Solingen

**Solingen** is a ceety in North Rhine-Westphalie, Germany. It is locatit on the northren edge o the region cried Bergisches Land, sooth o the Ruhr aurie, an wi a 2009 population o 161,366 is the seicont mucklest ceety in the Bergisches Land. It is a member o the regional authority o the Rhineland.

Solingen is cried the "Ceety o Blades", syne it haes lang been renouned for the manufacturin o fine swuirds, knives, scissors an razors made bi famous firms sic as DOVO Solingen, Wüsthof, J. A. Henckels, Böker, Eickhorn-Solingen, an numerous ither manufacturers. Wilkinson is an aa based here. Compare wi Sheffield an Birmingham in Ingland.

In Medieval times, the swordsmiths o Solingen coined the toun's image, which is preserved tae this date. In the latter pairt o the 17t century, a group o swuirdsmiths frae Solingen brak thair guild oaths bi takin thair swuird-makin secrets wi them tae Shotley Brig, Coonty Durham in Ingland. Some 90% o German knives are produced in Solingen.

## Geography
Solingen lies soothwast o Wuppertal in the Bergisches Land.  The ceety haes an aurie o 89.45 square kilometres (34.54 sq. mile), o which roughly 50% is uised for agricultur, horticultur, or forestry.  The ceety's mairch is 62 kilometres (38.5 mile) lang, an the ceety's dimensions are 15.6 kilometres (9.7 mile) east tae wast an 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mile) north tae sooth.  The Wupper river, a richt tributary the Rhine, flows throu the ceety for 26 kilometres (16.2 mile).  The ceety's heichest pynt at 276 metres (906&nbsp;ft) is in the northren borough o Gräfrath at the Licht Touer, previously the water touer, an the lawest pynt at 53 metres (174&nbsp;ft) is in the soothwast.

### Neighbourin ceeties an communities

The follaein ceeties an communities share a mairch wi Solingen, stairtin in the northeast an goin clockwise aroond the ceety:

*Wuppertal (unitary urban destrict)
*Remscheid (unitary urban destrict)
*Wermelskirchen (athin the Rheinisch-Bergischer destrict)
*Leichlingen (Rheinisch-Bergischer destrict)
*Langenfeld (athin the destrict o Mettmann)
*Hilden (Mettmann)
*Haan (Mettmann)

### Ceety admeenistration
Solingen currently consists o five boroughs.  Each borough haes a municipal cooncil o aither 13 or 15 representatives (*Bezirksvertreter*) electit ivery five years bi the borough's population.  The municipal councils are responsible for mony o the boroughs' important admeenistrative affairs.

The five ceety boroughs:
*Gräfrath
*Wald (Solingen)
*Solingen-Mitte
*Ohligs/Aufderhöhe/Merscheid
*Höhscheid/Burg

The individuals boroughs are in pairt componed o separate quarters or residential auries wi thair awn names, awtho thay aften lack precise borders.  Examples o thir auries are Balkhausen, Brabant, Broßhaus, Central, Dahl, Demmeltrath, Dorperhof, Flachsberg, Fürk, Fürkeltrath, Fuhr, Glüder, Gosse, Hackhausen, Haasenmühle, Hasseldelle, Hästen, Ittertal, Kannenhof, Katternberg, Ketzberg, Kohlfurth, Kotzert, Krahenhöhe, Külf, Landwehr, Mangenberg, Mankhaus, Maubes, Meigen, Müngsten, Nümmen, Papiermühle, Piepersberg, Rüden, Schaberg, Schieten, Schnittert, Theegarten, Unterland, Weyer, Widdert, Wilzhaus, an Zum Holz.

## Population
Solingen's population doubled atween the years 1880 an 1890 due tae the incorporation o the ceety Dorp intae Solingen in 1889, at which time the population reached 36,000.  The population again received a muckle boost on August 1, 1929 throu the incorporation o Ohligs, Wald, Höhscheid, an Gräfrath intae the ceety leemits.  This brocht the population abuin the 100,000 merk, which gae Solingen the destinction o "lairge ceety" (*Großstadt*). The nummer o indwallers peaked in 1971 wi 177,899 residents, an the 2006 population figure wis 163,263.

