Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. It is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and 17th-largest in Germany. The city was founded in 1929 when several smaller towns joined together, and it was first called "Barmen-Elberfeld" before being named Wuppertal in 1930.

The city lies along the River Wupper and is known for its green spaces, woods, and parks. It is often called the greenest city in Germany, with two-thirds of its area covered in greenery. Wuppertal is surrounded by other cities such as the Ruhr area, Düsseldorf, and Cologne.

Wuppertal has a long history of industry. It was one of the first places in Germany to become industrialized, which led to the building of the famous Wuppertal Suspension Railway. Today, the city remains an important center for many industries, including textiles, metallurgy, chemicals, and electronics. Famous inventions from Wuppertal include Aspirin, first made by Bayer, and the Vorwerk Kobold vacuum cleaner.

Geography

Wuppertal is found in the Bergisches Land area of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city sits in the valley of the Wupper river, which runs through it from east to west and joins the Rhine. Wuppertal has steep hills and narrow valleys, making its landscape special.

The city covers an area of 168.41 square kilometers and has heights from 100 meters above sea level in the river valleys to over 350 meters in the higher lands. The highest point is the Lichtscheid hill. Wuppertal is next to places like Solingen, Remscheid, Hagen, and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis.

Because of its unique geography, Wuppertal has the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, an elevated train that runs above the ground along the Wupper river. The area around the city includes forests, farms, and parks such as the Barmer Wald and the Botanischer Garten Wuppertal.

Wuppertal is part of the large Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region in Europe.

History

Wuppertal was created in 1929 when several towns and communities joined together. At first, it was called Barmen-Elberfeld, but soon after, in 1930, the name changed to Wuppertal, meaning "Wupper Valley." The city is special because it stretches out in a line along the Wupper River, with steep hills on either side.

During World War II, many buildings in Wuppertal were damaged by bombings, but some historic areas, like Ölberg and Brill, were saved. These places show us how people lived in the past. After the war, Wuppertal became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia in West Germany.

Population

Wuppertal has about 355,000 people living there today. The city grew quickly in 1929 when two areas, Barmen and Elberfeld, joined together. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, many new factories opened, and people from places like Turkey, Greece, and Italy came to work. The population reached its highest point, around 423,000, in 1963. After that, the numbers slowly went down as some factories closed.

Main sights

Wuppertal has many important buildings, with over 4,500 that are protected as national monuments. These buildings show many different styles, like Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Historicism, Art Nouveau, and Bauhaus. In 2020, the American TV station CNN suggested Wuppertal as one of 20 places to visit because of its special tram, beautiful buildings, and a long cycle route called the Nordbahntrasse.

Some of the main sights in Wuppertal include:

• Schwebebahn or floating tram: This is a special tram that hangs above the streets. It was built in 1901 and is one of the city's most famous attractions.

• Wuppertaler Schwebebahn Kaiserwagen: You can take a tour of the tram on a special ride.

• Wuppertal Opera (Opernhaus Wuppertal).

• Concerthall Stadthalle: A beautiful old building with great sound, home to the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra.

• Wuppertal Dance Theatre (Tanztheater Wuppertal): A famous place for modern dance started by choreographer Pina Bausch.

• Engels-Haus: A house from the 1700s that shows items related to Friedrich Engels, who helped start modern Communism.

• Wuppertal Zoo: A large and nice zoo.

• Botanischer Garten Wuppertal: A city garden with many plants.

• Arboretum Burgholz: A big area with many types of trees.

• Von der Heydt Museum: An art museum with works from the 1600s to today. It was the first place to show a painting by Picasso.

• Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden: A park with sculptures and an exhibition hall, started by artist Tony Cragg.

Education

Wuppertal has four places where people can go to learn more after school.

These include the University of Wuppertal, FOM University of Applied Sciences, Cologne University of Music, section Wuppertal, and the College of Theology in Wuppertal/Bethel.

There is also a special school called Junior Uni. It helps children aged 4 to 18 learn about science in fun ways that are different from regular school lessons.

Politics

The most recent mayoral election in Wuppertal was held on 14 September 2025, with a runoff on 28 September. Miriam Scherff of the SPD was elected mayor.

The Wuppertal city council works together with the mayor to govern the city. The latest city council election also took place on 14 September 2025.

Transport

Railways

Wuppertal has many train connections. It sits on important railway lines between Cologne and Hagen, and Düsseldorf and Hagen, making it easy to travel far. The main train station is in the Elberfeld area. Regional trains stop in several places around the city, including Oberbarmen, Barmen, Ronsdorf, and Vohwinkel. There are also quick S-Bahn trains in many parts of Wuppertal.

Some special train services run through Wuppertal, like the Wuppper-Express and the Rhein-Münsterland-Express. Big trains like the Intercity-Express stop here every half hour. Many smaller train lines that used to connect Wuppertal are now closed, but the city still has its important main station.

Wuppertal has a special monorail called the Wuppertal Suspension Railway that has been running since 1901. It’s a fun way to travel above the city.

Air

The nearest big airport is Düsseldorf Airport, about 40 kilometers northwest of Wuppertal.

Sports

Association football

Wuppertal's most popular football club is Wuppertaler SV. They currently play in the Regionalliga West, which is the fourth level of the German football league system. The club was formed in 1954 by joining two main Wuppertal clubs and has a long history. They played in the top league of German football for seven seasons, including three in the Bundesliga. Their best moment was finishing fourth in their first season in the top league and qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

In 2004, the club joined with another local team but later changed back to its original name in 2013. Another notable club is Cronenberger SC from the Cronenberg area, which reached the final of the 1952 German amateur championship.

Team handball

The most successful handball team in Wuppertal is Bergischer HC, which plays in the top league, the Handball-Bundesliga. The team was formed in 2006 from a cooperation between two clubs and represents the Bergisches Land region. They play their home games at the Uni-Halle.

