UMGEBUNGSENTDECKER
TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS OF AN ART AND HISTORY LOVER
and my experiences as a teacher in China
Bergisches Land
I set out in the beautiful spring of 2020 to explore this landscape, Corona had just broken out, I was able to divide up my work freely and, if the weather was nice, leave early, often before the rush hour and found areas deserted. There were wonderful morning moods, the trees shone in fresh spring green, the sun's rays fell on the forest floor, the meadows were littered with dandelion blossoms - I had never actually experienced a more beautiful spring. Perhaps it was also due to the fact that I was able to perceive it particularly intensively thanks to the free division of work.
I did not visit the excursion destinations that I present here in one day. That would not be possible at all. So I was out and about over the course of the summer, which you can see in the photos.
Dressed appropriately for trips to the Bergisch Land: green and black
CONTENT
History - about the House of Berg, their residences and territories
Burg Castle and Altenberg Cathedral - where it all began
The Battle of Worringen and the rise of Düsseldorf
Bergisch Baroque and picturesque old towns
Solingen Gräfrath - Bergisch small town idyll
Hammers and grinding manufactures - quiet valleys and early industrialization
Delling - country tour on the heights
Beyenburg - hostel on the outer border of the Bergisches Land
Count Engelbert von Berg - a brutal murder and a cruel execution
The Niederbergisches - where you drink Altbeer and find a "Switzerland"
What does "Bergisch" actually mean?
The Bergisches Land lies in today's North Rhine-Westphalia on the right bank of the Rhine. Important cities in this region are Wuppertal, Solingen, Remscheid, but also Düsseldorf. More important than the cities, however, are the landscapes with their picturesque locations and characteristic architecture made of slate, white window frames and green shutters.
The area is mountainous, but it got its name not because of the topography, but from its territorial lords, the Counts of Berg.
This von Berg family partly formed a common thread on my excursions, as they keep appearing and play an important role in the part of North Rhine-Westphalia on the right bank of the Rhine.
Popular excursion destinations in Bergisches Land such as Altenberg Cathedral and Burg Castle, but also the city of Düsseldorf were the residence of this dynasty and represent the steady rise of the house.
As is often the case in the history of German princely houses, the Counts of Berg also became dukes. Enlargement of the territory through inheritances and marriages finally gave rise to the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg, one of the largest principalities in the northwest of the Holy Roman Empire.
11th and 12th centuries - The Berg House and its residences
Altenberg and Castle Castle
The Counts of Berg are first mentioned in the second half of the 11th century. Y our first residence, the castle mountains, they built around the year 1060 in Dhünntal Valley, near the later built Altenberger cathedral.
The first documented mention of the family was Count Adolf I. His son Adolf II married Adelheid von Arnsberg, which added several Westphalian possessions, which meant a considerable increase in power through which the Berg family was able to build a new, larger residence Neuenberge Castle (now commonly known as Schloss Burg), built in the 12th century, which they moved into in 1133. The new residence was no longer on the periphery of the enlarged territory, as was Altenberge Castle before.
The Altenberg Cathedral in Odenthal
Castle Burg an der Wupper in Solingen
11th and 12th centuries - The Berg House and its residences Altenberg and Castle Burg
The Counts of Berg were first mentioned in the second half of the 11th century. They built their first residence, Berge Castle, around 1060 in the Dhünntal.
Apart from a few remains of the foundations, not much is left of the old castle on the Dhünn. It's not worth looking for; Nowadays there is another attraction, the Altenberg Cathedral. The name "Altenberg" still reminds of the presence of the Bergs, of the "old" castle of the counts of "Berg".
The drive to the cathedral took me from the A1, exit Burscheid, Odenthal over the Kölner Strasse on the heights, until it finally went left over the serpentine main street down into Odenthal. After a number of curves, I saw the impressive cathedral lying in front of me between the trees.
The church belongs to a former Cistercian abbey, an order that always built its monasteries in remote valleys in order to find peace and quiet for contemplation and study in the seclusion. This is exactly how the cathedral appeared: withdrawn and radiating sublime calm .
Zisterzienser errichten ihre Klöster gern in einsamen, entlegenen Tälern, um in der Abgeschiedenheit die Ruhe zur inneren Einkehr und zum Studium zu finden. Genau so zeigt sich die Anlage des Altenberger Doms: Zurückgezogen in einem Tal und erhabene Ruhe ausstrahlend.
Der Bau des Klosters wurde 1133 unter der Leitung von Adolf II. von Berg begonnen. Adolf II. trat 1160 in das Kloster ein, verstarb dort und wurde auch dort beigesetzt, womit eine Bestattungstradition für die Familie von Berg in Altenberg begann, die sich bis 1511 fortsetzte.
Der Bau der Kirche wurde 1259 mit der Grundsteinlegung durch Adolf IV. begonnen, die Schlussweihe erfolgte 1379.
Das Kloster florierte, bekam um 1130 Ländereien auf der linksrheinischen Seite von Erzbischof Bruno II. (Bruno von Berg) geschenkt. Darüberhinaus war der Dom ein beliebtes Wallfahrtsziel zu den Reliquien der Heiligen Ursula und ihrer 11.000 Jungfrauen.
