Wuppertal in Germany: the "homeland" of the Schwebean cableway

Wuppertal, Germany - a large city, spread out on the hilly banks of the Wupper River. For its unique nature, represented by beautiful alpine vegetation, it is often called the Green City, and for multi-level streets with a strong slope - German San Francisco.

General information

Wuppertal is a young German city located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and subordinate to the administrative district of Düsseldorf. Occupied area - 168.41 km. The population according to 2015 is 370 thousand people. The official foundation date is 1929. Interestingly, the city arose not historically, but by combining the 3 largest settlements - Brill, Barman and Elberfeld.

The whole territory of Wuppertal is divided into 10 administrative districts, the management of which is carried out by the district burgomaster. Moreover, each district includes several administrative districts with both common and digital names.

Currently, the city of Wuppertal is one of the most densely populated settlements in the region and an important economic, industrial, cultural and educational center of Germany.

Sights

Walking along the streets of Wuppertal, you will not see old castles, Gothic cathedrals and residential buildings, created in the Baroque style. And the point is not only that the Middle Ages bypassed this area, but also that Lutheranism with its characteristic minimalism had a significant influence on the architecture of the city. Moreover, World War II obliterated almost all of Wuppertal's historical monuments. Unfortunately, they have not been restored. The only exception is the city hall building and the monorail, with which we will begin our overview of the main tourist sites.

The Schwebebahn suspension road in Wuppertal is not only an important historical attraction, but also a traditional way of moving from one end of the city to the other. Established more than 100 years ago, The Wuppertal Suspension Railway has become the oldest active outboard monorail in the world.

The total length of the overground subway, as the locals call the Schweban road, is 13.5 km. Thanks to the numerous overpasses created by the best engineers in Germany, it encircles almost the entire city territory. At the same time, most of the route (about 10 km) passes over the Wupper River at an altitude of 12.5 m. The rest of the route, which is land, is located slightly lower - at an altitude of 8 m.

Being the main symbol of Wuppertal, the monorail suspension glorified it not only throughout Germany, but throughout the world. To tell you the truth, most tourists come to this city just to see this miracle of engineering.

It is noteworthy that over the long years of its existence, Schweban experienced only one serious accident, as a result of which several people died. In this regard, it can also be called one of the safest railways in the country. And another interesting fact - the first passenger of The Wuppertal Suspension Railway was William II, emperor of the then Prussia. The wagon that carried the Kaiser and his retinue still drives today - now you can not only ride in it, but also celebrate a wedding, birthday or any other celebration.

Fare: 2.9 euros per trip.

Talking about the sights of Wuppertal in Germany, one cannot but recall the sculpture park, located near the central city square. The idea of ​​creating this masterpiece belongs to the British sculptor Tony Cragg, who not only bought 15 hectares of land from the city, but also organized a real maze of paths and trails on them, in the middle of which there are several dozens of unusual statues. The most famous among them are dancing columns, the wavy surface of which creates an imitation of movement.

The idea turned out to be so successful that after 3 years the city authorities allocated Cragg another 5 hectares of forest to expand the park. Since then, the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden collection has been replenished with the works of many world celebrities who have turned it into a mini-encyclopedia of modern plastic.

Currently, festivals, exhibitions, concerts and theater performances are regularly held in the sculpture park. In addition, there is a good restaurant in its territory, which serves traditional German dishes.

• Address: Hirschstr. 12, Wuppertal, Germany.
• Hours: Tue - Sat from 11:00 to 18:00 (until 17:00 from November to March).
• Ticket price: 12 €.

Zoo Wuppertal, which is the most important natural attraction of Wuppertal, was opened in the late 19th century. Then the number of its inhabitants did not reach 3 dozen. In today's zoo, which is one of the oldest zoological gardens in Germany, there are up to 5 thousand animals belonging to 500 species. All of them are located in spacious enclosures, planted with trees and complemented by man-made hills, oases and ponds. Moreover, for each species a special landscape is created, as close as possible to the natural habitat.

To watch tigers, elephants, lions, orangutans, polar bears, lynxes and other animals, special bridges, convenient platforms and cozy grottoes with benches are equipped.

Other features of the Wuppertal Zoo include a transparent aquarium made in the form of a 15-meter tunnel and inhabited by a variety of marine inhabitants, and a beautiful lake along the banks of which pink flamingos walk. In addition, there is also a special terrarium in which emperor penguins are fed at a certain time. As for squirrels and chipmunks, they move freely around the neighborhood and are not at all afraid of people.

