You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German.Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Neuss]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|de|Neuss}} to thetalk page.
Neuss (German pronunciation:[nɔʏs]ⓘ; writtenNeuß until 1968;Limburgish:Nüss[ˈnʏs];Latin:Novaesium) is a city inNorth Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of theRhine oppositeDüsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within theRhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its historic Roman sites, as well as the annualNeusser Bürger-Schützenfest. Neuss andTrier share the title of "Germany's oldest city", and in 1984 Neuss celebrated the 2000th anniversary of its founding in 16BCE.
Neuss was founded by theRomans in 16 BC as a military fortification (castrum) with the current city to the north of the castrum, at the confluence of the riversRhine andErft, with the name ofNovaesium.[3]Legio XVI Gallica ("Gallic 16th Legion") of the Roman army was stationed here in 43–70 AD. It was disbanded after surrendering during theBatavian rebellion (AD 70).[4]
Later a civil settlement was founded in the area of today's centre of the town during the 1st century AD. Novaesium, together withTrier (Augusta Treverorum), is one of the three oldest Roman settlements in Germany.[citation needed]
Neuss grew during theMiddle Ages because of its prime location on several routes, by the crossing of the great Rhine valley, and with its harbour and ferry. During the 10th century, the remains of themartyr andtribuneSaint Quirinus, not to be confused with the Roman godQuirinus, had been relocated to Neuss. This resulted inpilgrimage to the shrine of St. Quirinus even from countries beyond the borders of theHoly Roman Empire. Neuss was first documented as a town in 1138.[citation needed]
One of the main events in the town's history is thesiege of the town in 1474–75 byCharles the Bold, Duke ofBurgundy, that lasted for nearly a year. The citizens of Neuss withstood the siege and were therefore rewarded by the Holy Roman EmperorFrederick III. The town was granted the right to mint its own coins and to carry the imperialcoat of arms, the imperial eagle and the crown, in the town's own coat of arms. Neuss became a member of theHanseatic League, although it was never accepted by the other members of the League.[citation needed]
In 1586,more than two-thirds of the city was destroyed by fire, and several wars during the reign of KingLouis XIV of France resulted in worsening finances for Neuss. Its importance as a place for trading declined rapidly, and from the mid-17th century onwards, Neuss became a place only important for its agriculture.
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 ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia in 1946.
In 1968 the spelling of the name was changed fromNeuß toNeuss. In 1975 the town of Neuss and the district ofGrevenbroich were joined to form the district ofRhein-Kreis Neuss with a population of 440,000 and its seat of government in Neuss. Neuss is also home toToshiba's European headquarters,3M,Norsk Hydro ASA andUPS.
A Jewish community has been documented in the city since theHigh Middle Ages. The earliest documentation of Jews in the city is from 1096, when Jews fromCologne fleeing fromCrusaders were sheltered in the city by theArchbishop of CologneHermann III [de].[6][7] Nevertheless, about 200 of them (men, women, and children) were slaughtered by Crusaders. This all was in the context of what is known as theRhineland massacres.
There is however no indication that Neuss already had an organized Jewish community in 1096; It is however certain that there was one in theStaufer period from the late 12th century onwards, in the context of a general influx of merchants into the city at the time.[6]
According toEphraim of Bonn, on 11 January 1197, multiple members of the Jewish community were put to death as revenge for the killing of a Christian girl by a mentally ill Jew. The killer andseveral of his close relatives were gruesomely executed. They seem to have been allowed a Jewish funeral: their bodies were brought – presumably by boat – toXanten, where they were buried alongside victims of the Rhineland massacres of 1096.[6]
The community in the High Middle Ages at first resided in the area where merchants lived, between thehaven [de] and the market. The passage to the haven's loading place was known as theJudensteg. By the year 1300 however theJudensteg was now inhabited by Christians, the Jews having moved to the area around theGlockhammer, where their synagogue and school were also located. The area was not exactly aghetto, as it was not sealed, and Christians also lived there.