Circa 700 Jahre später, Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts änderte sich die Situation drastisch. Die linksrheinischen Besitzungen fielen nach dem 1. und dem 2. Koalitionskrieg (auch Napoleonische Kriege genannt) an Frankreich.
Nach dem Reichdeputationshauptschluss, der nach dem 3. Koalitionskrieg beschlossen wurde, wurde die Abtei aufgelöst. Alles verfiel, die Kunstschätze wurden verkauft, ein Brand zerstörte die Kirche.
(Der Reichsdeputationshauptschluss war eines der schwerwiegendsten Ereignisse in der deutschen Geschichte überhaupt. Willst du mehr über den Reichsdeputationshauptschluss und die Napoleonischen Kriege wissen? Klick hier. Auf der Seite über Regensburg steht es genauer.)
Im 19. Jahrhundert besann man sich wieder auf das Mittelalter - Altenberg gehörte seit dem Wiener Kongress zum Territorium von Preußen - und der preußische König Friedrich Wilhelm IV. ließ den Dom wieder aufbauen.
(Friedrich Wilhelm IV. war Architekturliebhaber und Restaurator des mittelalterlichen Deutschlands im 19. Jahrhhundert. WIllst du mehr darüber wissen? Klick hier. Auf der Seite über Brandenburg steht es genauer.)
Preußen ist bekannterweise durch und durch protestantisch, die Rheinlande waren hingegen sturzkatholisch und so musste eine Lösung her. Seitdem wird der Dom simultan von beiden Konfessionen genutzt.
Diese simultane Nutzung drückt sich in der kleinen Bronzeplastik an der Nordwand des Seitenschiffes aus. Der Künstler Arno Paffrath schuf diese "Ökumene" genannte Plastik, in der Bernhard von Clairvaux als Vertreter der Zisterzienser und Martin Luther als Reformator unter dem Kreuz Christi zusammen kommen.
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The west window in Altenberg Cathedral
The west window is the largest Gothic leaded glass window north of the Alps. At first, the colorful abundance and the range of figures are surprising, because the Altenberg Cathedral belonged to a Cistercian abbey, a reform order that categorically rejects decorations and pomp. For this reason, Cistercian churches have colorless windows without depictions of figures, representative towers in the westwork were also dispensed with and they were content with a small roof turret over the crossing.
This reflects the changing attitude of the Cistercians to their rules. The name of the artist who designed the window is unknown, but we do know that he also painted the reredos of the Bersword Altar in Dortmund's Marienkirche. Like many medieval artists, he was given an emergency name: "Master of the Bersword Altar". You can see the Dortmund Altar by clicking here.
The window was donated by Duke Wilhelm von Jülich-Berg and his wife Anna von Pfalz-Bayern. The two are shown in the window in the second row with the larger, white figures. Anna is the small kneeling figure in this row at the feet of St. Elisabeth in the fourth segment from the left, her husband Wilhem kneels at the feet of Mary in the sixth segment.
The last restoration of the entire window was carried out in 1994-2005.
Das Westfenster des Altenberger Doms
Blick ins Langhaus des Doms
The heart of Engelbert von Berg
Count Engelbert von Berg's heart lies in a chapel in the ambulatory of the cathedral. His body lies in a shrine in the cathedral treasury of Cologne Cathedral. He lived from 1186 to 1225 and was archbishop of Cologne and imperial administrator under Friedrich II. His body is now in a shrine in the cathedral treasury of Cologne cathedral.
He was murdered by a nephew Friedrich von Isenberg in Gevelsberg and later canonized.
How these events came about is explained below.
The casket in which the Lord of Engelbert von Berg was buried.
In der Umgebung der Kirche gibt es eine Auswahl an hübschen und gediegenen Cafés und Restaurants, einen großen Domladen, darüberhinaus die Markuskapelle, die zum Kloster gehörte und baulich den Übergang von der Romanik zur Gotik nachvollziehbar macht. Man findet auch noch ein Lapidarium und die ehemaligen Konventgebäude um den Dom, in denen heute die Jugendbildungsstätte Haus Altenberg untergebracht ist.
Auch die weitere Gegend um den Dom lockt mit schöner Landschaft und dem Altenberger Märchenwald. 1931 gegründet, ist er mit seinen fast 100 Jahren einer der ältesten seiner Art überhaupt. In ihm steckt noch viel von der Epoche der Romantik, die bis weit in die erste Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts unser Bild der Märchen und des Mittelalters bestimmte. Leider sind die liebevoll, mit viel handwerklichem Geschick ausgeschmückten kleinen Häuschen, Türmchen, Windmühlen kaum noch in ihrer ursprünglichen Detailliertheit zu erhalten. Diese handwerkliche Kleinarbeit wäre heutzutage unbezahlbar. Und so schleichen sich Velux-Fenster oder industriell gefertigte Dachziegel ein, Spielplätze aus knallbuntem Kunststoff oder Stahlmattenzäun, die Wege wurden verbreitert, damit kleine Bagger in das Gelände fahren können. Schade, der Charme der rosenumrankten Fenster und Butzenscheiben ist gefährdet. Vielleicht hat sich auch die Auffassung von Märchen gewandelt, hin zu einer von Disney beeinflussten Ästhetik. Fast wäre es der Märchenwald wert, als Ausdruck einer anderen Zeit unter Schutz gestellt zu werden.
