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Krefeld
 

Krefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located southwest of the Ruhr area, just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine. (The borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine.) Population: 238,100. The city was also known as Crefeld until 1929. It is accessed by A57 (Cologne - Nijmegen) and the A44 (Aachen - Düsseldorf - Dortmund - Kassel)

The origins of the town were in Roman times, when the legions founded the military camp of Gelduba (today the borough of Gellep). Krefeld itself was first mentioned in 1105 under the name of Krinvelde. Uerdingen was originally an independent town east of Krefeld, founded in 1255. In medieval times it was larger and more important than Krefeld.

The growth of the town began in the 17th century, when Krefeld was one of few towns spared by the horrors of the Thirty Years' War. The town was quickly overpopulated. In 1683 a group of thirteen families (Mennonites) left Krefeld, crossed the Atlantic and founded the settlement of Germantown (now incorporated in Philadelphia).

The town of Uerdingen was less lucky; it was completely destroyed in the Thirty Years' War by troops from Hesse and almost ceased to exist. Krefeld got ahead of Uerdingen; both towns merged in 1928.

Districts

Incorporations

Here are the old cities and places that were incorporated into Krefeld:
  • 1901: Linn (Stadtrecht since 1314)
  • 1907: Bockum, Verberg und Oppum (all mayoralty Bockum)
  • 1929:
    • Krefeld became an independent city
    • Uerdingen, Krefeld (received municipal law in 1255/1344, added Hohenbudberg in today's Duisburg district Friemersheim)
    • Fischeln, Krefeld district
    • Traar, Krefeld district
    • Gellep and Stratum (in Lank), Krefeld district
    • Forstwald (Vorst), Krefeld district
    • Benrad und Hülserberg (Hüls), Kempem
  • 1975: Locality of Hüls from Kempen (since 1970 integrated and belonged since 1929 to the Kempen-Krefeld district; in 1936 Orbroich had been independent)

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
- 		December 1, 1890 ¹ 105,376
- 		December 2, 1895 ¹ 107,245
- 		December 1, 1900 ¹ 106,928
- 		December 1, 1905 ¹ 110,344
- 		December 1, 1910 ¹ 129,406
- 		October 8 1919 ¹ 124,325
Year Population
- 		June 16 1925 ¹ 131,098
- 		June 16, 1933 ¹ 165,305
- 		May 17, 1939 ¹ 170,968
- 		September 13, 1950 ¹ 171,875
- 		June 6, 1961 ¹ 213,104
- 		December 31, 1970 222,700
- 		June 30, 1975 230,500
- 		June 30, 1980 223,400
- 		June 30, 1985 217,000
- 		January 1, 1989 235,423
- 		June 30, 1997 246,800
- 		December 31, 2003 238,565
¹ Census data

Mayors of Krefeld from 1848

City counsellors 1946 until 1999

Transportation

Krefeld is connected to the Deutsche Bahn network with several stations, however they all carry local trains only. 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 express trains numbered as U70, the line number there being of a red colour 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. The tram network, however, has fallen into disrepair as the newest rolling stock has already passed 25 years of age and is not at all friendly towards handicapped passengers. The tramway's future is presently being discussed.

Twinnings

Sons of the city

External links

  • Official city website
  • http://www.strassenmodenschau.de/ - Straßenmodenschau
  • http://www.flachsmarkt.de/ - Krefeld-Linner Flachsmarkt
  • http://www.kev.de/ - Krefeld Icehockeyteam
  • http://www.kfc-online.de/ - Krefeld Socerteam
  • http://www.theater-krefeld.de/ - Stadttheater Krefeld

Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

Krefeld | Krefeld | Krefeld | Krefeld | Krefeld | クレーフェルト | Krefeld | Krefeld | Krefeld

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Krefeld".

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