Monheim am Rhein

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Monheim am Rhein
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Mettmann
Town subdivisions	2
Mayor	Thomas Dünchheim (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	23.1 km² (8.9 sq mi)
Elevation	35 -45 m
Population	42,838 (01/02/2007)
- Density	1,854 /km² (4,803 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	ME
Postal code	40789
Area code	02173
Website	www.monheim.de Coordinates: 51°06′00″N 6°54′00″E / 51.1, 6.9

Monheim am Rhein is a North-Rhine-Westphalian (Germany) medium-sized town in the district of Mettmann in the southern suburban area of Düsseldorf on the eastern (right) bank of the river Rhine. It consists of the city districts (from north to south) Baumberg (about one third) and Monheim (two thirds).

1 Adjacent Cities and districts
2 History
3 Sites of interest
4 Transportation
5 Twinned cities

[edit] Adjacent Cities and districts

The following cities and districts border Monheim am Rhein: to the north Düsseldorf, to the east Langenfeld (also part of the district of Mettmann), to the south Leverkusen and (both divided by the river Rhine) Cologne to the southwest, and Dormagen to the west (part of the district of Neuss).

[edit] History

Monheim has approximately 850 years of recorded history. It was first documented in 1150 as a fishermen's village in the Grafschaft (Earldom) Berg. It became the administrative center for the surrounding villages (including many of the villages that now form Düsseldorf) in 1363, and stayed in that position until Napoleon formed the Rhine Confederation in 1806. Monheim, Baumberg and Hitdorf were than combined to a municipal corporation. Monheim has gained city status in 1960, ten years after it finally incorporated the neighbouring villages Baumberg and Hitdorf. At the end of 1974 Monheim was incorporated by Düsseldorf as part of a major municipal corporation reform. After a successful complaint at the federal state's constitutional court in Münster, the city became independent again on 1 July 1976, but lost Hitdorf to Leverkusen. Since 1994 the official city name is Monheim am Rhein.

[edit] Sites of interest

Schelmenturm

Schelmenturm - The 26-m-high (85-ft) landmark of Monheim is a tower from the early-15th century, which was part of the former fortification built by the Earls of Berg. Since 1972, the tower has been reorganized, also being used as cultural meeting place.

Deusserhaus

Archaeological museum Haus Bürgel

Deusserhaus - The Deusser manor-house, built around 1848, today is the museum of the homeland federation, Monheim e.V.

Haus Bürgel - This house is located at the border between Baumberg and Düsseldorf in a landscape conservation area called "Urdenbacher Kämpe", a flood plain of the Rhine. The earliest source from 1019 states that the "Castrum in Burgela" was build in the 4th century as part of the Roman defences against the Franks on the left side of the Rhine. In the 14th century, the heavy meandering river changed it's bed after a flood, so that Haus Bürgel is actually on the right side of the Rhine today. Some remains of the Roman walls are still visible, although the place was transformed to a larger Frankish manor-house. In recent years, it has been used as a museum and biologic-environmental research and information station.

Gänselieselbrunnen

Gänselieselbrunnen - The fountain known locally as Gänselieselbrunnen is located next to the town hall of Monheim am Rhein.

[edit] Transportation

Monheim is part of both of the public transportation associations Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr and the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, placed at their borders. There are several bus lines running between the city districts, neighbouring towns, and the closest S-Bahn railway station at the border to Langenfeld. Many of Monheim's residents are commuters to near Düsseldorf (20-minutes) and Cologne (30 minutes). The A59 is connected to Monheim, as is the A542 which is connecting to near A3 and A1. The city is in the vicinity of both Düsseldorf International Airport and the Cologne Bonn Airport.