Editing Leverkusen

{{Expand German|topic=geo}}
{{Infobox German location
|type               = City
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 280
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/2/1
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1                 = Pano-bayer-leverkusen.jpg
  | caption1               = [[Chempark]]
  | image2                 = Bayarena Leverkusen 2020.jpg
  | caption2               = [[BayArena]]
  | image3                 = Leverkusen Kaiser-Wilhelm-Allee 0004.jpg
  | caption3               = [[Bayer]] headquarters
  | image4                 = EvangelischeKircheBNeukirch.jpg
  | caption4               = Bergisch Neukirchen's old town
  | image5                 = Levbreidenbachstrasse2.JPG
  | caption5               = Houses in Wiesdorf´s [[Gründerzeit]] old town
  | image6                 = Leverkusen-Schloss-Morsbroich Hauptgebäude.jpg
  | caption6               = [[Morsbroich Museum]]
  }}
|image_flag         = Flagge Leverkusen.svg
|image_coa          = Wappen Leverkusen.svg
|coordinates        = {{coord|51|02|N|06|59|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan         = North rhine w LEV.svg
|plantext           = Leverkusen within North Rhine-Westphalia
|state              = North Rhine-Westphalia
|region             = Köln
|district           = urban
|elevation          = 60
|area               = 78.85
|area_metro         =
|pop_metro          =
|pop_ref            =
|postal_code        =
|area_code          = 0214, 02171 & 02173
|licence            = LEV and OP
|Gemeindeschlüssel  = 05316000
|divisions          =
|website            = [https://www.leverkusen.de/ www.leverkusen.de]
|mayor              = [[Uwe Richrath]]<ref>[https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/index_obb_lr.shtml#ob_lr Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020], Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.</ref>
|leader_term        = 2020&ndash;25
|Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
|party              = SPD
|ruling_party1      = CDU
|ruling_party2      = SPD
|ruling_party3      = Bürgerliste
}}

'''Leverkusen''' ({{IPA|de|ˈleːvɐˌkuːzn̩|lang|De-Leverkusen.ogg}}) is a city in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany, on the eastern bank of the [[Rhine]]. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of [[Cologne]], and to the north the [[States of Germany|state]] capital, [[Düsseldorf]]. The city is part of the [[Rhine-Ruhr|Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region]], one of Europe's largest urban areas.

With about 163,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is one of the state's smaller cities. The city is known for the pharmaceutical company [[Bayer]] and its sports club [[Bayer 04 Leverkusen|Bayer Leverkusen]].

== History ==
The heart of what is now Leverkusen was Wiesdorf, a village on the [[Rhine]], which dates back to the 12th century.<ref name=Braun17>{{cite book|last=Braun|first=Detlef|date=2012 |title=Leverkusen|location=Erfurt|publisher=Sutton|page=17|isbn=978-3866809703}}</ref>  With the surrounding villages which have now been incorporated, the area also includes the rivers [[Wupper]] and [[Dhünn]],<ref name=Braun6/> and has suffered a lot from flooding, notably in 1571 and 1657, the latter resulting in Wiesdorf being moved East from the river to its present location.<ref name=Braun17/>

During the [[Cologne War]], from 1583 to 1588 Leverkusen was ravaged by war. The entire area was rural until the late 19th century, when industry prompted the development that led to the city of Leverkusen, and to its becoming one of the most important centres of the German chemical industry.

