The City
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Image: Neuss.de |
Neuss was founded by the Romans in 16 BC as a military fortification, on the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Erft, with the name of Novaesium or Castra Novesia.
Later a civil settlement was founded a little further north during the 1st century AD. The city is one of the oldest Roman settlements in Germany. During the 10th century, the remains of Saint Quirinus of Rome had been relocated to Neuss and form the sacrament of Qurinus Munster, the city’s most famous landmark.
The city of Neuss underwent a period of extensive growth during the Middle Ages and was first documented as a town by Henry IV. of the Holy Roman Empire in 1138. In the 15th century, Neuss was scene of the siege of Neuss when the city resisted the attacks by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. In 1586 more than two-thirds of the city was destroyed by fire and several wars during the reign of King Louis XIV of France resulted in worsening finances for Neuss. A decline in trading activities followed, because of the damaged infrastructure.
From 1794–1814 Neuss was conquered by Napoleonic France. In 1815 after the Congress of Vienna, Neuss became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. The city had a population of 6,333 in those days. It was part of the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, 1815–22, and its successor, the Rhine Province, 1822– 1946.
Neuss regained its economic power in the 19th century, with expansion of the harbour in 1835, and increasing industrial activity. The city's boundaries were expanded in 1881. Neuss became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946.
In 1968 the city's official name was changed from Neuß to Neuss. The Greater Neuss Region has a population of 440,000 whereas 152,000 people live in the city proper.
Stadtverwaltung Neuss
Markt 2
41460 Neuss
