Krefeld, Industrial port city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Krefeld sits in western North Rhine-Westphalia, where the urban area occupies flat land between the Rhine and the Dutch border. The town center spreads across several zones with shops, administrative buildings and residential blocks, while Uerdingen district farther north operates a river port.
The settlement began as a medieval village and appeared in written records for the first time in 1373. After 1600 Mennonite refugees arrived and built up the silk trade, shaping the later growth into an industrial town.
The name comes from Krickenbeck, a medieval stream with wooded banks that once ran through the early settlement. Today people from many backgrounds live here, and their daily routines unfold in markets, parks and residential streets across the districts.
The main train station location makes it easy to reach other German towns and Düsseldorf airport with through trains. Many routes in the center work well for pedestrians, while cycle lanes run along the streets.
In the 1960s a private zoo opened here focusing on monkeys and big cats, until it closed later. Some buildings from that time still stand and recall the earlier project.
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