Erkrat

Geographical position

Erkrath is located east of Düsseldorf , in the west of the Berg Land, adjacent to the well-known Neanderthal , but is considered part of the Rhineland.

Population

The population of Erkrath is 46.3 thousand people ( 2009 ); in 2000 - 49.0 thousand.

Erkrath is a very young city that received this status on March 15, 1966 from the government of North Rhine-Westphalia . The name "Erkrath" is first met in 1148 in two testimonies of the monastery of Verdun. It mentions Judge Bernard von Efenkrote and Siegbert, “the groom from Efenkrote.” In 1237 there is a mention of the knight Daniel de Erkerode, whose place of residence was in the place of the modern House Bavir (Alt-Erkrath). In 1815 , together with the Grand Duchy of Berg, Erkrath became part of Prussia . Then he had only 522 inhabitants ^[1] .

In 1830 , after finding a source of sulphurous mineral waters in Erkrath, the city became a popular resort. Erkrath was called "Berg Nice ." However, in 1870 , the source dried up.

On June 1, 1896 , Erkrath, together with the settlements of Unterbach, Hochdal, and Bruchhausen, formed his own municipal district, after he was expelled from the Gerresheim municipal district. The reform of 1929 brought with it significant changes - Morp and Lüdenberg were joined, Hochdal and Bruchhausen were withdrawn from the district. On January 1, 1975 , as part of the communal reform, Hochdal was again incorporated into the district, and the Unterbach district became the administrative part of Düsseldorf .

Alt-Erkrath (Old Erkrath)

Alt-Erkrath is located in the north-west of the city and borders, along with Hohdal and Metman , with Neanderthal . Through it flows the river Dussel .

Hohdal

Occupying 1,300 hectares and with a population of about 30,000 inhabitants, Hochdal is the largest area of ​​Erkrath.

It was created in 1929 with the merger of several villages. In the early 1960s. the so-called New Town for Dusseldorf was planned "New City of Hochdal". Initially, planning included multi-storey residential buildings, complementing the topography of the area, and the same number of mansions. Due to the high demand for cheap housing, especially among young families, the share of apartment buildings reached 80%. In connection with the sharp criticism of the townspeople in 1972 , the ambitious project of “Father Hohdal” by Alois Makhtemes was curtailed for the construction of a shopping center with a 21-storey hotel. Instead, in 1977 , the less ambitious Hochdaler Markt was built, which made it possible to preserve the calm, almost rural, atmosphere of the city.

Neighboring towns (Milrath, Wilbeck) with a population of 3-8 thousand people were joined after 1972. Hochdal became a normal suburb of Düsseldorf.

Hochdal was included in 1975 in the Erkrath, who thus sought to avoid the absorption of Düsseldorf . However, this association did not change either the town-planning methods of Hohdal’s development or its atmosphere.

Unterfeldhaus

Unterfeldhaus - the smallest of the three areas that make up Erkrath. Earlier it was part of Untarbakh, since 1970 it exists in its current form. Here is the largest industrial area of ​​the city, conveniently connected with the A3 and A46 motorways.

Erkrath is simultaneously considered the “gateway to Neandertal” and “the gateway to the Berg land”. The ancient Celtic site Heiligenhäuschen on Römerweg, the Catholic Church of Sts. John the Baptist, built in the XII century in the Romanesque style, the castles “House Unterbach” and “House Brück”, famous for its fountains, built in the years of the Westphalian peace, the chapel of St. Anthony (Burghügel), the restored old farmsteads “Gut Schlickum” and “Stindermühle”, Burgerhaus Hochdal with an observatory.

City Council

Historical development

For a long time, most of the economy of Erkrath was agriculture . Even today there are several farms, and many of them are preserved in the names of streets.

Along with industrialization and the railroad, the first enterprises appeared in the Düssel Valley, for example, the Burnsau stationery factory and textile mills with weaving. Many workers from the limestone quarries of Wulfrath and the glass factories of Gerresheim preferred to settle and later work in Erkrath.

Now the basis of the economy of Erkrath are small and medium-sized enterprises of trade, services and processing industry. It houses research biogenetic enterprises, manufacturers of medical equipment, representatives of IT, printing and engineering industries.

Transportation

In 1838 , as part of the construction of the Düsseldorf - Elberfeld railway, the first railway line in western Germany was laid between Düsseldorf and Erkrath.

Later, on the Erkrath-Hochdal line, from 1841 to 1926, with the help of steel cables, trains rose to Hochdal station, from where they moved further to Wuppertal .

At present, there are four railway stations on the territory of Erktrat: Erkrath (S8, S11), Erkrath Nord (S28), Hochdal (S8, S11) and Hochdal-Millrath (S8, S11).

Erkrath is located at the intersection of two autobahns: A 3 ( Oberhausen - Cologne - Frankfurt am Main ) and A 46 ( Heinsberg - Mönchengladbach - Hagen ).

Religion

Evangelical churches

• Kirch Neander (Hochdal) ^[2]
• House of Paul Schneider (Milrath) ^[3]
• Luther House (Wilbeck) ^[4]
• Sandhide (Sandhide) Community House ^[5]
• Hohdal Evangelical Church Community ^[6]
• Evangelical Church Alt Erkrath
• Evangelical Community Center Unterfeldhaus

Catholic Churches

• St. Francis (Thrills)
• Church of the Holy Spirit (Sandhide)
• Chapel of sv. Anthony (Falkenberg)
• St. John the Baptist (Alt-Erkrath)

Independent Churches

• Evangelical independent community Unterfeldhaus, a meeting place "Life".

Museums

Near the railway station Hochdal there is a depot-museum, which tells about the history of the development of railway transport in the region.

Twin Cities

•   Cergy (Val d'Oise) ( France ) - as well as Hochdal, one of the New town built in the 1960s
•   West Lancashire County ( UK )

The city also maintains friendly relations with   Leinefelde ( Thuringia ) - the hometown of Johann Karl Fulrotta , the discoverer of the Neanderthal

Patronage

•   Port de Pa ( Haiti )

• Official site of Erkrath (him.)