museum
  • Goldberger Mill in Mettmann Stadtwald

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Mettmann is twinned with:[4]

Friendly cities

Mettmann also has friendly relations with:[4]

References

  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
  2. Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW
    . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Samba in Mettmann", Internet Movie Database, accessed 17.06.2017
  4. ^ a b "Partnerstädte, Patenschaften und Freundschaften". mettmann.de (in German). Mettmann. Retrieved 2021-02-25.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mettmann.
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