Golden Day Emmerich (D)

Emmerich

Name origin

villa Embrici (Lat., = house of Embrich/Embrico)

First documented mention

828 AD

Population

31,000

Area

80.40 km²

Federal state

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Administrative region

Düsseldorf

District

Kleve

Vehicle registration

KLE, GEL

River

Rhein

The club Golden Day is located on the connecting road from Emmerich train station to the district of Vrasselt.

Emmerich is an old Hanseatic town with an exposed location on the Rhein. The town lies on the Lower Rhein floodplain and borders directly on the Netherlands to the north and west; the southern town limits are marked by the course of the Rhein. Emmerich is thus the northernmost German town on the Rhein. The town centre sits at an elevation of 17 metres above sea level; nevertheless, the town also has a natural ridge with the Eltener Höhen excursion area (which belonged to the Netherlands from 1949-1963), rising up to 82 metres above sea level. Up on the Eltenberg stands the roughly 1,000-year-old St. Vitus Stiftskirche, one of the oldest churches on the Lower Rhein altogether. The town's direct location on the Rhein river also gives it an extensive natural landscape shaped by the historical shifts in the great river's course, with dunes, island formations and silted-up areas, as seen for example in the Emmericher Ward nature reserve. Fittingly, the town's two modern landmarks – the 1.5-kilometre-long Rheinpromenade on one hand, and on the other the longest suspension bridge in Germany spanning the Rhein, the "Golden Gate Bridge vom Niederrhein" – can be found right against this backdrop. Furthermore, one also finds around half a dozen boat landing spots here, including a pretty marina.

Emmerich was already founded around 700 AD as a mission station with its own church in the Bistum Utrecht by the canonised Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibrord (658-739). In 1040 the Stiftskirche St. Martini was built; today, after many changes in its architectural history, it stands as the second-oldest sacred building in Emmerich, a listed church building right on the Rheinuferpromenade. In 1233 Emmerich was granted town status and from then on experienced an economic golden age, which reached its full bloom through its membership in the Hanse between 1307 and 1570. With the turmoil of war over the following roughly 200 years – in particular the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) between the Netherlands and Spain, the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), right through to the upheavals of the Napoleonic occupation – the town had to endure impoverishment and decline. The once picturesque medieval town centre was almost completely destroyed in World War II; today one can still find a few pretty ensembles in the tranquil lanes around Alter Markt, Steinstraße and Geistmarkt. A lovely excursion destination in the town is the 18th-century manor house Schlößchen Borghees, now used as a cultural centre.

Modern Emmerich is a thoroughly liveable and thriving town with idyllic excursion destinations and a healthy portfolio of medium-sized industrial and service companies. The former garrison town benefits, both economically and touristically, from its border location with the Netherlands. The entrepreneurial dynasty Gimborn, today a major manufacturer of pet products, is particularly formative for the town. The well-known confectionery manufacturer "Katjes" is likewise based in Emmerich.

Contrary to claims to the other effect, the German football legend Lothar Emmerich does not actually come from Emmerich (but from Dortmund) – though the equally famous German-Dutch footballer and 1974 World Cup winner Rainer Bonhoff does.