Solingen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is located on the northern
edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area. It has a population of 164,000 living on 90 sq km and is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land. It is also a member of the regional authority of the Rhineland. Wupper river, a tributary of the Rhine, flows through Solingen. Swordsmiths of Solingen etched the town's image eons ago, which is conserved to this date. Solingen is called the "City of Blades", long renowned for the manufacture of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by firms such as DOVO Solingen, Wüsthof, J. A. Henckels, Boker, Eickhorn-Solingen, and many other manufacturers. Solingen’s artistes still make and sharpen the grooming tools by hand. Skilled craftsmen produce the largest collection of the highest quality grooming essentials. Every manicure set and pedicure kit is made of the finest steel and packaged in beautiful leather cases. Their finest manicure kits, best nail clippers, cuticle nippers, scissors and tweezers are simple everyday necessities elevated to classic levels, the unsurpassed quality of which will last a lifetime.
How to Get There:
The closest major airports to Solingen, Germany are Cologne-Bonn and Dusseldorf, both approximately 40 km away. Both are connected to Solingen by road and rail (S-bahn). RegionalBahn links Solingen (including the station nearest the town centre, Solingen–Mitte) to Wuppertal via Remscheid, Lennep and Ronsdorf. ICE trains also stop at Solingen. The city has a Trolleybus network, one of the last three remaining in Germany. Line 683 – at 14.5 kilometres, by far the network's longest – connects to the Wuppertal Schwebebahn at Vohwinkel,
the northern end of the route and the western terminus of the Schwebebahn. To the south, its terminus is the dainty little town of Burg an der Wupper, where Schloss Burg (Burg Castle) is located.
What to See:
Locations of note in the city include the Schloss Burg, the Castle of the counts of Berg; Rhineland Industrial Museum Hendrichs Drop Forge, an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage; Klosterkirche, (1690); Deutsches Klingenmuseum, German Blade Museum, presenting swords and cutlery of all epochs; Müngsten Bridge, a railroad bridge connecting Solingen with the neighbour town of Remscheid. Standing at 107 m above the ground, it is the highest railroad bridge of Germany and Botanischer Garten Solingen.
Where to Eat:
Solingen has close to 100 restaurants. The better known names are Restaurant Alter Speicher, Altdeutsches Haus, Am Altenbau, Am Rathaus, Bergischer Hof, Boersen Grill and Dostlar.
Hotels:
Hotel am Wald, Graefrather Hof Hotel, Hotel zur Post - Das bergische Schmuckk, Hotel Solinger Hof and Kempe Komfort plus Hotel are upper range hotels; Treff Hotel City Centre Solingen, Hotel Zum Roten Ochsen Solingen, Hotel Laber Solingen, Hotel Haus Henn Solingen and Berliner Brücke Hotel Solingen fall in the mid-range class.
