It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany , [ b ] with a population of , When the Roman Empire was strengthening its position throughout Europe, a few Germanic tribes clung on in marshy territory off the eastern banks of the Rhine. Before this, a bloody struggle for power had taken place between the Archbishop of Cologne and his allies arrayed against the count of Berg and other local powers, culminating in the Battle of Worringen.
Today, it finds its expression mainly in a humorous form especially during the Rhineland Karneval and in sports. There are variations of the origin [ citation needed ] of the cartwheeling children. A market square sprang up on the banks of the Rhine and the square was protected by city walls on all four sides. During the following centuries several famous landmarks were built, including the Collegiate Church of St Lambertus [ de ]. Under the art-loving Johann Wilhelm II r.
After his death, the city fell on hard times again, especially after Elector Charles Theodore inherited Bavaria and moved the electoral court to Munich. With him he took the art collection , which became part of what is now the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Johann Devaranne , a leader of Solingen 's resistance to Napoleon's conscription decrees, was executed here in After Napoleon's defeat, the whole Rhineland including Berg was given to the Kingdom of Prussia in The city was a target of strategic bombing during World War II , particularly during the RAF bombing campaign in when over bombers were used in a single night.
Raids continued late into the war. As part of the campaign against German oil facilities , the RAF raid of 20—21 February, on the Rhenania Ossag refinery in the Reisholz district of the city halted oil production there. Across the Rhine, the city of Neuss stands on the delta of the Erft. The lowest point is at the far northern end in Wittlaer borough where the Schwarzbach enters the Rhine, with an average elevation of 28 metres 92 ft.
The average annual temperature is Source 3: Wetterdienst. Its population surpassed the threshold of , inhabitants during the height of industrialisation in , and peaked at just over , in The city then began to lose residents, with many moving into neighbouring municipalities.
