Krefeld

Krefeld

City Hall

Coat of arms
Krefeld
Coordinates: 51°20′0″N 06°34′0″E / 51.33333°N 6.56667°E / 51.33333; 6.56667Coordinates: 51°20′0″N 06°34′0″E / 51.33333°N 6.56667°E / 51.33333; 6.56667
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Düsseldorf
District Urban districts of Germany
Government
 • Lord Mayor Frank Meyer (SPD)
Area
 • Total 137.68 km2 (53.16 sq mi)
Population (2014-12-31)[1]
 • Total 222,500
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 47701-47839
Dialling codes 02151
Vehicle registration KR
Website www.krefeld.de
Castle Linn at Night

Krefeld (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁeːfɛlt]), also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Krefeld is accessed by the autobahns A57 (Cologne–Nijmegen) and the A44 (Aachen–Düsseldorf–Dortmund–Kassel).

Krefeld is also called the "Velvet and Silk City".

Krefeld's residents speak Hochdeutsch, the standard German taught to all people in Germany. However, the native dialect is a Low German variety, sometimes locally called Krefelder Plattdeutsch, Krieewelsch Platt, Plattdeutsch, or sometimes simply Platt. The Uerdingen line isogloss, separating general dialectical areas in Germany and neighbouring Germanic-speaking countries, runs through and is named after Krefeld's Uerdingen district, originally an independent municipality.

History

The town originated in Roman times when the legions founded the military camp of Gelduba (today the borough of Gellep). Records first mention Krefeld itself in 1105 under the name of Krinvelde. Uerdingen, originally an independent town east of Krefeld, founded in 1255, became in medieval times larger and more important than Krefeld.

The growth of the town began in the 17th century, when Krefeld was one of few towns spared the horrors of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In 1683 a group of thirteen families (Quakers and Mennonites) left Krefeld at the invitation of William Penn to re-settle in Pennsylvania in order to enjoy religious freedom. They crossed the Atlantic on the ship Concord,[2] and founded the settlement of Germantown (now incorporated in Philadelphia), thus beginning the Pennsylvania German ethnic identity. The town of Uerdingen experienced a less fortunate 17th century; troops from Hesse completely destroyed it in the Thirty Years' War and it almost ceased to exist.

After the 1702 death of William III of Orange, Krefeld passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. The Battle of Krefeld occurred nearby in 1758 during the Seven Years' War. Krefeld and Uerdingen were included within the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1815 (after 1822 the Rhine Province). In 1872 Krefeld became an independent city within Rhenish Prussia. During part of 1918 the Belgian Army used it as a base during the occupation of the Rhineland after the First World War.

In 1929 Krefeld and Uerdingen merged to form Krefeld-Uerdingen; in 1940 the name was shortened to simply Krefeld.

During World War II, on December 11, 1941, a detailed report on the transport of Jews from Krefeld and its surroundings to the Šķirotava Railway Station near Riga, later to become Jungfernhof concentration camp, listed 1007 Jews from Krefeld and Duisburg, deported in freezing conditions with no drinking-water for more than two days.[3] Almost immediately upon arrival these Jews were shot in the Rumbula forest massacre.[4]

On 21 June 1943 British bombs destroyed large parts of east of the city; a firestorm consumed most of the city center (apart from the central train station, which remained intact apart from minor damage). On 3 March 1945 US troops entered Krefeld, among them the later U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The town became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia after World War II.

The Jews of Krefeld

Jews were listed as citizens of Krefeld from 1617. In 1764 a synagogue was erected, and by 1812, under French rule, the town included 196 Jewish families, with three Jewish-owned banks. Under Napoleon, the town became the capital for the surrounding Jewish communities including over 5000 Jews, and by 1897 they comprised 1.8% of the population.[5]

In 1846 a Jewish representative was voted onto the town's municipal council, while rising antisemitism was noted during these elections.[5]

A reform synagogue was built in 1876, arousing opposition from the Orthodox community.

A Jewish school existed in the town, with more than 200 students around 1900.[5]

In 1938 during Kristallnacht, the two synagogues were attacked.

In 1941 following an order from Hitler to deport the German Jews to the east, Jews from the town were sent to the area around Riga[3][5] and murdered there.[4]

In 1945, the U.S. Army occupied the city and placed Henry Kissinger, then an Army private and later Secretary of State of the United States, in charge of the city administration.[6]

In 2008 a new synagogue, library and Jewish cultural center were erected on the location of one of the demolished synagogues. Around 1100 Jews were reported to live in and around Krefeld at the time.[7]

Points of interest

Districts

There are a number of districts in Krefeld. Each has a municipal representative, with representatives chosen by local elections. The districts are:

  • 010 Stadtmitte
  • 020 Kempener Feld/Baackeshof
  • 030 Inrath/Kliedbruch
  • 040 Cracau
  • 050 Dießem/Lehmheide
  • 060 Benrad-Süd
  • 070 Forstwald
  • 080 Benrad-Nord
  • 090 Hülser Berg
  • 100 Traar, pop: about 5,000, postal code: 47802
  • 110 Verberg
  • 120 Gartenstadt
  • 130 Bockum, pop: about 21.903, elevation: 35 m, postal code: 47800 (old: 4150 Krefeld 1)
  • 140 Linn
Linn, with its own history reaching to between 1090 and 1120, was situated on the banks of the Rhine. In Linn, there is a park built around a Wasserburg, a castle built at the water's edge, and with a water-filled moat. The Burg Linn, as the castle is known, has been preserved for the city's residents as a park and museum.[9]

