Leverkusen

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Leverkusen


Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region	Cologne
District	urban district
Population	161,419 [1] (2005)
Area	78.85 km²
Population density	2,047 /km²
Elevation	60 m
Coordinates	51°2′ N 6°59′ E
Postal code	51371-51381
Area code	0214
Licence plate code	LEV
Mayor	Ernst Küchler
Website	leverkusen.de

Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, half way between Cologne and Düsseldorf. Population: 161,342 (2005).

The city of Leverkusen is a product of economic growth in the Rhine-Ruhr region. It was rural area until the late 19th century. The present city is made up of several villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen. Wiesdorf, dating back to the 12th century, was chosen by the apothecary Carl Leverkus for establishing a dye factory in 1860. The factory was taken over by the Bayer company in 1891. The company moved its office to Wiesdorf in 1912, turning the town into the centre of German chemical industry.

Leverkusen was founded in 1930 by merging the above mentioned villages, that had become towns in the meantime. Today the town is home of the somewhat successful football club Bayer Leverkusen.

1 Places of interest
2 Twinned cities
3 Notable people
4 External links

[edit] Places of interest

BayArena - Leverkusen's multifunctional soccer stadium
Bayer Cross Leverkusen - one of the largest illuminated advertisements in the world
Schloss-Morsbroich - moated castle in the baroque style
Water Tower Leverkusen-Bürrig - 72.45 meters high water reservoir containing a observation deck
Neuland Park - large park beside the Rhine

[edit] Twinned cities

Leverkusen is twinned with several cities across Europe and throughout the rest of the world. These include:

Image:Flag of Finland.svg - Oulu, Finland, since 1968
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg - Bracknell Forest, United Kingdom, since 1973
Image:Bay Arena Leverkusen 001.jpg
Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg - Ljubljana, Slovenia, since 1979
Image:Flag of Israel.svg - Nazareth-Illit, Israel, since 1980
Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg - Chinandega, Nicaragua, since 1986
Image:Flag of Germany.svg - Schwedt, Germany, since 1989
Image:Flag of Poland.svg - Racibórz, Poland, since 2002

[edit] Notable people

Jorg Bergmeister, racing driver
Detlef Schrempf, NBA basketball player
Wolf Vostell, painter
Danny Ecker, athlete
Felix Sturm, middleweight boxer

[edit] External links

Leverkusen Official website of the city
Leverkusen

Image:Flag of North Rhine-Westphalia.svg	Urban districts and Districts in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)	Image:Flag of Germany.svg
Urban districts	Aachen \| Bergisch Gladbach \| Bielefeld \| Bochum \| Bonn \| Bottrop \| Dortmund \| Duisburg \| Düsseldorf \| Essen \| Gelsenkirchen \| Hagen \| Hamm \| Herne \| Köln (Cologne) \| Krefeld \| Leverkusen \| Mönchengladbach \| Mülheim \| Münster \| Oberhausen \| Remscheid \| Solingen \| Wuppertal
Districts	Aachen \| Borken \| Kleve (Cleves) \| Coesfeld \| Düren \| Ennepe-Ruhr \| Euskirchen \| Gütersloh \| Heinsberg \| Herford \| Hochsauerland \| Höxter \| Lippe \| Märkischer Kreis \| Mettmann \| Minden-Lübbecke \| Oberbergischer Kreis \| Olpe \| Paderborn \| Recklinghausen \| Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis \| Rhein-Erft-Kreis \| Rhein-Kreis Neuss \| Rhein-Sieg-Kreis \| Siegen-Wittgenstein \| Soest \| Steinfurt \| Unna \| Viersen \| Warendorf \| Wesel