The follaein chairt shows the population figures athin Solingen's ceety leemits at the respective pynts in time.  The figures are derived frae census estimates or nummers providit bi statistical offices or ceety agencies, wi the exception o figurs precedin 1843, which wur gathered uisin inconsistent recordin techniques.

## Releegion
Solingen haes belanged frae its beginnins tae the Roman Catholic Airchdiocese o Cologne (*Erzbistum Köln*), an mair specifically tae the Airchdeaconry o the Probst (*provost*) o St. Kunibert, the deanery o Deutz. Awtho the Protestant Reformation gradually made gains in the ceety, which wis unner the control o the Coonts o Berg, the population bi an muckle remained Catholic. The Catholic community wis newly endoued bi the local laird in 1658 an in 1701 received a new kirk. In 1827 Solingen became the seat o its awn deanery athin the newly defined Airchdiocese o Cologne, tae which the ceety's current parishes still belang.

As mentioned, the Reformation anerlie gradually gained a fuithauld in Solingen. A reformed kirk affiliatit wi the Bergisch synod wis established in 1590, an the ceety's parish kirk became reformed in 1649. Lutherans haed been present in Solingen syne the beginnin o the 17t century, an a Lutheran congregation wis foondit in 1635. In 1672 a formalized releegious greement wis reached atween the ceety's releegious groups. The Reformation wis an aa introduced in Gräfrath in 1590, whaur a kirk cooncil wis apparently established in 1629. The Reformed an Lutheran kirks wur formed intae a unitit kirk community in 1838 follaein the general merger o Reformed an Lutheran kirks in Proushie in 1817.

The Protestant parishes oreeginally belanged tae the destrict synod o Lennep, the day pairt o the ceety Remscheid. A new synod wis established in Solingen in 1843, an the ceety acquired its awn superintendent, a form o kirk admeenistrator.  This formed the basis for the present-day Kirk Destrict o Solingen, a member o the Evangelical Kirk in the Rhineland.  Wi the exception o the free kirks, maist Protestant kirks belang tae the Kirk Destrict o Solingen.

The day approximately 34% o Solingen's population belangs tae Protestant kirks, an roughly 26% belang tae Catholic kirks.  Ither kirk communities in Solingen include Greek Orthodox, Evangelical Free (includin Baptist an Bretheran), Methodist, Seivent-day Adventist, Pentecostal, Salvation Airmy, an free kirks. The Kirk o Jesus Christ o Latter-day Saunts, Jehovah's Witnesses an the New Apostolic Kirk an aw hae communities in Solingen.

## Main sichts

Locations o note in the ceety include:

* *[[Schloss Burg]]*, the castle o the coonts o Berg
* Rhineland Industrial Museum Hendrichs Drop Forge, an Anchor Pynt o ERIH, The European Route o Industrial Heritage
* *Klosterkirche*, kirk (1690)
* *Deutsches Klingenmuseum* (German Blade Museum), presentin swuirds an cutlery o aw epochs
* *[[Müngsten Bridge]]*, a railwey brig connectin Solingen wi the neighbour toun o Remscheid. Staundin at 107 m abuin the grund, it is the heichest railwey brig in Germany.
* Botanischer Garten Solingen, a botanical garden

## Notable fowk
*Accept, hivy metal baund

## Twin touns
*  Złotoryja, Poland, syne 1955
*  Gouda, Netherlands, syne 1957
* Chalon-sur-Saône, Fraunce, syne 1960
* Blyth, Unitit Kinrick, syne 1962
*  Jinotega, Nicaragua, syne 1985
*  Ness Ziona, Israel, syne 1986
* Thiès, Senegal, syne 1990
* Aue, Germany, syne 1990
* Concepción del Uruguay, Argentinae, syne 2005

## References

## Freemit airtins

* steid leetin solinger knives