Wuppertal is a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located in the Bergisches region, being the capital and the economic, cultural and industrial center of the region. Wuppertal, which translates as “Wupper river valley“, was founded in 1929 by the merger of the old towns of Barmen and Elberfeld.
In order not to bore you too much with the history and geography of the city, I will go straight to what we visited in this city in the north-west of Germany, or what we did not visit, because we had the opportunity to get to Wuppertal one day from Monday, when all the tourist attractions are closed and in addition it was the day after Christmas.
One of the main tourist attractions is the Schwebebahn or suspended monorail, inaugurated on March 1, 1901. You can find the history, technical data and much more information here. Now the schwebebahn is the main means of transport for around 80,000 passengers who use it daily.
The entire route is 13.3 km long and takes about 30 minutes, during which it stops at 20 stations, the average distance between them being 700 meters. Because the tourist attractions were closed, we purchased a one-day ticket for 2 people (âŹ9.9/2 people) and walked the route from one end to the other. The Schwebebahn passes 12 meters above the Wupper River, past the well-known Bayer plant â multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company, crossing the city from northeast to southwest.
Another tourist attraction is the Neumarkt. There is the Elberfelder Rathaus (New Town Hall) â built in 1895; Jubiläumsbrunnen (Neptune’s Fountain) â a fountain with a height of 11.5 meters, built of red sandstone, being a replica of Neptune‘s fountain in the Cathedral Square of Trento (Italy); Von der Heydt Museum â art museum that includes an impressively large collection, ranging from the beginning of the 16th century to contemporary art; Wuppertaler Uhrenmuseum (Clock Museum) â contains over 2,000 clocks, pendulums, hourglasses from different time periods, the oldest being 5000 years ago.
If you arrive in Wuppertal, do not miss the Zoo – opened in 1881, today housing approximately 4,500 animals from 500 species, on an area of ââ20 hectares. (Tip! If you are going to visit the Zoo, you can opt for the KombiTicket â it includes the entrance to the zoo and free transport for all means of transport on the day. The price is âŹ15.5/adult and âŹ8/child. Tickets are can be found at travel agencies, WSW ticket machines or at the zoo).
Other tourist attractions: Botanical Garden, Museum of Early Industrialization, Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden âSculpture Park that covers 15 hectares; Wuppertaler Brauhaus â Wuppertal brewery opened in 1997.
If you liked our article on Wuppertal, you might also like our article on Dßsseldorf.
(Wuppertal â December 2016)
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