Dusseldorf is the capital of the North Rhine-Westphalia state of western Germany. It is located on the banks of the River Rhine about 34 kilometers northwest of Cologne. With an estimated population of 630,000 inhabitants, Dusseldorf is notable for having three harbours on the River Rhine, and one of the busiest civil airfields in the country, at Lohausen. The tree-lined street of Knigsallee is one of the most popular shopping streets in Germany. The city is an important centre for banking and serves as the headquarters for many of the Ruhr's businesses. It is also one of the richest cities in Germany and is famed for being the hometown of the supermodel Claudia Shiffer. The city is served by a large international airport called Dusseldorf"Monchengladbach; it is just around 40 kilometers from the centre of town. The Cologne/Bonn airport is around 60 km away from the town centre. Weeze, a smaller airport about 90 kilometers away is used mainly by low-cost airlines that fly to other small airports around Europe. The city's old town centre is known as Altstadt, where cars are prohibited and the cobbled streets are lined with boutiques and fashionable restaurants. Sometimes reffered to as 'the longest bar in the world', or "laengste Theke der Welt", Altsdadt is famed as a beer drinking Mecca because of the high density of bars in the district. This area also includes the opulent residential area of Karldstadt, the Karlplatz market, and Ratinger Strasse - where the music club 'Ratinger Hof' was once the unofficial headquarters of the German punk rock scene. There are a few sights in Altstadt that are well worth a visit. These include the Stadterhebungsdenkmal, the Schlossturm Tower at Burgplatz, and the statue of Jan-Wellem-Reiterdenkmal at Rathausplatz. Other attractions for the visitor would include the town hall - or Rathausufer - dating from 1573, the Gothic Basilica of St Lambertus, and the baroque church of St Andreas. |
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