Schloss Burg
Von Altenberg geht die Fahrt weiter nach Schloss Burg, der zweiten Residenz der Familie von Berg.
Man fährt die A1 Richtung Norden, also Wuppertal und verlässt die Autobahn bei Abfahrt Wermelskirchen.
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Schloss Burg an der Wupper, Gemälde aus dem Schlossmuseum
The journey continues to the castle, after a few minutes you reach the place, the old walls with its keep, the gate and the many details rise up in front of you, there is tourist activity, cafes, day-trippers, convertibles, motorcyclists, etc. It is nice, not too crowded, but busy, easy to get a parking space.
Burg Castle is one of the largest fortresses in West Germany. But the way the castle appears today, it did not look 130 years ago; then it was just a ruin. It was not until the veneration of the Middle Ages in the 19th century that an association was founded that made the reconstruction possible, so that today's castle is not exclusively a building from the Middle Ages, but above all from the 19th century - like many other castles in Germany, by the way.
The first Documented mention of the family was Count Adolf I, whom one below can be seen in the photo. The sculpture is in the courtyard at the staircase of the castle. His son married Adelheid von Arnsberg, which added a number of Westphalian possessions, which meant a considerable increase in power through which the Berg family was able to build this castle in the 12th century, which they moved into in 1133. In the enlarged territory, the new residence was no longer on the periphery, as was Altenberge Castle before. By the way, Schloss is called Burg officially Neuchâtel Castle, which refers to the name of the old Altenberg Castle.
Graf Adolf I, der erste urkundlich Erwähnte der Dynastie
Blick vom Wehrgang auf den Palas und die Kapelle
Blick vom Bergfried auf die Kapelle
Schloss Burg today - a tourist attraction
Schloss Burg is a popular destination today. Some parts of the castle are currently awaiting renovation, other areas have already been completed. The keep was recently reopened. Apart from the fact that it offers a beautiful view of the Bergisch Land, there is now an exhibition with well-designed animated films about the history of the Counts of Berg. In the past, you had to gather information by deciphering the wood carvings under the wall paintings in the great hall. That was of course also possible, but it was a bit of a hassle, but now the exhibition has added something that enriches and straightened out the knowledge.
In the Bergisch houses below the castle, there are mostly artisans and excursion cafes, such as the café and restaurant Zur Schöne Aussicht, which offer culinary traditions. A Bergisch coffee table is one of the things that you should try when you are out and about in this part of Germany.
Bergische coffee table
The Bergische Kaffeetafel - two of the most important components: the Dröppelminna made of pewter and the Bergischewaffel
Bergisch coffee table
The Bergisch coffee table is both: sweet and savory. So you shouldn't be surprised if cold cuts are served next to waffles. They are available on special occasions, e.g. child baptisms.
The most important thing is the so-called Dröppelminna, a bulbous, baroque pewter vessel with handles on three curved legs with a small tap from which coffee is tapped.
Waffles are also part of the Bergisch table. You can enjoy them with hot cherries and cream or just with powdered sugar.
Stuten or also called "Bergischer Platz", a yeast pastry, comparable to a yeast plait, but in a more simple form, is served with jam, mashed apples or honey.
Black bread is a must and is eaten with cold cuts.
Rice pudding is served with cinnamon and sugar. To refine it, you can add whipped cream to the rice pudding, then it will not be so firm.
The Burger Pretzel, a rusk pastry, is also part of the table. These dry pastries are best 'dipped' into the coffee.
Finally, the Bergisch rusks have to be mentioned, a cast rusks that are still baked in some bakeries in the region.
1288 - The Battle of Worringen and the rise of Düsseldorf
In the museum of Schloss Burg there is a table showcase in which the Worringer battle turmoil, which was after all one of the greatest battles of the Middle Ages in north-western Europe, is re-enacted.
The situation that led to this conflict is complex:
Limburg an der Maas was to be inherited - the Counts of Berg were among the heirs, but the Duke of Geldern also coveted the territory and he too was entitled to inheritance, from which the Limburg succession dispute developed. This dispute led to an intertwining of the interests of different parties, because Brabant and Cologne were also involved and some territories such as the County Mark no longer wanted to be dominated by the Electorate of Cologne as a fiefdom. They allied with Berg and finally Cologne and von Berg faced each other with their allies in the Battle of Worringen (1288). Von Berg won, Cologne was weakened and Düsseldorf received city rights, also to weaken Cologne's influence on the Lower Rhine.
The eternal rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf is allegedly due to this.
Do you want to know more about the Battle of Worringen? Click here, on the page about Düsseldorf it is more precise.
1386 - Düsseldorf becomes the third residence
1423 - Berg becomes Jülich-Berg
In 1380 the Counts of Berg were made dukes and six years later, in 1386, they moved their residence to Düsseldorf.
There had always been a close relationship between the counties of Berg and Jülich.
After the main line of Jülich died out in 1423, Jülich, including Ravensberg, fell to the Berg family, creating the Duchy of Jülich-Berg; the residence remained in Düsseldorf.
