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'Leverkusen' is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, half way between Cologne and Düsseldorf. Population: 161,342 (2005).
The city of Leverkusen is a product of economic growth in the Rhine-Ruhr region. It was rural area until the late 19th century. The present city is made up of several villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen. Wiesdorf, dating back to the 12th century, was chosen by the apothecary Carl Leverkus for establishing a dye factory in 1860. The factory was taken over by the Bayer company in 1891. The company moved its office to Wiesdorf in 1912, turning the town into the centre of German chemical industry.
Leverkusen was founded in 1930 by merging the above mentioned villages, that had become towns in the meantime. Today the town is home of the football club Bayer Leverkusen.

Contents

Main sights and places of interest

Twinned cities

Notable people

References

External links

Main sights and places of interest

★ BayArena - Leverkusen's multifunctional football stadium

★ Bayer Cross Leverkusen - one of the largest illuminated advertisements in the world

★ Schloss-Morsbroich - moated castle in the baroque style

★ Water Tower Leverkusen-Bürrig - 72.45 metres high water reservoir containing an observation deck

★ Neuland Park - large park beside the Rhine

Twinned cities

Leverkusen is twinned with several cities across Europe and throughout the rest of the world. These include:

★ Oulu, Finland, since 1968

★ Bracknell Forest, United Kingdom, since 1973

★ Ljubljana, Slovenia, since 1979

★ Nazareth-Illit, Israel, since 1980

★ Chinandega, Nicaragua, since 1986

★ Schwedt, Germany, since 1989

★ Ratibor, Poland, since 2002

Notable people

★ Jörg Bergmeister, racing driver

★ Detlef Schrempf, former NBA basketball player

★ Wolf Vostell, painter

★ Danny Ecker, athlete

★ Felix Sturm, middleweight boxer

★ Hans Kühne, plant manager of IG Farben's (Bayer) plant in Leverkusen during World War II, acquitted of crimes against humanity in the IG Farben Trial ^[1]

References

1. http://www.profit-over-life.org/rolls.php?roll=95&pageID=33&expand=no

External links

★ Leverkusen Official website of the city

★ Leverkusen