Rath is a borough in northern Düsseldorf District 6, near the airport, with 16,975 inhabitants (2000). It is about 5 km northeast of the city center.

History

The Rath area was occupied since at least the Mesolithic. Flint artifacts from the Neolithic and pottery and dwellings from the Bronze Age have been found in Düsseldorf-Rath. In the Iron Age Rath was a center for the Hallstatt Celtic culture, and a ceremonial site has been excavated.

Historically, Rath was mentioned as early as 1375, but Rath and its environs remained rural and agricultural until 1897 with the establishment of the Mannesmann tube rolling mill, which created the industrial character that the borough retains even today. In 1909 Rath together with Unterrath and Lichtenbroich were incorporated into Düsseldorf at their own request. Recently Düsseldorf office parks have started to take advantage of the less expensive land in Rath coupled with its excellent transportation network.

Attractions

The new ISS-Dome is a multipurpose stadium to be completed in September 2006. It is located on Theodorstraße and will seat 13,400 spectators. It is conveniently located near the A52 autobahn (motorway) and will have a large parking garage attached. The ISS-Dome will be the new home of the Düsseldorfer EG, today known as DEG Metro Stars, an ice hockey club that has had lots of success, including six German championships.

Transportation

Rath lies on the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) rail corridor. The two train stations, Düsseldorf-Rath Mitte und Düsseldorf-Rath are stops on the Cologne-Essen run (the S6), and are only nine to twelve minutes from the main statiton in downtown Düsseldorf. In addition, the street-car lines 701, 711, 712 and 719 of the Rheinbahn run to Rath. The A44 and the A52 autobahns intersect in Rath, making it an ideal warehousing district for Düsseldorf.

References

• Eine Informationssammlung für Düsseldorf - Rath
• Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes

Notes

1. Ralf Lommerzheim and Bernd C. Oesterwind Die Hallstattzeitliche Siedlung von Düsseldorf-Rath Rheinland Verlag (1995) ISBN 3792714523.

This article is based in part on material from the Hauptseite.