West Germany
Which country did Mettmann belong to between Sep 1984 and Nov 1988?
Mettmann Mettmann ( ) is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land , in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann , Germanys most densely populated rural district . The town lies east of Düsseldorf and west of Wuppertal . Brief history . Located on the ancient trade route strata coloniensis the Lotharingian hamlet of Medamana ( engl . between the streams , which bears an etymological similarity to the origins of the name for the Northern Italian city of Milan ( lat . Mediolanum ) ) first appeared in the charter of the last Carolingian King , Louis the Child , 904 AD , thus existing officially for more than 1100 years . In 1363 Mettmann was one of eight administrative burghs in the Earldom of Berg and Jülich . Later the burgh became independent at the hand of Counsellor to the Earl of Cleves and was allowed to build a wall and choose a mayor . The ability to toll and tax allowed the burgh to develop in commerce and trade . In 1806 Mettmann became a part of the Grand Duchy of Berg under the rule of Napoleons brother-in-law , Joachim Murat . During this time , Mettmanns burgomaster was called . Mettmann remained French for about 10 years and became a part of Prussias Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg following Napoleons defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 . As the result of the Congress of Vienna ( 1814–15 ) , in 1822 it was adsorbed into the Prussian Rhine Province . However , the Prussian rulers did not prove to be very popular , as during the bread-riots of 1848–49 and the ensuing political upheavals , which hit the district of Düsseldorf among the hardest , policing was done from Berlin , excluding local accountability . Thus , the Prussian government regarded the Rhinelands as more of a colony , furnishing the bureaucracy , which was based in Düsseldorf , with civil servants that were drafted in from other regions of Prussia . Mettmann was liberated from the National Socialist Dictatorship April 16th , 1945 by a vanguard of the US Ninth Army and then became a part of the British military administration under which the Northern Rhineland was redemocratised . Since 1946 , Mettmann is a part of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia and from 1949 of West Germany . Since 1990 it belongs to the unified Federal Republic of Germany . Government and politics . Mettmann gave its name to the District of Mettmann . Although the administrative centre of the District of Mettmann changed often over the years , in 1954 the parliament of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia eventually decided to make Mettmann the districts administrative centre . In 1974–75 , with the administrative boundary reform , the district lost several councils to the neighbouring cities Düsseldorf , Duisburg , Essen , and Wuppertal . The district name also changed from Düsseldorf-Mettmann to Mettmann during this reform . However , the regional Board of Inland Revenue—the Finanzamt Düsseldorf-Mettmann—serves both the municipalities forming the district of Mettmann , as well as the city of Düsseldorf proper . Sites of interest . In the nearby Neanderthal , in the summer of 1856 , quarry workers discovered the fossilised remains of what became known as the Neanderthal man or Homo neanderthalensis in Feldhof cave . - Neanderthal Museum in Neanderthal - Historical downtown with central market , mansions typical black slate lining - Town Museum - Goldberger Mill in Mettmann Stadtwald Demographics . In the years following Germanys loss of World War II in 1945 , Mettmann saw significant population increases driven mostly by the resettlement of citizens previously living in the eastern territories that had been ceded to Poland . Having seen almost no war-time destruction and being situated in a traditionally strong economic region , the town soon prospered , in line with a general period of rapid economic growth that acquired the moniker Wirtschaftswunder ( economic miracle ) . A shortage of industrial workers led to several recruitment campaigns in Mediterranean countries , starting with Italy in the early 1960s , and followed by Turkey later that decade . These communities soon thrived and established cultural markers such as the Pizza and kebab restaurants that are now ubiquitous throughout western Germany . Later events such as the Lebanese Civil War and the Balkan Wars were also reflected in the towns makeup , which now comprises communities of Turks , Kurds , Kashubians , Old Prussians , Silesians , Poles , Greeks , Croatians , Serbs , Albanians , Bosnians and Lebanese heritage , each distinct but generally well-integrated into the Rhenish-Westphalian majority population and its traditions . For reasons not entirely understood , Mettmann also became the host of a sizeable Brazilian community , an oddity that was featured in the German movie Samba in Mettmann by the German/Italian filmmaker duo Hape Kerkeling and Angelo Colagrossi . Notable people . - Konrad Heresbach ( 1496–1576 ) , reformer , Calvinist , humanist and educator - Joachim Neander ( 1650–1680 ) , Church teacher , theologian and hymn writer - Johannes Flintrop ( 1904–1943 ) , Roman Catholic critic - Thomas Huber ( born 1955 ) , a Swiss artist , lived and worked here - Kristina Bach ( born 1962 ) , singer and music producer - Frank Kschischang ( born 1962 ) , Electrical Engineering Professor at University of Toronto - Campino ( born 1962 ) , a German-British singer , lived here - Martin Kaymer ( born 1984 ) , golfer Twin towns – sister cities . Mettmann is twinned with : - Laval , France ( 1974 ) Friendly cities . Mettmann also has friendly relations with : - Żnin , Poland ( 1997 ) - Goražde , Bosnia and Herzegovina ( 1998 ) - Markranstädt , Germany External links . - Homepage of the City of Mettmann - Homepage of the District of Mettmann - Homepage of the Neanderthal museum