Volleyball

In volleyball, SV Bayer Wuppertal was a leading team in Germany during the 1990s and 2000s. They won several titles, including the German championship and the German Cup. After losing their main sponsor, the team had to stop playing in the top league but now competes in a lower division.

Basketball

The women's basketball team of Barmer TV was very successful, winning many German championships and cups. They even won a European title in the 1995–96 season. However, they faced financial troubles and had to leave the top league in 2002 but returned to a lower league in 2014. Wuppertal was also one of the host cities for the 1998 FIBA World Championship for Women.

Roller hockey

The RSC Cronenberg club in Wuppertal is very successful in roller hockey, winning many German championships and cups for both men and women. Wuppertal has also hosted several international tournaments, including World and European Championships.

Wuppertal in the arts

Wuppertal has been featured in several movies and a play. In the 1974 film Alice in the Cities by Wim Wenders, the characters visit the city. The comic book Yoko Tsuno also includes scenes set in Wuppertal, especially around its famous elevated tram. A play named Die Wupper by Else Lasker-Schüler is set in the area of Elberfeld, which is part of Wuppertal. More recently, movies like The Princess and the Warrior from 2000 and No Regrets from 2001 were filmed there. The 2011 dance film Pina also used Wuppertal’s elevated tram in many of its scenes.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Wuppertal is twinned with several cities around the world, including:

• South Tyneside, England, United Kingdom (1951)
• Saint-Étienne, France (1960)
• Tempelhof-Schöneberg (Berlin), Germany (1964)
• Beersheba, Israel (1977)
• Košice, Slovakia (1980)
• Schwerin, Germany (1987)
• Matagalpa, Nicaragua (1987)
• Legnica, Poland (1993)
• Kamianske, Ukraine (2025)

Sister suspension railway

• Shonan Monorail, Japan

The Wuppertal Suspension Railway is connected with the Shonan Monorail since 2018. The Shonan Monorail is in Kanagawa, Japan, linking the cities of Kamakura and Fujisawa. Both railways celebrated their connection in 2018.

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Wuppertal

• Ian Ashley (born 1947), British-German Formula One driver
• Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician
• Pina Bausch (1940–2009), choreographer known for her work with the Wuppertal Dance Theater
• Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of the Friedrich Bayer paint factory, later Bayer AG
• Gyles Brandreth (born 1948), English writer, broadcaster, actor, and former British Conservative Member of Parliament
• Arno Breker (1900–1991), sculptor
• Peter Brötzmann (1941–2023), free jazz musician
• Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970), philosopher of science
• Udo Dirkschneider (born 1952), singer and songwriter
• Rudolf Dreßler (1940–2025), politician and ambassador
• George Dreyfus (born 1928), Australian bassoonist, composer
• Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), psychologist who studied memory
• Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), philosopher, historian, coauthor of The Communist Manifesto (with Karl Marx)
• Daniel Gerlach (born 1977), journalist
• Hans Grüneberg (1907–1982), British geneticist
• Marco Goecke, (born 1972) choreographer
• Vincenzo Gualtieri, professional boxer
• Christoph Maria Herbst (born 1966), actor and comedian
• Carolina Hermann (born 1988), figure skater
• Felix Hoffmann (1868–1946), scientist, synthesized aspirin while working at a Bayer facility in Wuppertal
• Raimund Hoghe (1949–2021), choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author
• Werner Hoyer (born 1951), politician, President of the European Investment Bank
• Ignaz Kirchner (1946–2018), actor
• Linda Kisabaka (born 1969), middle-distance runner
• Hans Knappertsbusch (1888–1965), orchestra conductor
• Peter Kowald (1944–2002), free jazz musician
• Adolph Hermann Josef Kuhrs, later Adolph Coors, (1847-1929), brewer
• Hans Peter Luhn (1896–1964), computer scientist
• Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945), expressionist poet
• Harald Leipnitz (1926–2000), actor
• Ulrich Leyendecker (1946–2018), composer
• Reimar Lüst (1923–2020), astrophysicist
• Hans Moller (1905–2000), painter
• Steffen Möller (born 1969), satirist and actor
• Sylkie Monoff, singer-songwriter
• Franz Yaakov Orgler (1914-2015), track and field athlete
• Simone Osygus (born 1968), swimmer
• Siegfried Palm (1927–2005), cellist, director of Hochschule für Musik Köln, general manager of Deutsche Oper Berlin
• Julius Plücker (1801–1868), physicist
• Kolja Pusch (born 1993), footballer
• Johannes Rau (1931–2006), politician, former Federal President of Germany
• Hans Reichel (1949–2011), composer, recording artist, and inventor of the Daxophone
• Emil Rittershaus (1834–1897), poet
• Alice Schwarzer (born 1942), one of the leaders of the German second wave feminism
• Annette Seiltgen (born 1964), operatic singer
• Hans Singer (1910–2006), British economist
• Rita Süssmuth (1937–2026), politician, president of the Bundestag
• Horst Tappert (1923–2008), actor
• Helmut Thielicke (1908–1986), theologian
• Stephen Timoshenko (1878–1972), Russian engineer and academician
• Bettina Tietjen (born 1960), television presenter
• Tom Tykwer (born 1965), movie director and composer
• Günter Wand (1912–2002), composer and orchestra conductor
• Ute Vinzing (born 1936), operatic soprano
• Henrik Freischlader (born 1982), blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer
• Wolf Hoffmann (born 1959), metal guitarist, initiator of the musical band Accept
• Armin T. Wegner (1886–1978), soldier, medic, human rights activist
• Mathilde Wesendonck (1828–1902), poet, author, artist, muse of Richard Wagner