DUISBURG

düsˈboork, city (1994 pop. 536,800), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. Located in the Ruhr district, it is the largest inland port in the world and a center for iron and steel production. Other manufactures include shipbuilding, brewing, heavy machinery, textiles, chemicals, and metal and wood products. The city is home to one of the world's longest span truss bridges, the Duisburg-Neuenkamp Bridge, which stretches 1,148 feet (350 m) across the Rhine. Duisburg was a port in Roman times. It passed to the duchy of Cleves in 1290, and in 1614 was acquired, with Cleves, by Brandenburg. Its growth as an industrial center dates from c.1850. As a center of the German armaments industry, the city was heavily bombed during World War II. The Gothic Salvator Church is the burial place of the geographer and cartographer G. Mercator. Wilhelm Lehmbruck, the sculptor, was born in Duisburg, and his works are displayed there in a museum. The annexation in 1975 of four surrounding cities greatly enlarged Duisburg.

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