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Leverkusen

Coordinates:51°02′N06°59′E/ 51.033°N 6.983°E/51.033; 6.983
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Leverkusen
City
Chempark
BayArena
Bayerheadquarters
Bergisch Neukirchen´s old town
Houses in Wiesdorf´sGründerzeitold town
Morsbroich Museum
Flag of Leverkusen
Flag
Coat of arms of Leverkusen
Coat of arms
Leverkusen within North Rhine-Westphalia
Leverkusen is located in Germany
Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Coordinates:51°02′N06°59′E/ 51.033°N 6.983°E/51.033; 6.983
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionKöln
DistrictUrban district
Government
•Lord mayor(2020–25)Uwe Richrath[1](SPD)
• Governing partiesCDU/SPD/ Bürgerliste
Area
• Total78.85 km2(30.44 sq mi)
Elevation
60 m (200 ft)
Population
(2022-12-31)[2]
• Total165,748
• Density2,100/km2(5,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02:00(CEST)
Dialling codes0214, 02171 & 02173
Vehicle registrationLEV and OP
Websiteleverkusen.de

Leverkusen(German:[ˈleːvɐˌkuːzn̩]ⓘ) is a city inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany, on the eastern bank of theRhine.To the south, Leverkusen borders the city ofCologne,and to the north thestatecapital,Düsseldorf.The city is part of theRhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region,one of Europe's largest urban areas.

With about 163,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is one of the state's smaller cities. The city is known for the pharmaceutical companyBayerand its sports clubBayer 04 Leverkusen.

History[edit]

The heart of what is now Leverkusen was Wiesdorf, a village on theRhine,which dates back to the 12th century.[3]With the surrounding villages which have now been incorporated, the area also includes the riversWupperandDhünn,[4]and has suffered a lot from flooding, notably in 1571 and 1657, the latter resulting in Wiesdorf being moved East from the river to its present location.[3]

During theCologne War,from 1583 to 1588 Leverkusen was ravaged by war. The entire area was rural until the late 19th century, when industry prompted the development that led to the city of Leverkusen, and to its becoming one of the most important centres of the German chemical industry.

The chemistCarl Leverkus,looking for a place to build adyefactory, chose Wiesdorf in 1860. He built a factory for the production of artificialultramarine blueat the Kahlberg in Wiesdorf in 1861, and called the emerging settlement "Leverkusen" after his family home inLennep.The factory was taken over by theBayercompany in 1891; Bayer moved its headquarters to Wiesdorf in 1912. After asset confiscation at the end of the First World War, it becameIG Farben.The city of Leverkusen proper was founded in 1930 by merging Wiesdorf, Schlebusch, Steinbüchel and Rheindorf, and was posthumously named forCarl Leverkus.[4]

During the Second World War, the IG Farben factories were bombed by theRAFon 22 August 1943,[5]again by the RAF duringbombing campaignson 19/20 November, the USAAFEighth Air Forceon 1 December 1943,[6]and finally once again by the RAF on 10/11 December 1943.

In 1975,Opladen(including Quettingen and Lützenkirchen since 1930), Hitdorf and Bergisch Neukirchen joined Leverkusen. The present city is made up of former villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Manfort, Bürrig, Hitdorf, Quettingen, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen.[4]

On 27 July 2021, anexplosion at the Chempark sitein the city killed 7 people and injured 31 others.[7]

Demographics[edit]

Population development since 1832:[8]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
183211,442—
187115,507+35.5%
190024,974+61.0%
191044,088+76.5%
192561,404+39.3%
193367,260+9.5%
193975,171+11.8%
194684,646+12.6%
195098,867+16.8%
1961137,516+39.1%
1970161,808+17.7%
1987154,692−4.4%
2000161,426+4.4%
2010161,132−0.2%
2017166,737+3.5%

Politics[edit]

Mayor[edit]

The current Mayor of Leverkusen is Uwe Richrath of theSocial Democratic Party(SPD), elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Uwe Richrath Social Democratic Party 28,016 46.1 29,438 70.0
Frank Schönberger Christian Democratic Union 14,198 23.4 12,619 30.0
Stefan Baake Alliance 90/The Greens 7,283 12.0
Roland Hartwig Alternative for Germany 3,132 5.2
Karl Schweiger Citizens' List Leverkusen 3,070 5.1
Monika Ballin-Meyer-Ahrens Free Democratic Party 2,613 4.3
Christian Alexander Langer Die PARTEI 1,377 2.3
Markus Beisicht Awakening Leverkusen 1,101 1.8
Valid votes 60,790 98.8 42,057 99.1
Invalid votes 744 1.2 362 0.9
Total 61,534 100.0 42,419 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 126,846 48.5 126,801 33.5
Source:State Returning Officer

City council[edit]

Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Leverkusen city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