From the 14th century onwards the Jews faced increasing economic competition, firstly due the loss of their advantageous former location near the docks, and later because of the loss of their monopoly in money lending, with the arrival of bankers fromLombardy andCahors.[6]
The city was hit by theBlack Death in 1348–49, and the community suffered from gruesome persecutions during that time,as was the case elsewhere in Europe. In the wake of the plague, the community was numerically decimated and economically weakened. A wave of religious extremism and intolerance swept the area at the time, and the Jews were increasingly pressured and became objects of political infighting: In the year 1424, Jews were for a time expelled from the city; this was meant as a middle finger to theLandesherr, who had placed the Jews under his protection.[6]
The Jews later came back, but were ultimately expelled again in 1464. The Archbishop of CologneRuprecht von der Pfalz visited the city on 5 May and met with mayors, aldermen, and the council in an attempt to halt the expulsion, but to no avail. Jews were from now on banned from residing in the city, and from staying overnight within city walls.[8] In 1694, Jews were given permission to hold a cattle market in front of theObertor.[8] Facing overduelump sum payments, in 1704 the city instored a special tax on Jews entering the city known as theJudenleibzoll.[6]
In 1794 during theWar of the First Coalition, Neuss fell under French control, and all discriminatory anti-Jewish laws were subsequently abrogated. It was only in 1808 however, in a context of nascentindustrialization and population growth, that for the first time in centuries a Jewish family moved to the city: That of the butcher Josef Großmann, who had come fromHülchrath. The community slowly rose in number: in 1830, there were around 100 Jews out of a population of approximately 8000. The community kept on growing in size throughout the century.
Jews who moved to Neuss came from surrounding rural areas in theRhineland, and as a result were more conservative and shaped by rural life than their counterparts in other German cities. Popular innovations in the time of theHaskalah such as religious services in German did not take root here: they continued inHebrew. As a general rule of thumb, Neuss Jews were more religious than in other German cities.[6]
Relations between Jews and Christians were generally good at the time: they lived one next to another, and one could find Christiansperforming forbidden tasks such as lighting/extinguishing fires in Jewish homes onShabbat.
A fracture in this peace took place in 1834 however: In theNiederrhein areablood libel rumors spread around, leading to a wave of anti-Jewish violence: Synagogues were set on fire inGindorf andBedburdyck [de]; inHemmerden [de],Wevelinghoven and elsewhere fierce fighting took place between vigilantes andhussars. Neuss was not left unaffected either, with crowds strolling down the streets chanting anti-Jewish songs, with the epicenter being the poor areas of Neuss around theViehmarkt. This situation lasted for days, until a contingent of soldiers was moved into the city to quell the unrest.[6]
On 29 March 1867, thesynagogue [de] was unveiled, designed by the Prussian architect Friedrich Weise and built in the popularOrientalist style. The city held celebrations for 3 days upon its inauguration. Despite serving only about 1% of the population, the Synagogue was a proud hallmark of the Neuss skyline.[7] The synagogue community's size peaked at 316 members in 1890.
After the acquittal of the Jewish butcher Adolf Buschoff in the 1892Xanten blood libel case [de;fr], antisemitic violence took place in nearby Neuss: Jewish-owned property was set on fire, and Jewish families were sent threatening messages. About a quarter of the community left the city.
However, there was still a handful of Jews who survived through hiding, or who were not targeted due to being married to "Aryans".[9]
The exact number of Jewish victims of the Nazi regime is not known with certainty. However, one can find the names of 204 murdered Jews who had some sort of link to Neuss on a monument byUlrich Rückriem. A significant amount ofStolpersteine can be found around the city.[10]
Since the 1990s the community has enjoyed a revival thanks toan influx of Jews from the ex-USSR. In 2021, it was estimated that around 550 Jews lived in Neuss.[9]
The current mayor of Neuss is Reiner Breuer of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
The Neuss 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:
One sports club is Neusser Schlittschuh-Klub. Their sections arefigure skating,ice stock sport and, as the only club in Germany,bandy. With the lack of a large ice surface, the varietyrink bandy is practiced.[11] There are also two football clubs in the city of Neuss: VfR Neuss Football Club and DJK Novesia Neuss[citation needed] and an American Football Team: Neuss Legions American Football.[12]
Obertor (Upper Gate): southern city gate, built circa 1200; today part of theClemens Sels Museum Neuss. It is the only remaining of originally six gates that were part of the medieval town fortification.
Blutturm (Bloody Tower): built in the 13th century, the only remaining round tower of the historic town fortification.
Zum "Schwatte Päd" (The Black Horse): the oldestpublic house in theLower Rhine region, established 1604
Saint Sebastianus Church
Saint Maria Church:
Christuskirche (Christ church):historicistic church, the city's oldest Protestant church
Neusser Bürger-Schützenfest: one of Germany's largestmarksmen's festivals, taking place annually on the last weekend in August; roundabout 7000 marksmen take part in the traditional parades.
^abWeißenborn-Hinz, Angelika; Weißenborn, Dieter."Geschichte der Juden in Neuss". Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit in Neuss e.V. Retrieved4 January 2023.
