The 'Bergisches Land' is a region in
North Rhine-Westphalia in
Germany. It contains beside the tri-city area of
Remscheid-
Solingen-
Wuppertal the district
Mettmann,
Leverkusen, the
Rheinisch-Bergisch district, the
Oberbergisch district and parts of the
Rhein-Sieg district. It emerged from the
Dukedom of Berg. The name of the region is not derived from its montainous terrain (
German: ''Berg''= mountain), but from the dukes of Berg. The dukes of Berg lived first in the Castle ''Berge'' in
Altenberg, later then in the Castle at the
Wupper.
Düsseldorf was the capital.
Geography
Historic-geographic borderline

Iuliacensis et Montensis Ducatus, 1645, by
Blaeu
The state of Berg contained mainly the tri-city area
Remscheid-
Solingen-
Wuppertal, the district
Mettmann,
Leverkusen, the
Rheinisch-Bergisch district, large parts of the
Oberbergisch district and the parts of the
Rhein-Sieg district on the right side of the
Rhine. Also,
Mülheim, parts of
Cologne,
Duisburg an
Oberhausen belonged to the state of Berg.
Borderline in the local awareness today
Today, even in the awareness of the population, a sense of belonging to the Bergisches Land is sometimes no longer existent. Most notably in the region of the
Cologne Bight and the
Ruhr this happens. There the people see themselves more associated with the
Rhineland or the
Ruhr area.
The relationship of
Düsseldorf and the Bergisches Land is complex: historic Düsseldorf was the capital of the Bergisches Land, as you can see at Düsseldorf's coat of arms (it consists of the lion of Berg), but today the inhabitants of Düsseldorf see themselve more belonging to the
Rhineland
Cities and districts
See also
★
Berg (state)
★
Oberbergischer Kreis
★
Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis