Wuppertal: Germany

Wuppertal: Germany
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Wupper river south of the Ruhr area. Population 376,700 (1999).
It is a major industrial centre including such industries as: textiles, metallurgy, chemicals, medicine ( Bayer), electric, rubber, vehicles and printing equipment.
The city was formed in 1929 by merging Barmen , Elberfeld , Vohwinkel , Ronsdorf , Cronenberg , Langerfeld and Beyenburg . The name was initially Barmen-Elberfeld, and after 1930 Wuppertal. During World War II it was destroyed to about 40% by the Allies as were many other industrial centres at the time. However, a large quantity of historic sites have been preserved such as the Ölberg (“Petroleum Hill�) District, one of Germany’s largest working class districts, and the so-called Briller Viertel, Germany’s largest district of Bourgeois dwellings.. In total, Wuppertal possesses over 4.500 buildings classified national monuments, most dating from periods of classicism, Art Nouveau and Bauhaus. One fine masterpiece of turn-of-the-century architecture is Wuppertal’s concert-hall (Stadthalle), inaugurated in 1900 by the German emperor William II. and his wife.
The Tanztheater Pina Bausch is world-famous and regularly playing at theatres in New York, Tokyo, Paris, London etc