Duisburg

The following cities border Duisburg (clockwise starting from the north-east): Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Ratingen, Düsseldorf, Meerbusch, Krefeld, Moers, Rheinberg, and Dinslaken.

Since 1 January 1975, Duisburg has been divided into seven districts or boroughs (Stadtbezirke) from north to south:[5]

Coat of arms of Duisburg at the town hall in Duisburg

• Walsum (51,528)
• Hamborn (71,528)
• Meiderich/Beeck (73,881)
• Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl (41,153)
• Duisburg-Mitte (center) (105,961)
• Rheinhausen (77,933)
• Duisburg-Süd (73,321)

Duisburg has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).[6] On 25 July 2019, Duisburg recorded a temperature of 41.2 °C (106.2 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Germany.[7]

The current Mayor of Duisburg is Sören Link of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2017.

The most recent mayoral election was held on 24 September 2017, and the results were as follows:

Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Duisburg city council (Duisburger Stadtrat) 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	+/-
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	43,051	30.8	10.1	32	3
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	29,966	21.5	3.3	22	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	24,728	17.7	10.3	19	13
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	12,968	9.3	5.7	10	7
	The Left (Die Linke)	7,714	5.5	1.0	6	±0
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	4,333	3.1	0.7	3	1
	Young Duisburg (JUDU)	4,091	2.9	0.8	3	1
	Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutz)	2,599	1.9	New	2	New
	Duisburg Alternative List (DAL)	1,709	1.2	0.1	1	±0
	Die PARTEI (PARTEI)	1,596	1.1	New	1	New
	We Shape Duisburg (WGD)	1,471	1.1	New	1	New
	Socially Just Independent (SGU)	1,384	1.0	0.1	1	±0
	Solidarity for Duisburg (SfD)	958	0.7	New	1	New
	BIG-Dergah	890	0.6	New	0	New
	Civic Liberals (BL)	608	0.4	New	0	New
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	550	0.4	1.3	0	1
	Alliance Duisburg (Allianz)	377	0.3	New	0	New
	Alliance for Duisburg (BfD)	290	0.2	New	0	New
	Independent Gisela Schiffers	141	0.1	New	0	New
	Digital Ecological Social (DOS)	83	0.1	New	0	New
	Independent Marliese Lenz	57	0.0	New	0	New
	Awakening Duisburg (Aufbruch Du)	41	0.0	New	0	New
Valid votes		139,605	98.9
Invalid votes		1,618	1.1
Total		141,223	100.0		102	18
Electorate/voter turnout		360,750	39.1	1.4
Source: State Returning Officer

In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, Duisburg is divided between three constituencies: 61 Duisburg I (containing Süd district and most of Mitte), 62 Duisburg II (Walsum, Rheinhausen, and most of Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl), and 63 Duisburg III (Hamborn, Meiderich/Beeck, and parts of Mitte and Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). After the 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, all three constituencies were held by the SPD. Duisburg I was represented by Sarah Philipp, Duisburg II by Rainer Bischoff, and Duisburg III by Frank Börner.

In the Bundestag, Duisburg is divided between two constituencies: 115 Duisburg I (Rheinhausen, Süd, and Mitte) and 116 Duisburg II (Walsum, Hamborn, Meidereich/Beeck, Homberg/Ruhrort/Baerl). In the 20th Bundestag, both are held by the SPD. Duisburg I is represented by President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas, and Duisburg II by Mahmut Özdemir.

Latest archaeological studies show that the present-day market-place was already in use in the first century. It has been the major central trading place of the city since the 5th century. The city itself was located at the "Hellweg", an important medieval trade route, and at a ford across the Rhine. The Romans already guarded the ford.

• 420: The Franks usurp the Roman settlement and recolonize the old part of the town.
• 883: The Normans conquer Duisburg and stay for the winter. First historic document mentioning Duisburg.

Due to the town's favorable geographic position a palatinate was built and the town was soon granted the royal charter of a free city. Duisburg became a member of the Hanseatic League. Around 1000 the river Rhine moved westward from the city. This put an end to the city's development as a trading town and it soon grew into a quiet rural city.

Mercatorbrunnen ("Mercator fountain") in front of the town hall

The productions of cartographer Gerardus Mercator and the foundation of a university in 1655 established the city's renown as "Educated Duisburg" ("Duisburgum Doctum").

• 

  Remains of the city wall
  1120: construction of the city wall
• 1279: "city charter" granted by King Lothar III
• 1290 Duisburg becomes part of the County (after 1417 Duchy) of Cleves
• 1445 attack by Archbishop-Elector Dietrich II von Moers (de) of Cologne was thwarted
  

  Duisburg Corputius plan 1566
• 1566 Johannes Corputius completes his city map of Duisburg.
• 1666 Duisburg within the Duchy of Cleves becomes a part of Brandenburg-Prussia

Binnenhafen in 1931

The rise of tobacco and textile industries in the 18th century made Duisburg an industrial center. Big industrial companies such as iron and steel producing firms (Thyssen and Krupp) influenced the development of the city within the Prussian Rhine Province. Large housing areas near production sites were being built as workers and their families moved in.

• 1823 a district ("Landkreis") Duisburg is established including the cities of Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr.
• 1824 construction of the sulfuric acid factory Fr. W. Curtius; beginning of the industry age in Duisburg.
• 1828 Franz Haniel builds a dockyard for steamships
• 1846 railway line to Düsseldorf
• 1847 railway line via Dortmund to Minden
• 1873 Duisburg becomes an independent city borough.
• 1904 Birth of the 100,000th resident (Ernst R. Straube)
• 1921 French Infantry occupy the city on 8 March to secure war reparation payments incurred during World War I.
• 1929 The city of Hamborn and Duisburg are joined together. The new city is given the name of Duisburg-Hamborn.
• 1935 Duisburg-Hamborn is renamed Duisburg.
• 1938 (November) The Nazis destroy the city's synagogue.

