Leverkusen

Leverkusen
BayArena Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Cologne
District	Urban district
Mayor	Ernst Küchler (SPD)
Governing parties	CDU / SPD / Bürgerliste
Basic statistics
Area	78.85 km2 (30.44 sq mi)
Elevation	60 m  (197 ft)
Population	161,279  (30 June 2008)
- Density	2,045 /km2 (5,298 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	LEV
Area codes	0214, 02171 & 02173
Website	Welcome to Leverkusen Coordinates: 51°02′0″N 06°59′0″E / 51.033333°N 6.983333°E / 51.033333; 6.983333

Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, half way between Cologne and Düsseldorf.

History

Dating to the 12th century as Wiesdorf, the Leverkusen area was rural until the late 19th century.

Chemical facility

In 1860, Wiesdorf was chosen by the apothecary Carl Leverkus for establishing a dye factory. The factory was taken over by the Bayer company in 1891. The company moved its office to Wiesdorf in 1912, turning the town into the centre of German chemical industry. In World War II, the Bayer (Standard Oil/IG Farben) plant[1] was bombed on August 22, 1943,[2] and during the Battle of Berlin (air) on November 19/20 and December 10/11, 1943.

Leverkusen was founded in 1930 by merging Wiesdorf, Schlebusch, Steinbüchel and Rheindorf. In 1975, Opladen (including Lützenkirchen since 1930), Hitdorf and Bergisch Neukirchen joined. The present city is made up of several villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen.

Main sights and places of interest

Morsbroich Castle

• BayArena - stadium and home of the Bayer Leverkusen.
• Bayer Cross Leverkusen - one of the largest illuminated advertisements in the world
• Schloss-Morsbroich - moated castle in the baroque style
• Water Tower Leverkusen-Bürrig - 72.45 metres high water reservoir containing an observation deck
• Neuland Park - large park beside the Rhine
• Japanese Garden - A garden created by Carl Duisberg at 1923.
• Bayer Media Cladding - Until 2009 will arise the world biggest Media Cladding next to the Carl Duisberg Park

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Leverkusen is twinned with:

Notable people

• Jörg Bergmeister, racing driver
• Bärbel Dieckmann, politician
• Heidemarie Ecker-Rosendahl, athlete and olympic medalist
• Danny Ecker, athlete, son of Heidemarie Ecker-Rosendahl
• Hans Kühne, plant manager of IG Farben's (Bayer) plant in Leverkusen during World War II, acquitted of crimes against humanity in the IG Farben Trial ^[3]
• Dietmar Mögenburg, athlete
• Detlef Schrempf, former NBA basketball player
• Felix Sturm, middleweight boxer
• Wolf Vostell, painter
• Werner Wenning, chairman of the board of Bayer AG

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leverkusen

References

1. ^ "Twin towns". www.ouka.fi. http://www.ouka.fi/kansainvalisyys/english/ystavyyskaupungit.html. Retrieved 2009-11-07. 
2. ^ (Bracknell Town, part of the Bracknell Forest local authority twinned with Opladen in 1973, Opladen then incorporated with Leverkusen in 1975
3. ^ "Profit Over Life" (html). The Nuremberg Pharma Tribunal. http://www.profit-over-life.org/rolls.php?roll=95&pageID=33&expand=no. Retrieved tbd. 

Literature

• Blaschke, Stefan (1999): Unternehmen und Gemeinde: Das Bayerwerk im Raum Leverkusen 1891-1914 Cologne: SH-Verlag, ISBN 3-89498-068-0 (German)
• Archive of Leverkusen (2005): Leverkusen. Geschichte einer Stadt am Rhein. Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, ISBN 3-89534-575-X (German)
• Franz Gruß (1987): Geschichte und Porträt der Stadt Leverkusen. Leverkusen: Verlag Anna Gruß, ISBN 393047803X (German)

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