With these events, the geographic focus of the House of Jülich-Berg shifted towards the Lower Rhine, while, as I said, the area around Burg Castle and Altenberg, Gummersbach etc. is more associated with the Bergisch Land. Even in Düsseldorf today, people tend not to think of Altbergian houses or the typical Bergish industry of knives and blades. In the meantime, the Niederberg area around Mettmann has also emancipated itself from the Bergisch Land and is now called Neanderland.
1510 - Jülich-Berg becomes Jülich-Kleve-Berg
The territory became even larger through the unification of the two duchies of Jülich-Berg and Kleve, which began with a child engagement between the descendants of both houses. Today you can see this event as a mural in the knight's hall of Burg Castle.
Maria von Jülich-Berg und Johann III. von Kleve werden mit sechs Jahre verlobt. Ihre spätere Ehe führte zwei Herzogtümer zusammen, woraus das Herzogtum Jülich-Kleve-Berg entstand. Wandmalerei im Rittersaal von Schloss Burg.
The heir to the Jülich-Berg family, Maria von Jülich, was betrothed to Johann III in 1496 at the age of six from Kleve. Later, when they grew up, they married in Düsseldorf in 1510. This marriage is known as the 'Klever Union'. In the west of the Holy Roman Empire, the marriage had created an influential duchy with a large territory, the main residence of which was still Düsseldorf .
So that a few well-known names and dynasties come into play, one should realize that the two children who were betrothed here were the future parents of Anna von Kleve, the wife of Henry VIII of England and of Wilhelm the Rich, who married the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I, Maria von Habsburg. Not bad, right? You had arrived in the champions league of the European aristocracy.
If you want to find out more about the history of the House of Jülich-Kleve-Berg, you can continue on the page about Düsseldorf, but it didn't take long before the dynasty no longer had a heir, which means that the territory is inherited by Brandenburg and Pfalz-Neuburg became what brought the end of the meaning of von Kleves and von Bergs with it.
To do this, click here.
Map of the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg
Marktplatz in Solingen Gräfrath
Bergisch Baroque
and picturesque old towns
The Bergisch Land was not changed as much by human interventions as other cultural landscapes, e.g. the Münsterland. But a special architectural style has developed, some of which can still be seen in completely preserved town centers such as Remscheid Lennep, Hückeswagen or Solingen Gräfrath.
Lennep and Gräfrath, in particular, are places of closed structural beauty, offer many photo opportunities and opportunities to sit on a picturesque square next to the church and a fountain in a neat restaurant or café.
Black slate, green shutters and white window frames characterize the houses. In some places you can find elaborately carved skylights and entrance doors in baroque forms, which are known as Bergischer Barock or Bergisches Rococo.
Entrance doors and houses designed in this way suggest a certain prosperity that went hand in hand with the industrialization that began early in the Bergisch Land.
Perhaps the Baroque influence in Bergisch came from the Palatinate electors, who inherited the Duchy of Berg in 1609 and brought the Baroque with them.
But it also seems likely that there was a Dutch influence. Don't some of the doors in the photos below remind you of Dutch front doors from the Baroque period (some of them, like the door on the left, of classicism)? The right door has an ornament above the skylight, which can be classified as so-called cartilage, a direction of ornament that is more likely to be found in the Netherlands, Northern Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States and which certainly came to the Bergisch region through trade relations. Incidentally, the Dröppelminna also comes from the Baroque canon of forms and its origin is also believed to be in the Netherlands. One should not forget that the Netherlands is geographically close to the Bergisch region and that the Rhine, as a trade route, connected both regions.
The door on the right has an ornament above the skylight, which can be classified as a so-called cartilage work, an ornament type that is more likely to be found in the Netherlands, northern Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States and also came to Bergisch through trade relations. Incidentally, the Dröppelminna also comes from the baroque canon of forms and its origin is also assumed to be in the Netherlands. One should not forget that the Netherlands is geographically close to the Bergisches Land and that the Rhine served as a trade route connecting both regions.
Solingen Gräfrath
Solingen Gräfrath
Solingen Gräfrath
Walks in the Gelpe Valley, Kaltenbach Valley or along the Wupper
on the tracks of
Hammer and grinding balls, blades and knives
The Bergisch Land is the first elevation on the continent when approaching from the west, i.e. from the sea. As a result, all sorts of moisture-saturated air that is blown in from the west rises on the mountains into cooler layers of air, condenses and rains down.
Abundance of rain leads to a lot of water, so that ultimately the emergence of water mills, so-called grinding and hammer cottages became a specialty of this region. There was also a wealth of ore and wood, so that iron production and steel refining had settled here during early industrialization.
At best, soil archaeological relics are reminiscent of many hammer and sanding cottages, e.g. ramparts for dams to create a pond such as in the Gelpe Valley in Wuppertal. The Käshammer there is still completely intact, but it is the only one in the valley that you can still see anything of. Incidentally, it has long since ceased to be a grinding ball or hammer, but a privately inhabited building.
A nice restaurant is located where the Gelpe Valley and the Zillertaler Straße come together, the Haus Zillertal . A beautiful hiking trail leads from Haus Zillertal at the miniature golf course uphill past ponds and via Heusiepen to the small, village-like district of Heidt in the Ronsdorf district, where you come across the typical Bergisch houses in an idyllic landscape.