Party Votes % +/- Seats +/-
Christian Democratic Union(CDU) 16,859 27.8 Decrease4.7 14 Decrease3
Social Democratic Party(SPD) 15,276 25.2 Decrease3.1 13 Decrease1
Alliance 90/The Greens(Grüne) 11,015 18.2 Increase8.8 9 Increase4
Citizens' List Leverkusen (Bürgerliste) 3,630 6.0 Decrease1.0 3 Decrease1
Opladen Plus (OP) 3,601 5.9 Increase0.7 3 ±0
Alternative for Germany(AfD) 3,466 5.7 New 3 New
Free Democratic Party(FDP) 2,937 4.8 Increase1.0 3 Increase1
The Left(Die Linke) 2,092 3.4 Decrease0.4 2 ±0
Citizens' Forum Green Leverkusen – Climate List (Büfo) 909 1.5 New 1 New
Awakening Leverkusen (AUF) 876 1.4 New 1 New
Valid votes 60,661 98.6
Invalid votes 866 1.4
Total 61,527 100.0 52 ±0
Electorate/voter turnout 126,846 48.5 Increase2.3
Source:State Returning Officer

Coat of arms[edit]

The coat of arms consists of the two-tailed rampant red lion of theBergisches Landwith a blue crown on a silver background and anembattled linein front.[4]

Main sights and places of interest[edit]

Japanese Garden in front of the Bayer tower
  • BayArenais the home stadium ofBayer Leverkusen,with a capacity of over 30,000.
  • TheBayer Cross Leverkusenis one of the largest illuminated advertisements in the world.[citation needed]
  • Freudenthaler Sensenhammer is an industrial museum.
  • Schloss Morsbroich–moated castlein theBaroquestyle, now a museum for contemporary art.
  • Water Tower Leverkusen-Bürrig– 72.45-metre-high (237.7 ft) water reservoir containing an observation deck.
  • Neuland Park – large park beside theRhine.
  • Japanese Garden– a 1913 garden extended byCarl Duisbergin 1923.[9]
  • Colony of workers – historical area in the form of houses and other buildings constructed for employees and families of the chemical works at the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century.[10]
  • Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit– historical boat bridge next to the Rhine, between Wiesdorf and Rheindorf.
  • MausoleumofCarl Duisberg– mausoleum in the centre of the Carl Duisberg Park, next to the Casino.
  • NaturGut Ophoven – educational centre for nature in Leverkusen-Opladen.
Largest groups of foreign residents[11]
Nationality Population (2018)
Turkey 3,776
Italy 2,382
Poland 2,159
North Macedonia 1,956
Greece 1,254
Croatia 1,015
Others: 12,096

Sports[edit]

The city is home of the football teamBayer 04 Leverkusen,who won its firstBundesligatitle in the2023–24season. It is also home of the basketball teamBayer Giants Leverkusen,which is the German record holder ofnational basketball championships.As of 2019, the team plays in the GermanProAleague and plays its home games in theOstermann-Arena.

The Ostermann-Arena, previously known asWilhelm Dopatka HalleandSmidt-Arena,was one of the host arenas for the FIBAEuroBasket 1985(the official European Basketball Championship).

Twin towns – sister cities[edit]

BayArena
See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Leverkusen istwinnedwith:[12]

Notable people[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020,Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
  2. ^"Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2022 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011"(in German).Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW.Retrieved20 June2023.
  3. ^abBraun, Detlef (2012).Leverkusen.Erfurt: Sutton. p. 17.ISBN978-3866809703.
  4. ^abcdBraun, Detlef (2012).Leverkusen.Erfurt: Sutton. p. 6.ISBN978-3866809703.
  5. ^WW2 People's War - A Bedfordshire Bomb Aimer - Part Two.BBC. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.
  6. ^322nd Dailies from 1943 - 91st Bomb Group (H).91st Bomb Group. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.
  7. ^"Explosion in Chempark Leverkusen: Investigations initiated against three employees;".RND.RND/dpa. 19 October 2021.Retrieved13 November2023.
  8. ^"Aktuelles".Stadtgeschichte Leverkusen(in German).Retrieved2019-08-17.
  9. ^Braun, Detlef (2012).Leverkusen.Erfurt: Sutton. p. 12.ISBN978-3866809703.
  10. ^Braun, Detlef (2012).Leverkusen.Erfurt: Sutton. pp. 10–11.ISBN978-3866809703.
  11. ^http:// leverkusen /newsbild/151127/Stadt01.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  12. ^"Partner in aller Welt".leverkusen.de(in German). Leverkusen.Retrieved2021-02-18.

Sources[edit]

  • Blaschke, Stefan (1999):Unternehmen und Gemeinde: Das Bayerwerk im Raum Leverkusen 1891-1914Cologne: SH-Verlag,ISBN3-89498-068-0(German)
  • Archive of Leverkusen (2005):Leverkusen. Geschichte einer Stadt am Rhein.Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte,ISBN3-89534-575-X(German)
  • Franz Gruß (1987):Geschichte und Porträt der Stadt Leverkusen.Leverkusen: Verlag Anna Gruß,ISBN3-930478-03-X(German)

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLeverkusen.
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