| Lower Rhineland | |
 | |
Location  | |
| State | Germany |
|---|---|
| Region | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Tourism site | |
Lower Rhineland (Niederrhein) is a region of the North Rhine-Westphalia, federated state German inwest of the country.
To know
Lower Rhineland is the region crossed by the stretch of the River Rhine that runs roughly from the towns of Oberhausen and Krefeld in the east to the border Dutch to the west, in correspondence with the inhabited center of Kleve. The region has no precise geographical borders; the districts (Kreis) of Kleve, Wesel, Viersen is Neuss but according to others it is a cross-border region that includes portions of the west LimburgDutch and to the east parts of the right bank of the Rhine with the cities of Düsseldorf is Duisburg.
A factor of regional unity is the dialect once spoken in Lower Rhineland. It goes by the name of Kleverländisch, a mixture of German ed Dutch, two languages still very similar today. Other factors of regional cohesion are religion, predominantly Catholic, and folkloric traditions such as the carnival celebrated with fervor even across the border, Maastricht and in other cities of the Limburg.
The landscape of Lower Rhineland is mainly flat, dominated by vast meadows and boundless horizons interrupted only by woods and slight hills. Among the places of major tourist interest are the historic center of Kleve and the archaeological site of Xanten, in addition to the castle (Schloss) Moyland and the town of Kevelaer, in whose sanctuary more 800,000 pilgrims flock every year, mainly from the Germans and the Dutch, to commemorate an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1641.
Territories and tourist destinations
Lower Rhineland: full screen map.Urban centers
- Düsseldorf - Capital of the federated state of the North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf is a large and modern city with a varied tourist offer but famous above all for its fairs that attract business tourism.
- Emmerich am Rhein - Razed to the ground by the bombings of 7 October 1944, Emmerich am Rhein is best known for its suspension bridge over the Rhine, the longest in the Germany but it is also a recreational center with numerous campsites and cycle paths that penetrate the territory Dutch.
- Kleve - Seat of an 11th century duchy and dissolved by the French revolutionaries, Kleve is known not only for its historic center dominated by the romantic castle of Schwanenburg (Palazzo dei Cigni) but also for its large green spaces, in particular its magnificent baroque gardens and the Klever Reichswald (imperial forest of Kleve), the scene in March 1945 of a long and hard battle between Allied and German troops.
- Krefeld - Large city with more than 200,000 inhabitants, Krefeld is part of the agglomeration of Düsseldorf. It is also known as the "city of velvet and silk" because of its fabric factories, in particular the silk factories which remained in operation until the 19th century.
- Meerbusch - In the territory of Meerbusch remains of villae Roman and still today the town is at the center of an area with a rural character, dotted with old farmhouses like the Haus Meer (house on the lake) on the estate of the castle of the same name.
- Moers - City of more than 100,000 inhabitants of Roman foundation on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite Duisburg.
- Mönchengladbach
- Neuss - Suburb of Düsseldorf on the left bank of the Rhine, Neuss is one of the oldest cities in Germany. It was in fact founded in 16 BC. by Roman legionaries with the name of Novaesium.
- Weeze
- Xanten - City of 20,000 inhabitants on the site of the Roman encampment Castra Vetera, raised around 100 AD. to the rank of colony with the name of Colonia Ulpia Traiana of which extensive ruins remain.
Other destinations
- 1 Mosa-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park (Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette)
How to get
By plane
- 1 Düsseldorf Airport (IATA: DUS). Major regional airport with a railway station where trains also stop Thalys operating on the line Paris - Brussels - Colony - Düsseldorf - Essen.
- 2 Weeze Airport (IATA: NRN). Near the town of Kevelaer, the small airport of Weeze serves as a stopover for the low costRyanair.
How to get around
What see
- 1 Moyland Castle - Famous castle in the surroundings of the town of Bedburg-Haudes, about 5 km from Kleve. It was rebuilt in 1853 in a neo-Gothic style. There is a museum where works of art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are exhibited. Joseph Beuys is the most represented artist. There are two golf courses around the castle.
- 2 Garzweiler mine - 48 km² open-cast lignite mine near the town of Jüchen and visible from the A46 motorway. The mine had a negative impact on the surrounding environment and sparked protests from ecological movements, partly welcomed by state authorities.
