Editing Duisburg (section)

== History ==
{{for timeline|Timeline of Duisburg}}
The first syllable of the name of the city could go back to the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root ''*dʰeus-'', meaning something like "wet area" or "flood plain".{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} Duisburg therefore could mean "fortified place in the floodplain". Another interpretation assumes that the name is derived from the Old German "duis" which means "hill".{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} Duisburg could mean something like "castle on the hill". Thus, a place on a hill overlooking the Rhine, that could refer to the area of the present Town Hall. Duisburggau (Diuspurgau) was also the name of the medieval [[Gau (country subdivision)]] on the Lower Rhine.

A legend recorded by [[Johannes Aventinus]] (fl. 1525) holds that Duisburg (along with [[Deutz, Cologne]], Duisdorf in [[Bonn]], and [[Doesburg]] in the Netherlands) was built by the namesake [[Tuisto]], mythical progenitor of Germans, about {{BCE|2395|link=y}}. There is nothing to establish any historical basis for such an early founding of Duisburg, which would have made it among the earliest cities in Europe.

=== Roman period ===
Latest archaeological studies show that the present-day market-place was already in use in the first century. It has been the major central trading place of the city since the 5th century. The city itself was located at the "[[Hellweg]]", an important medieval [[trade route]], and at a [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] across the Rhine. The [[Rome|Romans]] already guarded the ford.
* 420: The [[Franks]] usurp the Roman settlement and recolonize the old part of the town.
* 883: The [[Normans]] conquer Duisburg and stay for the winter. First historic document mentioning Duisburg.

=== Middle Ages ===
Due to the town's favorable geographic position a [[Count palatine|palatinate]] was built and the town was soon granted the [[Royal Charter|royal charter]] of a [[Free imperial city|free city]]. Duisburg became a member of the [[Hanseatic League]]. Around 1000 the river Rhine moved westward from the city. This put an end to the city's development as a trading town and it soon grew into a quiet rural city.
[[File:Duisburg Mercatorbrunnen 1.jpg|thumb|Mercatorbrunnen (''"Mercator fountain"'') in front of the town hall]]
The productions of cartographer [[Gerardus Mercator]] and the foundation of a university in 1655 established the city's renown as "Educated Duisburg" ("Duisburgum Doctum").
*[[File:Stadtmauer Duisburg Außenseite 3.JPG|thumb|Remains of the city wall]]1120: construction of the [[Defensive wall|city wall]]
* 1279: "city charter" granted by King [[Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothar III]]
* 1290 Duisburg becomes part of the County (after 1417 Duchy) of [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]]
* 1445 attack by Archbishop-Elector [[Dietrich II von Moers]] ([[:de:Dietrich II. von Moers|de]]) of [[Archbishop-Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] was thwarted[[File:DuisburgVogelschauplan1566.jpg|thumb|Duisburg Corputius plan 1566]]
* 1566 [[Johannes Corputius]] completes his [[city map]] of Duisburg.
* 1666 Duisburg within the Duchy of Cleves becomes a part of [[Brandenburg-Prussia]]

=== Industrial revolution ===
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2014}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12562, Duisburg, Binnenhafen.jpg|thumb|right|Binnenhafen in 1931]]
The rise of tobacco and textile industries in the 18th century made Duisburg an industrial center. Big industrial companies such as iron and steel producing firms ([[Thyssen AG|Thyssen]] and [[Krupp]]) influenced the development of the city within the Prussian [[Rhine Province]].
Large housing areas near production sites were being built as workers and their families moved in.
* 1823 a district ("Landkreis") Duisburg is established including the cities of [[Essen]] and [[Mülheim|Mülheim an der Ruhr]].
* 1824 construction of the [[sulfuric acid]] factory Fr. W. Curtius; beginning of the industry age in Duisburg.
* 1828 Franz Haniel builds a dockyard for [[Steamboat|steamships]]
* 1846 [[Cologne–Duisburg railway|railway line to Düsseldorf]]
* 1847 [[Cologne-Minden trunk line|railway line via Dortmund to Minden]]
* 1873 Duisburg becomes an [[independent city]] borough.
* 1904 Birth of the 100,000th resident (Ernst R. Straube)
* 1921 French Infantry occupy the city on 8 March to secure [[War reparations|war reparation]] payments incurred during World War I.
* 1929 The city of Hamborn and Duisburg are joined together. The new city is given the name of Duisburg-Hamborn.
* 1935 Duisburg-Hamborn is renamed Duisburg.
* 1938 (November) The [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] destroy the city's synagogue.

