Magnum Erkrath/Düsseldorf (D)

Erkrath

Name origin

named after the freemen Bernhardus and Siegebertus de Everekrothe

First documented mention

1148 AD

Population

44,000

Area

26.88 km²

Administrative region

Düsseldorf

District

Mettmann

Vehicle registration

ME

River

Düssel

The Club Magnum is located in Erkrath near Düsseldorf, in the Unterfeldhaus commercial area.

Düsseldorf:

Düsseldorf, the state capital of NRW, is the ultimate insider tip among German metropolises when it comes to quality of life, and has a lot to offer that's interesting: beautiful scenery, the river Düssel and plenty of sporting activities. So why isn't Cologne, the Rhine metropolis twice its size, the state capital of NRW instead? - The British occupying forces wanted it that way after WWII! The British were based in Düsseldorf, and that's where the key administrative structures existed. Once the decision had been made in favour of the city on the Düssel, the British went on to found the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 21 June 1946.

Düsseldorf is an extremely wealthy city, home to numerous well-known companies from the manufacturing, trade and services sectors. In particular, Düsseldorf is regarded as Germany's leading fashion metropolis. Today, no fewer than 20 public and private institutions of higher education contribute to this, such as the Heinrich-Heine-Universität, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or the AMD Akademie Mode & Design. The football club Fortuna Düsseldorf and the well-known ice hockey club Düsseldorfer EG both thrill their fans. Throughout the year, numerous national and international sporting events take place that are well worth a visit. Anyone who prefers to stroll through the city is well catered for in the Altstadt. Because of its many pubs, the Altstadt is known as the "longest bar in the world".

Who has the more beautiful Rhine promenade? As in almost every respect, Düsseldorf is also locked in stubborn intercultural rivalry with Cologne on this topic. The fact that Altbier is the drink of choice here in the Düsseldorf Altstadt is noted with rather disdainful contempt in Colonia. In any case, in Düsseldorf people keep a sharp eye on fashion and happily strut up and down the riverside promenade as if on a catwalk - whether one wants to go from the Medienhafen with its hip, creative architecture and its towering 240 m high Rheinturm all the way up to the old imperial palace Kaiserswerth, or at least as far as the Golzheimer Stadtgarten right by the Rhine, where in fine weather half of Düsseldorf seems to gather.

Düsseldorf is also known as "Nippon on the Rhine" - in no other German city has Japanese culture, based primarily on flourishing trade relations, spread so extensively over decades as it has in Düsseldorf, and this is honoured here on the Rhine every year with the Japan-Tag. On the opposite bank, on the left side of the Rhine, one of the largest folk festivals in Germany, the Rheinkirmes, also takes place annually. Numerous other parks and several palaces and manor houses, such as the Nordpark/Aquazoo and the Rococo/Baroque Schloss Benrath, are open to visitors within Düsseldorf's city limits.

Düsseldorf, the shopping city: the Schadowstraße is one of the busiest shopping streets in Germany. It runs from the so-called Wehrhahn westwards through the city centre and leads almost directly into Düsseldorf's ultimate boulevard of splendour, the KÖ. The shopping boulevard Königsallee naturally also invites you to shop, with the futuristic shopping centre Sevens-Center as well as the elegant and chic KÖ-Galerien and the Schadow-Arkaden on the KÖ. The Arkaden captivate with a gleaming granite façade and the seemingly free-floating glass cylinder above the main entrance. A little way diagonally opposite at the Hofgarten, you'll finally find the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, which is run in cooperation with the Stadttheater Duisburg.

How do you get to Düsseldorf quickly? Düsseldorf Airport NRW is the intercontinental hub of North Rhine-Westphalia and enables fast transfers from all domestic and many international airports. Travel by car can be managed via the Autobahns A 44, A 46, A 52, A 57 and the A 59. The federal roads B 1, B 7, B 8, B 228 and B 326 run right across the city to every destination. The tram network even extends as far as Krefeld, Duisburg and Benrath.

Well-known sons and daughters of Düsseldorf include Heinrich Heine, Gustaf Gründgens, Hugo Wilhelm Henkel, Helmut Käutner, Jürgen Habermas, Heide Keller, Rosemarie Nitribitt, Thomas Allofs, Doro Pesch, Heike Makatsch, Heino, Wim Wenders, Marie Bäumer, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and Campino.

Recommended hotels include, for example, the Steigenberger Parkhotel, Hilton Düsseldorf, Günnewig Uebachs or the Innside Düsseldorf Hafen.

Erkrath:

Erkrath is located in NRW in the Kreis Mettmann, roughly on the border between the Rheinland and the Bergisches Land. The town has a little more than 40,000 inhabitants and borders directly on Düsseldorf. One of the town's most important sights is the Neandertal nature reserve (spelled without an "h") with the world-famous Neanderthal-Museum, where fossils of the prehistoric human named after the site were found in the 19th century.

Erkrath is easily reached from Düsseldorf by train. Within the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, the stations Erkrath and Erkrath-Hochdahl are served by the S-Bahn lines 8 and 68. The stations Erkrath Nord and Neanderthal, on the other hand, are served by S-Bahn line 28. In total, there are now 4 railway stations within the town's boundaries.

Erkrath is also easy to reach by car, since the A3 runs directly past the town on its route through NRW. Access is via the A46 through the Kreuz Hilden interchange and the Erkrath junction, or via the Düsseldorf/Mettmann junction on the A3.

Within the town of Erkrath there are several good hotels, including for example the Arcadia Hotel, not far from the Neandertal nature reserve and just a few kilometres from Düsseldorf, the state capital of NRW. Closer to the centre of Erkrath is the Hotel Zur alten Post, a family-run establishment with a rich tradition.