Incorporations

Cities and places that were incorporated into Krefeld:

Historical population of Krefeld

Year Population
1604 350
1722 1,499
1787 7,896
1830 18,511
1871 57,105
1875 ¹ 62,905
1880 73,872
1 December 1890 ¹ 105,376
2 December 1895 ¹ 107,245
1 December 1900 ¹ 106,928
1 December 1905 ¹ 110,344
1 December 1910 ¹ 129,406
8 October 1919 ¹ 124,325
Year Population
16 June 1925 ¹ 131,098
16 June 1933 ¹ 165,305
17 May 1939 ¹ 170,968
13 September 1950 ¹ 171,875
6 June 1961 ¹ 213,104
31 December 1970 222,700
30 June 1975 230,500
30 June 1980 223,400
30 June 1985 217,000
1 January 1989 235,423
30 June 1997 246,800
31 December 2003 238,565
31 December 2007 240,648

¹ Census data

Mayors of Krefeld from 1848

City counsellors 1946 until 1999

Transport

Bundesautobahn 44 towards Düsseldorf

Krefeld is connected to the Deutsche Bahn network with several stations, including its main station, Krefeld Hauptbahnhof. They are served by Intercity, Regional-Express and Regionalbahn trains. The Düsseldorf-based Rheinbahn operates a Stadtbahn service to the centrally located Rheinstraße stop. This line was the first electric inter-city rail line in Europe, established in 1898, and commonly called the K-Bahn because of the letter "K" used to denote the trains to Krefeld. Nowadays, in the VRR notation, it is called U76, with the morning and afternoon express trains numbered as U70, the line number there coloured red instead of the usual blue used for U-Bahn lines. The term K-Bahn, however, prevails in common usage.

The city of Krefeld itself operates four tramway and several bus lines under the umbrella of SWK MOBIL, a city-owned company. Since 2010, 19 of the oldest trams of the type DUEWAG GT8 were replaced by modern barrier-free trams of the type Bombardier Flexity Outlook. SWK Mobil owns an option to buy another 19 trams of the same type to replace the last 19 DUEWAG M8 trams. The whole tram fleet will then be barrier-free. Next to that the city plans to extend the line 044 in Krefeld-Hüls to connect the northern district of Hüls with the Krefeld downtown area.

Economy

The headquarters of Fressnapf, a pet food retailer franchise company, are situated in Krefeld.

International relations

Since 1964,[10] the city has hosted an "honors program in foreign language (German) studies" for high school students from Indiana, United States. The program annually places approximately thirty carefully selected high school juniors with families in and around Krefeld for intensive German language training.[11] Since 1973, the fire services of Krefeld and twin city Leicester have played each other in an annual 'friendly' football match.[12]

Twin towns – Sister cities

Krefeld is twinned with:

Country City County/District/
Region/State		 Date
Netherlands Netherlands Venlo Limburg 1964
England England Leicester Leicestershire 1969
France France Dunkirk Nord 1974
Netherlands Netherlands Leiden South Holland 1974
United States United States Charlotte North Carolina 1986
Germany Germany Beeskow Brandenburg 1990
Russia Russia Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk Oblast 1993
Turkey Turkey Kayseri Kayseri Province 2009

Notable natives

Scientists:

Writers, poets and journalists:

Musicians:

Artists:

Aviators:

Athletes:

Knights Cross Holder:

Other:

References

  1. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 23 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Germantown Historical Society: Founders of Germantown; Jones, Iris Carter: Krefeld Immigrants
  3. 1 2 Report on Jewish Deportation to Riga (Hebrew Translation of German document by Yad Vashem)
  4. 1 2 (German) Gottwald, Fred, and Schulle, Diana: Die „Judendeportationen“ aus dem Deutschen Reich 1941–1945. (The Jewish deportations by the German Empire from 1941 to 1945.) Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-86539-059-5, p.121 I heard that the Jews were evacuated in rows - and as they left the train - they were shot" (Victor Klemperer, diary entry of January 13, 1942)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jews of Krefeld Yad Vashem website. Town citizen Isaac Meyer Fuld, a member of the family of Heinrich Heine, was a prominent bank-owner in Germany at the time.
  6. ↑ Walter Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography, p.48.
  7. ↑ New synagogue opens in Krefeld (English, Deutsche Welle website)
  8. ↑ Kunstmuseenkrefeld.de
  9. ↑ Herzlich willkommen im Museumszentrum Burg Linn! Besuchen Sie unser Museum
  10. ↑ http://www.iu.edu/~iuhpfl/about-office/history.shtml
  11. ↑ Indiana.edu
  12. ↑ Brown, Tom (31 July 2013). "Twin towns: Do we still need them?". BBC East Midlands Today (BBC News). Retrieved 2013-08-07.

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