=== World War II ===
{{Main|Bombing of Duisburg in World War II}}
A major logistical center in the Ruhr and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[bomber]]s. As such, it is considered by some historians{{who|date=October 2018}} to be the single most heavily bombed German city by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] during [[World War II]], with industrial areas and residential blocks targeted by Allied [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]].

On the night of 12–13 June 1941, British bombers dropped a total of 445 tons of bombs in and around Duisburg. As part of the [[Battle of the Ruhr]], another British raid of 577 bombers destroyed the old city between 12 and 13 May 1943 with 1,599 tons of bombs. During the [[Strategic bombing|bombing raids]], 96,000 people were made homeless with countless lives lost.

In 1944 the city was again badly damaged as a total of 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on 22 May. On 14 October, the tonnage was repeated with 2,018 tons when [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax]], [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]], and [[De Havilland Mosquito|Mosquito]] bombers appeared over Duisburg as part of [[Operation Hurricane (1944)|Operation Hurricane]]. This daylight raid was followed by a night attack; over 24 hours about 9,000 tons of HE and incendiaries had been dropped on Duisburg. Numerous similar attacks followed until the end of 1944.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Duisburg in April 1945. The US [[17th Airborne Division (United States)|17th Airborne Division]], acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, met only scattered resistance in the vicinity and captured the city on 12 April 1945.<ref>Stanton, Shelby, ''World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946'' (revised ed., 2006), Stackpole Books, p. 97.</ref>

On 8 May 1945 the [[ADSEC]] Engineer Group A, led by Col. [[Helmer Swenholt]], [[commanding officer]] of the [[332nd Engineer General Service Regiment (United States)|332nd Engineer General Service Regiment]], constructed a [[Duisburg-Hochfeld rail bridge|railway bridge between Duisburg and Rheinhausen]] across the Rhine. It was {{convert|860|m}} long, and constructed in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes, a record time. It was named the "Victory Bridge".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peacock |first1=Jim |first2=Tom |last2=Peacock |url=http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html |title=Duisberg |publisher=Yahoo |work=Geocities |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024003735/http://geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html |archive-date=24 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Post-World War II period ===
{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}[[File:Duisburg-Beeck 05.02.2013 09.JPG|thumb|Shrinking Duisburg: Abandoned buildings in the borough of Beeck|alt=]]
A total of 299 bombing raids had almost completely destroyed the historic cityscape. 80% of all residential buildings had been destroyed or partly damaged. Almost the whole of the city had to be rebuilt, and most historic landmarks had been lost.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, the decline of Duisburg's steel and mining industry caused a significant loss of residents. While in 1975 approximately 590,000 people were living in Duisburg, the number had shrunk to 518,000 in 1985.

Duisburg celebrated its 1100th anniversary in 1983. The city's population recovered a little in the following years, up to 537,000 in 1992. It declined to 488,000 in 2011. On 19 July 2004, it was hit by a [[tornado]]. The municipal theater and parts of the city center were damaged. The city hosted the 7th [[World Games]] in 2005. In 2010, 21 people died because of a mass panic at the [[Love Parade disaster|Love Parade]]; over 500 people were injured.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-07-28 |title=Duisburg-Ticker: Trauerzug durch den Tunnel - Kraft fordert indirekt Rücktritt |url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/duisburg-ticker-trauerzug-durch-den-tunnel-kraft-fordert-indirekt-ruecktritt-a-708478.html |access-date=2025-04-12 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}</ref>

On 7 April 2025 15 schools were closed after an unknown [[Far-right extremist|far right extremist]] sent multiple bomb threats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany: Schools closed over extremist right threats – DW – 04/07/2025 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-schools-closed-over-extremist-right-threats/a-72158604 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>