The chemist [[Carl Leverkus]], looking for a place to build a [[dye]] factory, chose Wiesdorf in 1860. He built a factory for the production of artificial [[ultramarine blue]] at the Kahlberg in Wiesdorf in 1861, and called the emerging settlement "Leverkusen" after his family home in [[Lennep]]. The factory was taken over by the [[Bayer]] company in 1891; Bayer moved its headquarters to Wiesdorf in 1912. After asset confiscation at the end of the First World War, it became [[IG Farben]]. The city of Leverkusen proper was founded in 1930 by merging Wiesdorf, Schlebusch, Steinbüchel and Rheindorf, and was posthumously named for [[Carl Leverkus]].<ref name=Braun6>{{cite book|last=Braun|first=Detlef|date=2012 |title=Leverkusen|location=Erfurt|publisher=Sutton|page=6|isbn=978-3866809703}}</ref>

During the Second World War, the IG Farben factories were bombed by the [[RAF]] on 22 August 1943,<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/83/a9019983.shtml WW2 People's War - A Bedfordshire Bomb Aimer - Part Two]. BBC. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.</ref> again by the RAF during [[Battle of Berlin (RAF campaign)|bombing campaigns]] on 19/20 November, the USAAF [[Eighth Air Force]] on 1 December 1943,<ref>[http://www.91stbombgroup.com/Dailies/322ndjan1943.html 322nd Dailies from 1943 - 91st Bomb Group (H)]. 91st Bomb Group. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.</ref> and finally once again by the RAF on 10/11 December 1943.

In 1975, [[Opladen]] (including Quettingen and Lützenkirchen since 1930), Hitdorf and Bergisch Neukirchen joined Leverkusen. The present city is made up of former villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Manfort, Bürrig, Hitdorf, Quettingen, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen.<ref name=Braun6/>

On 27 July 2021, an [[2021 Leverkusen explosion|explosion at the Chempark site]] in the city killed 7 people and injured 31 others.<ref>{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Explosion in Chempark Leverkusen: Investigations initiated against three employees;|url=https://www.rnd.de/panorama/explosion-im-chempark-leverkusen-mit-sieben-toten-ermittlungen-gegen-drei-mitarbeiter-eingeleitet-KWD7CMDTLZELBHL2WZHG233PEY.html |access-date=13 November 2023 |agency=RND/dpa |newspaper=RND |date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
Population development since 1832:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stadtgeschichte-leverkusen.de/|title=Aktuelles|website=Stadtgeschichte Leverkusen|language=de-DE|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>{{Historical populations|3=1832|4=11,442|5=1871|6=15,507|7=1900|8=24,974|9=1910|10=44,088|11=1925|12=61,404|13=1933|14=67,260|15=1939|16=75,171|17=1946|18=84,646|19=1950|20=98,867|21=1961|22=137,516|23=1970|24=161,808|25=1987|26=154,692|27=2000|28=161,426|29=2010|30=161,132|31=2017|32=166,737|align=middle}}

== Politics ==
=== Mayor ===
The current mayor of Leverkusen is Uwe Richrath of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD), elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate
! rowspan=2| Party
! colspan=2| First round
! colspan=2| Second round
|-
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}| 
| align=left| Uwe Richrath
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]]
| 28,016
| 46.1
| 29,438
| 70.0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}| 
| align=left| Frank Schönberger
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]]
| 14,198
| 23.4
| 12,619
| 30.0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}| 
| align=left| Stefan Baake
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]]
| 7,283
| 12.0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}| 
| align=left| Roland Hartwig
| align=left| [[Alternative for Germany]]
| 3,132
| 5.2
|-
| 
| align=left| Karl Schweiger
| align=left| Citizens' List Leverkusen
| 3,070
| 5.1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| Monika Ballin-Meyer-Ahrens
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]]
| 2,613
| 4.3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Die PARTEI}}| 
| align=left| Christian Alexander Langer
| align=left| [[Die PARTEI]]
| 1,377
| 2.3
|-
| 
| align=left| Markus Beisicht
| align=left| Awakening Leverkusen
| 1,101
| 1.8
|-
! colspan=3| Valid votes
! 60,790
! 98.8
! 42,057
! 99.1
|-
! colspan=3| Invalid votes
! 744
! 1.2
! 362
! 0.9
|-
! colspan=3| Total
! 61,534
! 100.0
! 42,419
! 100.0
|-
! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout
! 126,846
! 48.5
! 126,801
! 33.5
|-
| colspan=7| Source: [https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/aktuell/b316000kw2000.shtml State Returning Officer]
|}

