Dusseldorf History Part II

One of Dusseldorf’s rulers, Johann Wilhelm II, was an art lover and married a Medici daughter and decided to design a vast gallery with a huge collection of paintings and sculptures. Works by Rubens, Rembrandt were displayed here. This gallery is situated in the StadtSchloss. Wilhelm II also turned Dusseldorf into a great trading town with much better infrastructure and connections. When he died, it was to Dusseldorf’s reversal of fortune. His successor decided to move his court to Munich.

The Napoleonic Wars as well as the sever year war brought destruction and poverty where the fort was razed to the ground. Maybe the destruction of the city in this era was a blessing in disguise, as it freed up a large amount of land and gave the up and coming architects like Maximilian Weyhe a chance to make their mark on the world. He designed the expansive Hofgarten which is a splendid looking landscaped garden in the old English Style. He was the one that also designed the famous Boulevard called Konigsallee which runs parallel to the river Dussel and is quite stunning. An Art Akademie was also started and artists like Wilhelm von Schadow, Goethe and Diderot frequented the Malkasten, which was where the group of artists met.

The industrial Revolution changed the infrastructure and population of Dusseldorf over night. From 1882 to 1892 the population went from 100,000 to 200,000, and the city was changing into a large modern city and two bridges were erected, the Hammer and the Oberkasseler Bridge brought more growth to the other side of Rhine.

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