One of Germany’s most important business and financial centres, Dusseldorf, plays as hard as it works.
Regularly voted one of the top ten cities in which to live in the world – and the top in Germany – by the annual Mercer Quality of Life Index – Dusseldorf is best known for its cultural offerings, musical influence and multicultural community.
Each year, the city’s population swells by almost five million with the annual Biggest Funfair on the Rhine. Held between Oberkasseler Bridge and Rheinkniebrücke Bridge, on the river’s western bank, overlooking the historic Old Town, the event features enormous state-of-the-art rides plus hundreds of old-fashioned fairground attractions, stalls and different foods and drinks.
Dating back to 1316, the funfair – which will run this year from 15-24 July this year – takes over a massive 165,000 m2 area with its colourful offerings. The fairground rides open each weekday from 2pm, whilst the rides kick off at 1pm on Saturdays, and 11am on Sundays.
It attracts young and old – the daytime activities usually centre around families with young children, while the teenagers turn up later for the roller coasters and beer tents (not always in that order). The event culminates with an impressive fireworks display over the river on Friday, 22 July at around 10.30pm.
The event takes its roots from the name day of Dusseldorf’s patron saint, St. Apollinaris Apollinaris of Ravenn, and the historic parade – which happens each year on 17 July – is well worth a look for its 3,000 participants, marching bands and horses.
Away from the bright lights of the big top, Dusseldorf has much else for the visitor to do. The city boasts more than 100 galleries and art spaces, with its Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Fine Arts) renowned for its collection of masterpieces including paintings by Andreas Gursky, Sigmar Polke and Joseph Beuys – check out the Academy’s website at www.kunstakademie-duesseldorf.de for more info.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen at Grabbeplatz is bursting with classical modernist pieces and American art painted post-1945, with works from Andy Warhol, Pollock, Matisse and Picasso adorning its walls.
The Museum Kunst Palast displays a collection of Old Masters with paintings dating from the Middle Ages and the Baroque period, alongside contemporary art.
The city is also well known for its music – don’t let its recent hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest put you off. Its influence on Kraftwerk – early electronic music – attracts hordes of fans each year to its underground clubs and concerts. One of the smaller electronic musical venues is Anaconda, at Andreasstr. 11, which is rapidly attracting a growing following of dedicated fans of the genre.
You can also take in big-name pop and rock concerts at Philips-Halle, classical evenings at the Tonhalle and opera and ballet at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.
(Top image: salvage computer art)