Haus Zillertal, Gelpetal, Wuppertal
Gelpetal, Wuppertal, Gelber Hof
Grinding Cottages in other valleys for centuries have survived, have been restored, inhabited like the Wipperkotten in Solingen, are used as museums like the Balkhauser cottas in Solingen or even actually still in operation as of Manuel cottas in the Kaltenbach in Wuppertal that are below looks in the photos. The Manuelskotten has been grinding with the power of a fully functional water wheel since 1755 - the Kotten is not a museum, but the products made there are sold. But you can still visit it.
Wipperkotten, Solingen
Wipperkotten, Solingen
Wupper beim Balkhauser Kotten
Balkhauser Kotten, Solingen
Manuelskotten, Wuppertal
Manuelskotten, Wuppertal
In 1731, Peter Henckels' twin was registered in Solingen as a trade mark in the Solingen knife maker role. Later the twin (Zwilling) became the name of the company - a success story all over the world - knives and blades from Solingen.
With the early industrialization came the romantic reaction to it.
Rustling forests and ringing anvils, nightingales and murmuring brooks are sung about in the hymn of the Bergisch Land from the 19th century.
Walks or hikes in lonely, shady and damp valleys are beautiful, but the heights in the Oberbergischen are also worth exploring.
Delling - country tour through the Oberbergische
A possible excursion to explore the heights leads, for example, from Altenberg Cathedral or from Lennep to Delling, an idyllic district of Kürten. The path offers wide views. Hardly a wind turbine disturbs the view. Delling is a gem with a small classical church, five houses and an inn , surrounded by paddocks.
Click here for a short video with beautiful aerial photographs of Delling in Kürten .
Delling, Kürten
Delling, Kürten
From Delling it is not far to Lindlar to the open-air museum.
Impressions from the Lindlar open-air museum
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Freilichtmuseum Lindlar
Beyenburg - hostel on the outer border of the Bergisch Land
If you draw a connection from Cologne to Dortmund on a map, you can see that important places of the Middle Ages such as Burg Castle and Altenberg Cathedral are fairly close to this line. This also applies to other historical places, e.g. Hückeswagen, Lennep, Beyenburg.
The old military road from the time of Charlemagne ran along this imaginary line from Cologne to Dortmund. It runs a certain distance east of the A1, which now also connects Cologne and Dortmund. Strictly speaking, today's B51 often follows the course of this old road. It can be assumed that Charlemagne used this route on his campaigns to Old Saxony to get from Aachen to Dortmund and from there further east.
The former army road from Cologne to Dortmund is today's B51 or partly a dirt road like here near Gevelsberg.
In Wuppertal Beyenburg this road leads over the Beyenburger bridge, which can be seen in the photo below and which has been documented since 1336. The river crossing forms the border between County Berg and County Mark - in other words, between Rhineland and Westphalia. On the Westphalian side, the street 'Porta Westfalica' runs parallel to the Wupper and thus refers to the territorial border of Westphalia.
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The Beyenburg Bridge, connecting the Bergisches Land and the Märkisches Land or the Rhineland and Westphalia
Beyenburg was an important place because it was on the border and was almost exactly a medieval day's journey from Cologne and Dortmund. That is why there was a stately inn with a chapel, the Stenhus manor, where travelers could spend the night. The property was first mentioned in a pledge of Count Adolf III by Berg in 1189.
A courtyard still stands on the site of the former estate today, but the current building was not erected until the end of the 18th century. Street names point the way there - "Steinhauser Straße" and "Hofgut Steinhaus".
In 1298 the Counts of Berg transferred the stone house chapel to the Cross Brotherhood, a Flemish order from the Meuse. In the course of time, the monks wanted to leave the chapel at the inn, as the customs of the travelers were sometimes quite rough. In 1485, about one kilometer from the hostel, they built the single-nave Gothic monastery church of St. Maria Magdalena, the so-called Beyenburg Cathedral, which today towers picturesquely over the old town center and over the Wupper, and founded the Steinhaus monastery there, named after the Inn they came from. Incidentally, the old town of Beyenburg only developed below the monastery when the monastery was founded. Today only one monk lives in the Steinhaus monastery. It is the last monastery of the Cross Brothers in Germany.
After a tour of Beyenburg, I recommend a coffee break in Birk's small café . You can find it at Am Kriegermal 56. The owner bakes it herself and you can sit outside or, if it's too cold, in a nostalgic atmosphere.
Beyenburger Stausee mit Beyenburg
Incidentally, the old town of Beyenburg only developed below the monastery during the course of the monastery's founding. Today only one monk lives in the Steinhaus monastery. It is the last monastery of the Cross Brothers in Germany.
Beyenburg, Wuppertal
Beyenburg, Wuppertal
Klosterkirche Beyenburg, Wuppertal
After a tour of Beyenburg, we recommend a coffee break inBirk's little cafe. You can find it at Kriegermal 56. The owner bakes herself and you can sit outside or, if it's too cold, in a nostalgically furnished ambience.