=== City council ===
[[File:2020 Leverkusen City Council election.svg|thumb|300px|Results of the 2020 city council election.]]
The Leverkusen city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU)
| 16,859
| 27.8
| {{decrease}} 4.7
| 14
| {{decrease}} 3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD)
| 15,276
| 25.2
| {{decrease}} 3.1
| 13
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}| 
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]] (Grüne)
| 11,015
| 18.2
| {{increase}} 8.8
| 9
| {{increase}} 4
|-
| 
| align=left| Citizens' List Leverkusen (Bürgerliste)
| 3,630
| 6.0
| {{decrease}} 1.0
| 3
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| 
| align=left| Opladen Plus (OP)
| 3,601
| 5.9
| {{increase}} 0.7
| 3
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Alternative for Germany]] (AfD)
| 3,466
| 5.7
| New
| 3
| New
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP)
| 2,937
| 4.8
| {{increase}} 1.0
| 3
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] (Die Linke)
| 2,092
| 3.4
| {{decrease}} 0.4
| 2
| ±0
|-
| 
| align=left| Citizens' Forum Green Leverkusen – Climate List (Büfo)
| 909
| 1.5
| New
| 1
| New
|-
| 
| align=left| Awakening Leverkusen (AUF)
| 876
| 1.4
| New
| 1
| New
|-
! colspan=2| Valid votes
! 60,661
! 98.6
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=2| Invalid votes
! 866
! 1.4
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=2| Total
! 61,527
! 100.0
! 
! 52
! ±0
|-
! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout
! 126,846
! 48.5
! {{increase}} 2.3
! 
! 
|-
| colspan=7| Source: [https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/aktuell/a316000kw2000.shtml State Returning Officer]
|}

== Coat of arms ==
The coat of arms consists of the two-tailed rampant red lion of the [[Bergisches Land]] with a blue crown on a silver background and an [[Line (heraldry)#Embattled and variants|embattled line]] in front.<ref name=Braun6/>

== Main sights and places of interest ==
[[File:Bayer-Hochhaus Japangarten.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Japanese Garden in front of the Bayer tower]]

* [[BayArena]] is the home stadium of [[Bayer Leverkusen]], with a capacity of over 30,000.
* The [[Bayer Cross Leverkusen]] is one of the largest illuminated advertisements in the world.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}
* Freudenthaler Sensenhammer is an industrial museum.
* [[Morsbroich Museum|Schloss Morsbroich]] – [[moated castle]] in the [[Baroque]] style, now a museum for contemporary art.
* [[Water Tower Leverkusen-Bürrig]] – {{Convert|72.45|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} water reservoir containing an observation deck.
* Neuland Park – large park beside the [[Rhine]].
* [[Japanese Garden]] – a 1913 garden extended by [[Carl Duisberg]] in 1923.<ref name=Braun12>{{cite book|last=Braun|first=Detlef|date=2012 |title=Leverkusen|location=Erfurt|publisher=Sutton|page=12|isbn=978-3866809703}}</ref>
* Colony of workers – historical area in the form of houses and other buildings constructed for employees and families of the chemical works at the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century.<ref name=Braun10>{{cite book|last=Braun|first=Detlef|date=2012 |title=Leverkusen|location=Erfurt|publisher=Sutton|pages=10–11|isbn=978-3866809703}}</ref>
* ''Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit'' – historical boat bridge next to the Rhine, between Wiesdorf and Rheindorf.
* [[Mausoleum]] of [[Carl Duisberg]] – mausoleum in the centre of the Carl Duisberg Park, next to the Casino.
* NaturGut Ophoven – educational centre for nature in Leverkusen-Opladen.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|+Largest groups of foreign residents<ref>http://www.leverkusen.com/newsbild/151127/Stadt01.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
|-
! Nationality || Population (2018)
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}} || 3,776
|-
|{{flag|Italy}} || 2,382
|-
|{{flag|Poland}} || 2,159
|-
|{{flag|North Macedonia}} || 1,956
|-
|{{flag|Greece}} || 1,254
|-
|{{flag|Croatia}} || 1,015
|-
|Others: || 12,096
|}

