Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2005 population of 162,685 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land. It is a member of the regional authority of the Rhineland.
Solingen is called the "City of Blades", since it has long been renowned for the manufacturing of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by famous firms such as Messermeister, Wüsthof, J. A. Henckels, Boker, and numerous other manufacturers. Wilkinson is also based here.
In Medieval times, the swordsmiths of Solingen coined the town's image, which is preserved to this date. In the latter part of the 17th century, a group of swordsmiths from Solingen broke their guild oaths by taking their sword-making secrets with them to Shotley Bridge, County Durham in England. Some 90% of German knives are produced in Solingen.
Geography:Solingen lies southwest of Wuppertal in the Bergisches Land. The city has an area of 89.45 square kilometers (34.54 sq. miles), of which roughly 50% is used for agriculture, horticulture, or forestry. The city's border is 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) long, and the city's dimensions are 15.6 kilometers (9.7 miles) east to west and 11.7 kilometers (7.3 miles) north to south. The Wupper river, a right tributary the Rhine, flows through the city for 26 kilometers (16.2 miles). The city's highest point at 276 metres (906 ft) is in the northern borough of Gräfrath at the Light Tower, previously the water tower, and the lowest point at 53 metres (174 ft) is in the southwest.
History:Solingen was first mentioned in 1067 by a chronicler who called the area "Solonchon". Early variations of the name included "Solengen", "Solungen", and "Soleggen", although the modern name seems to have been in use since the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Coins issued after World War I by the City of SolingenBlacksmith smelters, dating back to over 2000 years, have been found around the town adding to Solingen's fame as a Northern Europe blacksmith center. Swords from Solingen have turned up in places such as the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the British Isles. Northern Europe prized the quality of Solingen's manufactured weaponry, and they were traded across the European continent. Solingen today remains the knife-center of Germany.
It was a tiny village for centuries, but became a fortified town in the 15th century. In World War II the Old Town was completely destroyed by an air raid in 1944 and 1,040 people died, so there are few sights in the center.
In 1929 Ohligs, located in the Prussian Rhine Province, 17 miles (27 km) by rail north of Cologne became part of Solingen. Its chief manufactures were cutlery and hardware, and there were iron-foundries and flour mills. Other industries are brewing, dyeing, weaving and brick-making. Before 1891 it was known as Merscheid.
More recently, the city has been well known because of a May 29, 1993 arson in which two women and three girls died in an arson attack on the house of a Turkish family in Solingen. Seven more people were severely injured. The fire was set by local followers of Neo-Nazism. The incident ignited further controversy when the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, refused to attend the funeral for the Solingen victims.
Trolleybus:Solingen has a Trolleybus network, one of only three in Germany remaining. The network centres on Graf-Wilhelm-Platz (Count William Place).
History
The first trolleybus was brought into service on 19 June 1952. The network was a conversion of the previous tram services. Conversion from tramway was completed on 2 December 1959. Extensions to the system were opened in 1981-2 – Schlagbaum to Haßelstraße (2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi)) and Höscheid to Brockenburg (0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi)) respectively – and in 1993 from Aufderhöhe to Mangenberg/Graf-Wilhem-Platz (8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi)).
Network
As of 2007, 6 lines are in operation. The older lines (681–684) are served every ten minutes, and the newer lines (685–686, opened 22 August 1993) run every half hour, although they are duplicated by each other for the majority of their route. Routes 681 and 682 interchange with the city's principal railway station – Solingen Hbf – which lies in the western suburbs. Line 683 – at 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi), by far the network's longest – also connects to the Wuppertal Schwebebahn at Vohwinkel, the northern end of the route and the western terminus of the Schwebebahn. The southern extent of 683 is the picturesque town of Burg an der Wupper, which contains Schloss Burg (Burg Castle). Burg is also home to the world's only trolleybus turntable, owing to lack of space to provide a full turning circle. This precludes the use of articulated vehicles like on the rest of the network.
Fleet
As of early 2007 the fleet stands at 49 vehicles: 15 articulated Berkhof buses (2001/2), 20 articulated Van Hool buses (2002/3), and 14 three-axle MAN buses (1986-7). The latter are due for replacement during 2008. The power supply is 600 v dc.
Main Sights:Schloss Burg, the Castle of the counts of Berg
Rhineland Industrial Museum Hendrichs Drop Forge, an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage
Klosterkirche, church (1690)
Deutsches Klingenmuseum, German Blade Museum, presenting swords and cutlery of all epochs
Müngsten Bridge, a railroad bridge connecting Solingen with the neighbour town of Remscheid. Standing at 107 m above the ground, it is the highest railroad bridge of Germany.
Read more on
Wikipedia 
We participate in "Pray for Me... Pray for Others" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to add your prayer request. Join a community of friends who care about you, and hope you will care about them.
This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.