If you are already on the old Heerstraße between Cologne and Dortmund and deal with the House of Berg, an important incident should be pointed out that happened near Gevelsberg:
One of the most prominent people in the Berg family was probably Count Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne and imperial administrator under Emperor Friedrich II. An equestrian statue of him is on the terrace in front of Burg Castle.
Graf Engelbert von Berg vor Schloss Burg
He was murdered near Gevelsberg by his nephew and adversary Friedrich von Isenberg. How did this murder come about?
The Bergisch territory was inherited from Adolf II to his sons Eberhard and Engelbert. Eberhard called himself from then on Graf von Berg-Altena, while Engelbert continued the von Berg line. The Count of Berg-Altena bequeathed his son Arnold possessions in the Lippe and Ruhr areas, including the bailiwick of the Imperial Abbey in Essen. Arnold built the Isenburg near Hattingen, a large castle on a spur above the Ruhr valley. When he died early, his brother Friedrich inherited the property and called himself Friedrich von Isenberg from then on. The Abbey in Essen suffered under Friedrich and resisted his interference in matters of the monastery as well as excessive tax demands. Engelbert von Berg took over the decision on this bailiff's dispute on imperial and papal orders, in the course of which negotiations were held in Soest, but which remained unsuccessful due to Friedrich's resistance and were to be continued a few days later. In the meantime Engelbert wanted to ride to the consecration of the church in Schwelm, but he wasn't supposed to get there, because in a ravine near Gevelsberg he was attacked by Friedrich von Isenberg and his assistants. Presumably the Isenbergers wanted to take Engelbert prisoner and kidnap him to Isenburg in order to force concessions, but the murder occurred.
Later, after a long flight, Friedrich was caught and whacked in front of the Severinstor in Cologne. His castle was razed and his wife and son returned to Limburg. Engelbert is now in a baroque gold shrine in the treasury of Cologne Cathedral, but his heart is in Altenberg Cathedral. In Essen there is an Engelbert reliquary in the cathedral treasury and in Gevelsberg a monastery was founded on the spot where he was killed. A memorial in front of the former monastery commemorates Engelbert's death.
Personally, I find sites of murder and violence less appealing and for me the looped Isenburg has a rather negative aura, which is increased by the wooden sculpture of the wheeled Friedrich in front of the Custodis house, which stands in the middle of the remaining foundation walls of the castle. Incidentally, the view from the Isenburg is not really appealing either, you look at the Ruhr valley and Hattingen's industrial areas Beul I and Beul II, many overhead line masts, a campsite, etc.
In Gevelsberg, the ravine and the monastery didn't convince me as a destination either: Lots of new development areas and a view of a rather sprawled Ennepetal. Only special historical interest makes the place interesting for day trippers.
The Niederbergisch Land
At the Ruhr with Mülheim, Kettwig and Werden you are on the northern border of the Bergisch Land. From Velbert Langenberg, the Deilbach, which leads through Elfringhauser Schweiz to the Wuppertal north heights, forms the border of the Niederbergisch Land which you should definitely take a look at, because it is in no way inferior to the Oberbergisches in terms of beauty. Part of this region is known as "Elfringhauser Schweiz". Schweiz means Switzerland and the designation "Switzerland" was borrowed in Germany during the Romantic period to exaggerate scenic areas (Franconian Schweiz, Märkische Schweiz, Saxon Schweiz, etc.) and accordingly one can also assume a certain charm in this part of the Niederbergisch region.
Strictly speaking, Niederbergisch begins in Wuppertal north of the Wupper, which means that districts like Uellendahl, even the Nordstadt, are almost Niederbergisch and, as I said, it extends north to the Ruhr, in the east the Deilbach, a small stream that runs through the Elfringhauser Schweiz forms the border not only of Elfringhauser Schweiz, but also the territories of Berg and Mark and thus also of the Rhineland and Westphalia, in the west the country slopes down in terraces towards the Rhine plain. The Ruhr area and Bergisches Land overlap in the far north, namely in the south of Essen and in Mülheim - 'Bergisch' is a historical-political definition, 'Ruhrgebiet' an industrial-historical one.
Langenberg (belongs to Velbert), which is located on the Deilbach on the Bergisch, Rhenish side, can perhaps be described as one of the most beautiful historic towns in Northrhine-Westphalia. Thanks to the resistance of the Langenbergers the city was not completely demolished in the 1960s for new buildings.
There are a number of fairly large, representative business mansions around the place. Langenberg's wealth since the 18th century came from silk weaving. Langenberg is thus in a similar entrepreneurial tradition as Wuppertal or Krefeld, which also grew up through textile production. Before the First World War, Langenberg was one of the richest cities in Prussia in terms of population.
Langenberg, Velbert
Langenberg, Velbert
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Langenberg, Velbert
Elfringhauser Schweiz, Hattingen
Elfringhauser Schweiz, Hattingen
Elfringhauser Schweiz is a popular destination for excursions. For Wuppertalers it used to be a place where weddings, confirmations, etc. were celebrated in dignified country inns. But those times are long gone and many traditional inns have closed their doors forever: Schmahl am Schmalen, Deilbachmühle, Haus Waldlust, Astrather Hof, the Forthaus am Sender, Haus Bärwinkel - everything has disappeared. These were beautiful historic houses that revealed a lot about the region. Now some of them are privately inhabited or they are in ruins like the Deilbachmühle, which was particularly beautiful with its pond, the quarry stone house with the hipped roof and the attached half-timbered building. About the closure of Schmahl am Schmalen, the WAZ wrote in August 2014 "As early as the 12th century, as it is mentioned in a document, there was an inn here, at the narrowest point in the Deilbachtal. When the lights go out at" Schmahl am Schmalen ", A piece of the Bergisch tradition is also extinguished. " It is unfortunate, but unfortunately times are irreversible.