• Address: Hubertusallee 30, 42117 Wuppertal, Germany.
• The cost of visiting starts at 14.50 € and depends on the type of ticket. For families discounts are provided.
• Opening hours: Sun - Sat from 08:30 to 18:00.

The huge concert hall, founded in 1900 and present in many photos of Wuppertal in Germany, can be called one of the most beautiful city attractions. The monumental building, combining elements of two styles, Baroque and Art Nouveau, almost did not suffer during the aerial bombardments and became one of the few city monuments that managed to reach our days.

In addition to the beautiful facade and rich interior decoration, the Wuppertal concert hall has excellent acoustics, thanks to which the main city events are held here - from symphony concerts and orchestral competitions to performances by popular stars, auditions and dance evenings.

In addition, exhibitions by local artists are regularly held in the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal, and various commercial events are regularly organized in the garden surrounding this important historical monument. By the way, with the onset of summer, the garden turns into a city beach with sunbeds, small shops and other infrastructure.

• Address: Johannisberg 40, 42103 Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
• The average ticket price is 5 €. Tickets can be bought not only at the box office, but also through the Internet. And most importantly, they give the right to free travel in all types of public transport.

Where to stay?

Being one of the largest cities in the country, Wuppertal offers a wide selection of housing at any price category. Here you can find both budget motels and guest houses, as well as first-class hotels offering impeccable service and luxurious rooms.

If we talk about cost, then:

• The daily rent of a double room in a 3 * hotel is from 40 to 130 €,
• Accommodation in apartments will cost 40-160 €.

How to get there

Wuppertal does not have its own airport, so tourists who wish to ride the suspension railway and explore local attractions are forced to come here from neighboring Düsseldorf (47 km) and Cologne (58 km). Most Russian flights take just the latter. It is most convenient to get to Wuppertal from it by train of the German national company Deutsche Bahn.

The trains leave from the Flughafen Köln / Bonn station and continue to Wuppertal Hbf, the main railway station. The road takes from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the route.

• The first flight - at 03:14, the last - at 23:28.
• The interval of movement is from 10 to 60 minutes.
• The fare is 16-23 €.

Tickets can be bought both at the box office and online (for example, on Omio.ru, the Russian version of the official Deutsche Bahn website - www.bahn.de).

All prices in the article are for July 2019.
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Useful Tips

When planning to visit Wuppertal (Germany), take a note of a few useful tips:

1. When communicating with local residents, it is customary to name not only the name, but also the position of the person. The only exceptions are relatives and close friends.
2. Some local pubs serve a decent portion of complimentary snacks for a mug of beer for dinner.
3. Fans of sweets should try Hussel sweets - they are sold both by weight and in gift wrapping;

4. Going for a walk, take a copy of your passport with you.
5. At the entrance to a public institution you need to say hello to everyone present. So, going to a restaurant, you should say "Mahlzeit" - "Bon appetit."
6. It is not necessary to carry a large amount of money with you - most large supermarkets and restaurants accept bank cards.
7. You can move around the city not only by monorail suspension, but also by bicycle - for this, there are bicycle paths near the main routes, and rental points are found literally on every corner.
8. While walking around Wuppertal, do not leave personal items unattended, and hold the camera and camcorder tightly in your hands.
9. Do not forget to pay attention to signs prohibiting smoking in some public places.

10. Car rental is possible only with an international driver’s license and a credit card, the amount of which will be enough to make a deposit. You can drive in Germany from the age of 18, but some rental offices do not work with clients under the age of 21.
11. Tipping is left not only in cafes and restaurants (10-13% of the amount), but also in hotels, taxis, hairdressers and sightseeing centers ;.
12. Wuppertal is a good place for shopping. At the same time, the largest number of specialized stores are located in the Rathausgalerie hypermarket and the City Arcaden shopping center. In them you can find products from such well-known world brands as Homestore, Gortz and Rossmann;
13. The streets of the city are clean and tidy, so in no case do not throw garbage in the wrong place;
14. Ada Café hosts tango nights every Saturday. On them you can not only watch the performances of professional dancers, but also dance yourself, as well as take a few lessons;
15. The Wuppertal's largest festival is dedicated to the same dance - every autumn it gathers hundreds of participants who come here from all over Europe.

Interesting facts about Wuppertal from the guide:

Watch the video: Suspension Railway in Wuppertal, Germany schwebebahn (November 2024).