==Sports==
The city is home of the football team [[Bayer 04 Leverkusen|Bayer Leverkusen]], who won its first [[Bundesliga]] title in the [[2023–24 Bundesliga|2023–24]] season. It is also home of the basketball team [[Bayer Giants Leverkusen]], which is the German record holder of [[German Basketball Championship|national basketball championships]]. As of 2019, the team plays in the German [[ProA]] league and plays its home games in the [[Ostermann-Arena]].

The Ostermann-Arena, previously known as [[Wilhelm Dopatka Halle]] and [[Smidt-Arena]], was one of the host arenas for the FIBA [[EuroBasket 1985]] (the official European Basketball Championship).

==Twin towns – sister cities==
[[File:BayArena neu 2009.jpg|thumb|right|BayArena]]
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Leverkusen is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partner in aller Welt|url=https://www.leverkusen.de/rathaus-service/partnerstaedte/index.php|website=leverkusen.de|publisher=Leverkusen|language=de|access-date=2021-02-18}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Oulu]], Finland (1968)
*{{flagicon|UK}} [[Bracknell]], United Kingdom (1975)
*{{flagicon|SVN}} [[Ljubljana]], Slovenia (1979)
*{{flagicon|ISR}} [[Nof HaGalil]], Israel (1980)
*{{flagicon|NIC}} [[Chinandega]], Nicaragua (1986)
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Schwedt]], Germany (1989)
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Racibórz]], Poland (2002)
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Villeneuve d'Ascq]], France (2005)
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Wuxi]], China (2014)
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==
*[[Lothar Rohde]] (1906–1985), scientist and founder of ''Rohde & Schwarz Messtechnik''
*[[Heinrich Lützenkirchen]] (1909–1986), mayor of Leverkusen
*[[Paul Janes]] (1912–1987), footballer
*[[Wolf Vostell]] (1932–1988), sculptor, painter and happening artist
*[[Ileana Jacket]] (born 1947), [[telenovela]] actress
*[[Bärbel Dieckmann]] (born 1949), politician ([[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]), mayor of [[Bonn]] 1994–2009
*[[Wilfried Schmickler]] (born 1954), comedian
*[[Andreas Hedwig]] (born 1959), archivist
*[[Dietmar Mögenburg]] (born 1961), athlete
*[[Detlef Schrempf]] (born 1963), basketball player
*[[Sabine Moussier]] (born 1966), Mexican telenovela actress
*[[Uta Briesewitz]] (born 1967), cinematographer
*[[Ralf Schmitz]] (born 1974), actor and comedian
*[[Jörg Bergmeister]] (born 1976), racing driver
*[[Ji-In Cho]] (born 1976), heavy metal singer
*[[Danny Ecker]] (born 1977), pole vaulter
*[[Felix Sturm]] (born 1979), middleweight boxer

{{Portal|Germany}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Blaschke, Stefan (1999): ''Unternehmen und Gemeinde: Das Bayerwerk im Raum Leverkusen 1891-1914'' Cologne: SH-Verlag, {{ISBN|3-89498-068-0}} (German)
* Archive of Leverkusen (2005): ''Leverkusen. Geschichte einer Stadt am Rhein.'' Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, {{ISBN|3-89534-575-X}} (German)
* Franz Gruß (1987): ''Geschichte und Porträt der Stadt Leverkusen.'' Leverkusen: Verlag Anna Gruß, {{ISBN|3-930478-03-X}} (German)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Leverkusen}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Leverkusen}}
* [http://www.leverkusen.com/uk_us City of Leverkusen] {{in lang|en}}

{{Cities in Germany}}
{{Germany districts North Rhine-Westphalia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Leverkusen| ]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Rhine]]
[[Category:1930 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1930]]
[[Category:Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Cologne (region)]]