A little further, in the Windrath Valley, some organic farms have settled, some with an anthroposophical background, where the world still seems to be in order.
Örk-Hof, Hohlstraße, Velbert
Last but not least, there is a cake specialty that is available in Niederbergischen: the grillage cake, also called ice splinter cake in some places. It only exists in a large, but sharply defined area that stretches from Cologne to the Lower Rhine. In addition, it is practically unknown. I know her from the Niederberg area through relatives from Velbert.
There are certainly many variations, but generally it contains meringue bases, whipped cream with chocolate chips is lifted under the egg whites. This is layered and covered on top with brittle and shaved couverture. Then the cake is frozen and thawed for some time before serving, so that this cake can be described as half-frozen.
Why did this delicious cake not become a worldwide success ...? I don't quite understand it. In Langenberg I got them in a café some time ago.
Perhaps there is a cultural connection between Langenberg and the Lower Rhine through silk weaving, because silk weaving also led to Krefeld's wealth and there the cake is still present in some pastry shops today.
Höhenweg, Elfringhauser Schweiz, Hattingen
Wuppertal
Wuppertal, Blick von der Flensburger Straße Richtung Mirker Viertel
The Bergisch metropolis in the city triangle of Solingen, Remscheid and Wuppertal is an unusual city. It is characterized by early industrialization, religious diversity and a mountainous topography. The Wilhelminian era led to city expansions in the historicist style, which are still almost completely preserved in large parts, such as in the northern part of the Elberfeld. Fortunately, after struggles to preserve them in the 80s, the neighborhoods are now listed as historical monuments.
Despite the war damage, which mainly affected the inner city and the southern part of the city, Wuppertal is one of the cities where you can take a walk of several hours without getting out of the historical buildings, e.g. from the Mirk train station through the northern part of the city to Briller Höhe above the Briller quarter and back through the Luisenviertel. This often results in unusual perspectives, as the houses stretch along the mountains and entire streets appear staggered on top of each other. If you stand above the Briller Quarter, for example in the street 'Am Buschhäuschen', you can see the Wilhelminian-era part of the city pretty well. It extends from the location to about Kohlstrasse, which you can see in the distance on a mountain, where the last buildings from the empire slowly end, such as in the district around Leipziger Strasse, Kolberger Weg, but also beyond the Nordbahntrasse in Hansaviertel or on Vogelsangstrasse in the district around Asternstrasse.
A long walk through the city leads past many cafés, pubs and restaurants that have existed for a long time and are somehow timeless: Ada and Wirtschaftswunder in Wiesenstraße, Mirker Bahnhof in Mirker Straße, Hayat in Schreinerstraße, Café Crème in Briller Straße, Katzengold and Café du Congo in Luisenstraße - just to mention a few beautiful places where musicians, dancers from the Pina Bausch Ensemble and a few others meet or meet. Some of these shops could do a WDR feature, especially the tango evenings in the Ada are an experience with an unusual atmosphere.
The villa districts are mostly in the west, such as the Briller district, the zoo district, the houses on Boltenberg and a number of streets in Wuppertal Sonnborn. But also in the Barmer area, generous residential areas have developed in the area of the Barmer plants at the height above the valley. Parks such as the Königshöhe or the Barmer Anlagen were created by Wuppertal citizens and associations.
Two railway lines ran through the Wupper valley. The Bergisch-Märkische line, nowadays the only railway line on which the main station is located, and the former Rhenish line, founded and laid out to compete with the Bergisch-Märkische Bahn. On the disused track competition no train is more, instead it serves as a bike and walking . Since it does not run in the valley, but a little north of where the mountains rise, it overcomes many side valleys such as the Uellendahl and its route leads through numerous tunnels and over some viaducts, which offer surprising views of Wilhelminian-style residential areas and the valley. The longest viaduct leads over the Steinweg in Barmen and offers views of the Old Market and the Barmer facilities on the heights of the other side of the valley.
Disused train stations, such as the Mirk train station in particular, were intended to revive the Mirk district as a 'Utopiastadt' cultural project. The plan worked and a popular place with urban gardening, alternative work projects, cultural events, café, bike rental, beer garden, etc. were created under one roof and are now attracting nationwide interest. A ray of hope for a city that is shaken by its bad image.
The broadcaster CNN then took off when it selected Wuppertal among the top 20 travel destinations worldwide for 2020. Nobody could believe it: Steampunk, industrialization, Wilhelmine architecture, riveted iron bridges, brick viaducts, old listed factory buildings and of course the suspension railway - the city was certified as having the uniqueness that it actually has.
In the summer of 2020, the Museum of Modern Art in New York showed highlights from its film collection on the Internet.
