Mettmann (district)

Mettmann is a Kreis (district) in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring are the Ennepe-Ruhr and the district-free cities Wuppertal, Solingen, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Mühlheim[?], Essen.

History

In the 12th century the area of today's district started to belong to the earldom Berg. When Napoleon occupy the area in 1792 it became a canton in the arrondissement Düsseldorf.

After the Congress of Vienna the area went to Prussia in 1816 as part of the province Westphalia, and the first district Mettmann was created. This district was merged from 1820 till 1861 with the district Elberfeld, which then became a city on it's own, now it's part of Wuppertal. In 1877 the administrative seat was moved to Vohwinkel. In 1929 some more area went to Wuppertal, and the district was merged with the district Düsseldorf (Landkreis, excluding the city itself), to form the district Düsseldorf-Mettmann, with administrative seat in Düsseldorf. In 1952 the seat went back to Mettmann[?], and after the last reorganization of 1975/76 the district got back the old name. The cities Langenfeld[?] and Monheim[?] were included into the district then, while Kettwig became part of the city Essen.

Geography

The district Recklinghausen is located in the Ruhr area, next to the big cities of Düsseldorf. Most famous is the valley of the small river Neander, the Neandertal, where the fossils human species of Neanderthals were first found.

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

External links Official website (http://www.kreis-mettmann.de) (German)