Düsseldorf-Bilk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bilk, Oberbilk and Unterbilk are parts of Düsseldorf and together with Hamm, Flehe and Volmerswerth they constitute City District 3, which is the most populated district of Düsseldorf with 105,281 inhabitants. In Bilk the renowned Heinrich-Heine-University is located.

1 History
2 Infrastructure
3 Buildings and attractions
4 Famous people who lived in Bilk
5 Literature
6 External links

[edit] History

First documentary mention of Bilk is in the year 799. The Old Church is older and seems to be from the time about 700 A.D., given by St. Suitbertus, but was destroyed by fire about 900, documentary mentioned in 1019 first time. In the fellowing centuries the church was expanded often, especially in the 12th century and the 17th century.

Until the year 1206 the north of Bilk lying fishing settlement dusseldorp belonged to the parish of Bilk. After August 14 of 1288 (the Battle of Worringen) Düsseldorf got City Rights, the Old Bilk Church a city church. In 1380 the County of Berg became the Duchy of Berg, Düsseldorf the capitol of a duchy. In 1384 the village of Bilk (south of the Old Bilk Church, which belonged to Düsseldorf from beginning) became a part of the city of Düsseldorf.

Starting in 1852 in the south of Düsseldorf the growing of factories by the Industrial Revolution began. Düsseldorf grew to the south, where the traditionally industrial centres of the city are still today. In 1893 the Hammer Eisenbahnbrücke - a railway bridge across the river Rhine - was finished. Bilk got its own railway station, today its only a station for regional trains. The Bilk Observatory was founded in 1843 and destroyed by bombing in 1943. In 1852 24 asteroids were found there, called the 24 Düsseldorf planets. The New Harbour of Düsseldorf was built between 1890 and 1896. But after a steel factory gave up its production, it lost its importance. In 1990 a great part of the port was closed and filled up. On the new land media industry settled and a cultural centre grew. In 1999 the Gehry buildings completed the new assemble.

[edit] Infrastructure

The Bilker Bahnhof (Bilk Railway Station) today offers only S-Bahnen (slow regional trains) and is conneted by the lines S8, S11 and S28 to Neuss, Mönchengladbach, Kaarst, Wuppertal, Hagen, Erkrath, Mettmann, Dormagen, Cologne and other parts of Düsseldorf (Central station, Düsseldorf-Gerresheim,...).

Tram lines connect Bilk with the central district of Düsseldorf and many other parts of it, especially with the south of the city, Neuss, Ratingen, and the University. Buslines connect Bilk with a lot of other parts of the city and with neighbouring towns.

[edit] Buildings and attractions

Alte Bilker Kirche (Alt St. Martin, Church), oldest building in Düsseldorf
Bilker Kirche (St. Martin), Church
Polizeipräsidium (1929–1932) and Oberfinanzdirektion (1929–1939)
Rheinturm (high 240,5 m)
Düsseldorfer Stadttor (won some architecture awards)
K21 - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
Botanic Garden Düsseldorf
Gehry buildings in the Harbour

[edit] Famous people who lived in Bilk

Johann Friedrich Benzenberg (1777-1846) , astronomer
Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876)
Maria Melos (1820–1888)
Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864), one of the founders of the SPD (Socialdemocratic Party)
Heinrich Spoerl (1887–1955), writer and his son Alexander Spoerl (19197–1978), writer
Jakob Salentin von Zuccalmaglio (1775–1838), jurist
Heino *1938

[edit] Literature

Udo Achten (Hrsg.): Düsseldorf zu Fuß, 17 Stadtteilrundgänge durch die Geschichte und Gegenwart. 1. Aufl., VSA-Verlag, Hamburg 1989
Karl Endmann: Düsseldorf und seine Eisenbahnen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. 2. Aufl., Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1987
Oswald Gerhard und Wilhelm Kleeblatt (Hrsg.): Düsseldorfer Sagen aus Stadt und Land. Werkgetreue Neuausgabe von 1926, Verlag der Goethe-Buchhandlung, Düsseldorf 1982
Karl Emerich Krämer: Durchs Düsseltal nach Düsseldorf. 1. Aufl., Mercator-Verlag Gert Wohlfahrt, Duisburg/München 1968
Sonja Schürmann: Düsseldorf, Eine moderne Landeshauptstadt mit 700jähriger Geschichte und Kultur. 1. Aufl., DuMont Kunst-Reiseführer, Köln 1988
Hermann Smeets: Villa Bilici. Düsseldorf-Bilk früher und heute. 1. Aufl., herausgegeben von der Stadt-Sparkasse Düsseldorf, Triltsch Druck und Verlag, Düsseldorf 1983
Hugo Weidenhaupt: Kleine Geschichte der Stadt Düsseldorf. 4. Aufl., Verlag L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1968