A short film from 1902 shows a suspension railway ride through the valley of the Wupper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VxNPhzk
Did America discover Wuppertal? Whatever the case - the film is a fascinating testimony to a bygone era when no automobiles can be seen, pedestrians and wagons dominated the streets. But this means of transport that was definitely totally futuristic at the time floated through the city. Without a doubt, Wuppertal looks very different today. The only thing that has remained unchanged are the rails of the suspension railway. They have been completely replaced in the meantime, but for the non-specialist there is no discernible difference to the original. The cars are now also modern, but those who like it nostalgic can still float through Wuppertal with the Kaiserwagen, a restored car in which already the Kaiser drove through Wuppertal and where coffee and cake are served during the trip these days.
https://www.kaiserwagenticket.de/php/eventlister.php
It was the early days of industrialization that gave the city its face. At that time, the two cities of Elberfeld and Barmen, which became Wuppertal in 1929, were among the largest and most economically successful cities in the German Empire.
Those who get involved in the morbid charm of the city and even choose Wuppertal as their place of residence will find old buildings with meter-high ceilings and equally high windows, higher room doors than elsewhere, lush stucco and wooden floors. Wuppertal is like a gemstone that has not been polished for a long time.
Stairs in Wuppertal
"... I'm in love with my crumbling city, where crumbling stairs rise so high, unexpectedly into a sweet garden, or mysteriously into a darker part of the city."
Else Lasker-Schüler on the 300th anniversary of Elberfeld in 1910 in the magazine Der Sturm.
The aniline staircase on the Nützenberg near Bayerwerke was named after the chemical product aniline, a clear, colorless to slightly yellowish, oily liquid with a peculiar smell that quickly turns reddish-brown in the air. Among other things, it is a starting product for the synthesis of dyes.
The Bayerwerke were founded in Wuppertal.
"I am in love with my brightly decorated anniversary city; the rose-blooming welcome is for me, because I am her child, the flags fluttering on the roofs, waving to me from the windows, long red-black-white arms that want to embrace me I am in Elberfeld on the Wupper in the city of slate roofs. Tall brick chimneys rise, red snakes rise imperiously, their breath poisons the air. We had to hold our breath when we passed the chemical factories, all sorts of pungent medicines and dyes color the water , a sauce for the devil ... "
Else Lasker-Schüler on the 300th anniversary of Elberfeld in 1910 in the magazine Der Sturm.
Wuppertal cemeteries
Elberfeld and Barmen have been Protestant since the Reformation. Lutheran and Reformed, the congregations remained true to their traditions. Some churches were founded as united churches from the beginning. Catholics are the minority in Wuppertal. The city was accordingly entrepreneurial. Since Catholics lived in Barmen and Elberfeld even after the Reformation, the city is considered tolerant and Wuppertal became the city of sects and free churches.
A walk through cemeteries is worthwhile. The tombs often show the spirit of the 19th century in classicism or art nouveau.
Many famous people can be found here, for example Friedric h Engels, who held the first socialist meetings on German soil in Elberfeld with his friends in 1845, or Friedrich Bayer, born in Barmen in 1865, who founded the Friedrich Bayer paint factory, today's Bayer AG .
The Unterbarmer Friedhof and the Lutheran and Reformed Cemetery on Hochstrasse are particularly recommended.
Oskar Schlemmer in Wuppertal
The Bauhaus professor and artist Oskar Schlemmer had to retire during the Third Reich. After the Bauhaus was closed by the National Socialists, all artists either went into hiding or emigrated. In 1940 Schlemmer came to Wuppertal at the invitation of the paint manufacturer Dr. Kurt Herberts and lived at Döppersberg 24. The houses there were destroyed in air raids in 1944.
It was probably not a good time in Wuppertal for Schlemmer. At first, the ban on the profession was an emotional shock, the vision of the Bauhaus was also over, his work was shown in the exhibition on degenerate art, and commissioned work for the paint manufacturer restricted his artistic freedom. There were also diseases such as jaundice and diabetes. Ultimately, Schlemmer died in 1943 of physical weakness and presumably also mental exhaustion.
The window pictures that were created in his apartment on Döppersberg were his last work.
They were certainly created in a difficult and depressing time, but they still have a beauty that lies in the fact that they take up the peculiarity of Wuppertal. Due to the staggering of the houses on the mountains, you can often see into opposite apartments from above. That is exactly the content of the window pictures: Glances into the apartments of other, strangers - longingly and lonely, the glances try to get something from the life of the people opposite. Presumably these images reflect the strangeness and being alone that Schlemmer felt in the city. Despite all the abstraction typical of Schlemmer, which one could perhaps attribute a certain rational coolness to, the pictures radiate warmth from people who live their everyday lives: families at dinner, women at work in the kitchen. Perhaps Schlemmer saw a certain sense of security in it, perhaps it was a longing for stability in a familiar environment that he lacked in Wuppertal, an interest in the lives of others, as he was separated from his studio in Sehrigen on the Upper Rhine and his family for weeks.
The copyright for the window pictures is not yet clear to me, although Schlemmer has been dead for over 70 years, so I will not publish it here, but there are links for this:
Impressions from the north of Elberfeld