A major logistical center in the Ruhr and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of Allied bombers. As such, it is considered by some historians to be the single most heavily bombed German city by the Allies during World War II, with industrial areas and residential blocks targeted by Allied incendiary bombs.

On the night of 12–13 June 1941, British bombers dropped a total of 445 tons of bombs in and around Duisburg. As part of the Battle of the Ruhr, another British raid of 577 bombers destroyed the old city between 12 and 13 May 1943 with 1,599 tons of bombs. During the bombing raids, 96,000 people were made homeless with countless lives lost.

In 1944 the city was again badly damaged as a total of 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on 22 May. On 14 October, the tonnage was repeated with 2,018 tons when Halifax, Lancaster, and Mosquito bombers appeared over Duisburg as part of Operation Hurricane. This daylight raid was followed by a night attack; over 24 hours about 9,000 tons of HE and incendiaries had been dropped on Duisburg. Numerous similar attacks followed until the end of 1944.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Duisburg in April 1945. The US 17th Airborne Division, acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, met only scattered resistance in the vicinity and captured the city on 12 April 1945.[9]

On 8 May 1945 the ADSEC Engineer Group A, led by Col. Helmer Swenholt, commanding officer of the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, constructed a railway bridge between Duisburg and Rheinhausen across the Rhine. It was 860 meters long, and constructed in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes, a record time. It was named the "Victory Bridge".[10]

Shrinking Duisburg: Abandoned buildings in the borough of Beeck

A total of 299 bombing raids had almost completely destroyed the historic cityscape. 80% of all residential buildings had been destroyed or partly damaged. Almost the whole of the city had to be rebuilt, and most historic landmarks had been lost.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, the decline of Duisburg's steel and mining industry caused a significant loss of residents. While in 1975 approximately 590,000 people were living in Duisburg, the number had shrunk to 518,000 in 1985.

Duisburg celebrated its 1100th anniversary in 1983. The city's population recovered a little in the following years, up to 537,000 in 1992. It declined to 488,000 in 2011. On 19 July 2004, it was hit by a tornado. The municipal theater and parts of the city center were damaged. The city hosted the 7th World Games in 2005. In 2010, 21 people died because of a mass panic at the Love Parade; over 500 people were injured.

Duisburg is home to 85,000 people of Turkish origin.[15] Other estimates suggest that the Turkish population is as large as 100,000.[16][17][18] The neighborhood of Marxloh is a majority Muslim neighborhood, with over 54% of residents not having German citizenship as of 2018.[19] Marxloh has experienced significant unemployment, poverty[20] and high crime rates.[21][22][23] [24] The Wall Street Journal has referred to Marxloh as "Germany's quintessential Muslim ghetto."[25] The new Merkez Mosque, one of the largest Muslim places of worship in Western Europe, was built with help by the way of contribution of 3.2 million euro from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[26] Asiye Nur Fettahoğlu, a Turkish-German actress, was born in Duisburg on 12 November 1980.

Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen[27] is the largest inland port in the world.[28] It is officially regarded as a seaport because seagoing river vessels go to ports in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Numerous docks are mostly located at the mouth of the Ruhr where it joins the Rhine.

Each year more than 40 million tonnes of various goods are handled with more than 20,000 ships calling at the port. The public harbour facilities stretch across an area of 7.4 square kilometres (2.9 sq mi). There are 21 docks covering an area of 1.8 km² (0.7 sq mi) and 40 kilometres (25 miles) of wharf. The area of the Logport Logistic Center Duisburg stretches across an area of 2.65 km² (1.02 sq mi). With 2.5 million TEU it is also the largest inland container port, based on 2011 figures.[29] A number of companies run their own private docks and 114 million tonnes of goods yearly (2010) are handled in Duisburg in total.

Duisburg is served by several autobahns, with 3 east–west routes and 2 north–south routes. A3 forms a bypass east of the city and mostly serves through traffic. A59 runs parallel to A3 and serves the city from north to south with 14 interchanges, much more than most other cities in the Ruhr area. The A40 and A42 are two east–west routes that serve central and northern Duisburg. Autobahn A40 also serves major through traffic from the Netherlands to Berlin and points east. A short spur, A524 serves southern Duisburg. Most Autobahns have six lanes or are upgraded to six lanes (A59).

Apart from the autobahns, no Bundesstraßen serve the city directly. B8 runs through the city, but uses A59's alignment. B288 runs in the extreme south of the city, and serves traffic to and from Krefeld. Several bridges span the Rhine, most prominently the A40 and A42 bridges, but also the L287 suspension bridge and the L237 arch bridge, a three-lane bridge with 2 lanes per peak direction with dynamic lane usage.

Duisburg Hauptbahnhof is served by the InterCityExpress and InterCity long-distance network of the Deutsche Bahn, in addition line S1 of the S-Bahn line connects Duisburg with other cities of the Rhine-Ruhr area.

The Duisburg Stadtbahn, the Duisburg tramway network, and a bus system, all operated by the Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft, provide local services. Stadtbahn line U79, the so-called "D-Bahn" ("D-Line"), connects to the neighbouring city of Düsseldorf and is operated jointly with the Rheinbahn of Düsseldorf. All S-Bahn, Stadtbahn, and bus lines operate under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr.