Bergisches Land

The Bergisches Land is a region in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It contains beside the tri-city area of Remscheid-Solingen-Wuppertal the district Mettmann, Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district, the Oberbergisch district and parts of the Rhein-Sieg district. It emerged from the Dukedom of Berg. The name of the region is not derived from its mountainous terrain (German: "Berg"= mountain), but from the dukes of Berg. The dukes of Berg lived first in the Castle "Berge" in Altenberg, later then in the Castle "Schloss Burg" at the Wupper. Düsseldorf was the capital.

Geography

Historic-geographic borderline

The state of Berg contained mainly the tri-city area Remscheid-Solingen-Wuppertal, the district Mettmann, Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district, large parts of the Oberbergisch district and the parts of the Rhein-Sieg district on the right side of the Rhine. Also, Mülheim, parts of Cologne, Duisburg and Oberhausen belonged to the state of Berg.

Borderline in the local awareness today

Today, even in the awareness of the population, a sense of belonging to the Bergisches Land is sometimes no longer existent. Most notably in the region of the Cologne Bight and the Ruhr this happens. There the people see themselves more associated with the Rhineland or the Ruhr area.The relationship of Düsseldorf and the Bergisches Land is complex: historic Düsseldorf was the capital of the Bergisches Land, as you can see at Düsseldorf's coat of arms (it consists of the lion of Berg), but today the inhabitants of Düsseldorf see themselve more belonging to the Rhineland

Cities and districts

ee also

*Berg (state)
*Oberbergischer Kreis
*Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis