Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-14
Once Fishing Village on Banks
of the DuSSeI Has Become
Art Center of Europe.
FOUNDED 800 YEARS AGO..
HAS VARIED HISTORY
Home of Heine. Schumann and Other
Great ArtiSts-Attractio of
the Dusseldorf of Today.

the middle OF the twelfth century. n
small. unmportant fisher settlement
called Dusseldorf. Under the Counts and
later Dukes of Berb. the fishing village
grew into one forming a parish by itself:
in 12SS II was raised to the dignity Of
town; in 1883 it became the ducal resi-
dence. For two centuries il enjoyed
sound development under peaceful condi-
tons. Then, for some time. the growth
of the town was interrupted by disputes
as to the hereditary right to the country.
This continued til the year 1919, when
Johann Wilhelm. called Jan Wellem.
elector of the palatnatc. brought new
life to the country. lie promoted trade
with particular zeal, and raised Dussel-
dorf to the rank of an art town by his
splendid gallery. In 1867 the Art Acad-
envy was founded under the Elector Carl
Theodor this being followed in short
time by the state library a considerable
portion of the court gardens was laid out.
the town extended and Ornamented with
| magnificent buildings. The 'Jagerhof'
castle. the electoral stables with their
beautiful carved gables. the splendid cas-
tie at Benrath with it's charming gar
dens. were the products of this epoch.
Period of Depression.
period for the town. The strong organ
iZing hand of the mighty French en-
peror. who assumed the administration of
the grand duchy of Berg in 1908. and es-
tablshed his residence at Dusseldorf. be-
slowed many blessings upon Dusseldorf.
as, for instance, the reform of the laws
of municipal government and the admin
istration of justice. the abolition of
serfdom. the promotion of trade by means
of new harbor and the laying out of
the court gardens after the raZing of the
Iamparts. Upon the decline of the SOW
ereignty of Napoleon. Dusseldorf went
over into the hands of Prussia, May 2.
1915 From that time up to the present
day Dusseldorf has gone through strange
transformations Decorated with beauti-
full structures of the past days, nesting
in luxuriant gardens. the little town be-
| came q cheerful center of art, which
found there fertile soil for it's growth.
This was due to the energy of the aO.OOG
nhabitants Tin 1850 the number had in
creased to 10000 and the protection of
the HohenZOlerns.
Artistic Atmosphere.
The names Of great artists. as Cor
nelius. Schadow, Hildebrandt, Beibtreu
Rethel, Tomssen, Gebhardt and Achen-
bach, who raised the art academy to high
esteem; the masters of the musical art
Felix Mendelssohn-Barth and Robert
Schumann. who were engaged there as
musical directors in the middle Of the
century and produced some of their i'm
mortal works in the bright little town on
the Dussel: the poet Heinrich Heine. who
first saw the light of the world there:
Carl Zimmerman. the manager of the
ideal stage of the Municipal Theater-all
of these personalities radiated a warm
light of genius upon the life of the little
town. They impaired to Dusseldorf fine
Splendor indicative of the prevalence of
high culture, just as the warm, bright
light of the eye reveals the existence of
a fine soul.
Toward the end of the last century,
but particularly in the 7Gs. after the
foundation of the German empire, and
still more intensely at a somewhat later
date. trade and industry began to take
on large dimensions. especially in the
west, so that the quiet town of art and
gardens was drawn into the whirlpool OF
modern work. In view of its many
achievements triumphant technics with
astonishing speed claimed for itself the
right to exist and to spread in new fac
tories and new mills. Many an eye saw
with pain the Splendor of the home oil
culture disappear in the smoke of tine
chimney. many an ear heard the har-
monte sound of artistic life drowned by
the deafening, rafting hammering OF
iron works. Oppressed with melancholy
and misunderstanding the progress OF
time, many a heart secluded itself from
things of the day and Toasted upon re-
membranes of past greatness.
The City Today.
Dusseldorf has answered this call of
the times, and stands prepared to attack
the great, complicated problems of cul-
ture now confronting the city of half a
million souls, once the little fishing vii
merely as a city of art or a center of
science, or a metropolis of trade and in
dustry 1t wishes to be city for the
present and coming generations. Who
ever regards this town today cannot
avoid the impression that it is in the
midst Of life, participating with zeal and
energy in all departments of active work.
affording an opportunity for every one to
learn and work, to gather new strength
and power in the quiet of nature. to
dedicate himself to the study of literature
in libraries and reading rooms.
The whole exterior of the city, with its
broad. airy. excellently Illuminated and
well kept streets: with many magnificent
public and private buildings, between
which there rise the strange-shaped
spires of old and new houses Of worship:
and in the heart of the city the old court
gardens. picturesque view of which,
on summer morning, is depicted in the
accompanying picture; then the old town
with its weatherbeaten houses and mar
row streets; the market place in front
of the old town hall. and the splendid
monument of the Elector Jan Wellem
on horseback; and. above all. the proud
Rhine, with its lively traffic. with its
large. new harbor plants and wharves,
where last year more than 100000 tons
of freight were handled, or five times as
much as fifteen years ago: and then the
gigantic oak bridge across the Rhine;
the remarkable exhibition palace on the
bank of the stream with its Kaiser Will
helm Park, two kilometers in length.
where the young people play hockey.
cricket and tennis, where. in the cold of
winter mornings, thousands delight in
skating: the race grounds; the harbor for
row and sailing boats: and the large
meadow where every kind of sport is en-
gagged in-the observant visitor to the
town. who spends but a day there, re-
metrical whole.
The environs of the town afford
many a charm: mighty factories with
their towering chimneys stand out
like stony isles in the green of the
landscape. The extensive city park.
rising upon billy ground. forms the
eastern border of the town. This is
the goal of many thousands of pill
grims, who each Sunday. wander out
into the open to enjoy the beauties of
nature or to attend the horse races at
the course in the midst Of the woods
In the north, in the open fields. is the
dirigible shed, the scene attracting
when the coming of Zeppelin is await
ed. The Inhabitants flock out to the
public gardens, to the immense COM
mon. where balloons rise in hasty conf
petition with one another. The Berg
country, with it's wooded SUBMITS and