Königsallee
Encyclopedia
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany. The Königsallee is noted for both the landscaped canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
that runs along its center, as well as for the fashion showroom
Showroom
The word showroom has two distinct meanings including:-Marketing location:A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, such as automobiles, furniture, appliances, carpet or apparel. The World's most famous locations for a showroom are the Champs Elysees in Paris or the 5th Avenue...
s and luxury
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
retail stores located along its sides.
Nicknamed Kö by the locals, the Königsallee is by far Germany's busiest, upscale shopping
Shopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
street.
Location
The Königsallee is some 1 km long and lies in the district of StadtmitteDüsseldorf-Stadtmitte
Stadtmitte is an urban borough in the central District 1 of Düsseldorf, Germany. Stadtmitte borders with Carlstadt, Pempelfort, Oberbilk and the old town of Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf-Altstadt.In the Stadtmitte there are:...
. It stretches from Hofgarten, Düsseldorf's main park, to Carl-Theodor-Straße and Luisenstraße on its Southern end. At Hofgarten, the Königsallee reaches onto Landskrone, a peninsula of the park's lake. Adjacent to Königsallee are the Altstadt
Düsseldorf-Altstadt
The Altstadt is one of the 49 boroughs of Düsseldorf, Germany; it belongs to central City District 1. The Düsseldorfer Altstadt is known as "the longest bar in the world" , because the small Old Town has more than 300 bars and discothèques.Famous is the special beer from Düsseldorf, the Altbier ,...
, Düsseldorf's old quarter, and Schadowstraße
Schadowstraße
Schadowstraße is a shopping street in Düsseldorf, Germany, located in the districts of Stadtmitte and Pempelfort. The street cuts through downtown Düsseldorf, starting at Königsallee, passing the Tausendfüßler and reaching up to Berliner Allee...
, Germany's shopping street with the higher sales revenues.
The canal is some 31 m wide and fed by water from the Düssel
Düssel
The Düssel is a small right tributary of the River Rhine in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Its source is between Wülfrath and Velbert. It flows westward through the Neander Valley where the fossils of the first Neanderthal man were found in 1856...
, from which the city got its name. The entire boulevard is some 80 metres (262.5 ft) wide and may be perceived as an urban esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
. The Eastern side of Königsallee is entirely commercial, with numerous upmarket flagship stores and block-internal shopping arcades leading to and from the boulevard. Most of the Western side is quieter, given that it predominantly has offices, bank branches and hotels. Cafés and restaurants are located on both sides.
History
By the end of the 18th century, Düsseldorf was a small BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
town and capital of the Grand Duchy of Berg
Berg (state)
Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
. Following the Treaty of Lunéville
Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville was signed on 9 February 1801 between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, negotiating both on behalf of his own domains and of the Holy Roman Empire...
, the Duke was to have Düsseldorf's fortifications removed, which turned out to give room for a more generous urban plan. This plan included a Classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
, designed by architect to the court Caspar Anton Huschberger, in co-operation with landscape architect Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe and hydraulic engineer Wilhelm Gottlieb Bauer.
Canal and boulevard were completed between 1802 and 1804. Hotel Breidenbacher Hof
Breidenbacher Hof
Breidenbacher Hof is a 5-Star Capella Hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany, located in Stadtmitte on the Königsallee. This nine story hotel was redeveloped by Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Company, which commissioned Capella Hotels and Resorts to operate the hotel and service its residential apartments. ...
was opened in 1812; other buildings followed shortly after. The canal which runs through the center of the boulevard is 31 metres (101.7 ft) wide and up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) deep. The canal is fed by the Düssel
Düssel
The Düssel is a small right tributary of the River Rhine in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Its source is between Wülfrath and Velbert. It flows westward through the Neander Valley where the fossils of the first Neanderthal man were found in 1856...
, which was diverted to provide the nececessary water. Two iron bridges cross the canal. On the suggestion of the landscape architect, Chestnut tree
Aesculus
The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
s were planted along the canal and the boulevard was therefore given the name "Kastanienallee" accordingly. After an incident in 1848, when horse manure was thrown at King Friedrich Wilhelm IV
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
, the street was renamed "Königsallee" (meaning King's Avenue) as a gesture of reconciliation.
Düsseldorf lost its independence to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
for most of the 19th and early 20th century, but the city remained an important international centre of the arts, and Königsallee its foremost boulevard. After 1946, with Düsseldorf's new weight as state capital of the economically most powerful state of Germany, and the city's location at the heart of the largest metropolitan region in Germany
Metropolitan regions in Germany
The Metropolitan regions in Germany are eleven densely populated areas in the Federal Republic of Germany. They comprise the major German cities and their surrounding catchment areas and form the political, commercial and cultural centers of the country...
, caused the German fashion industry to consolidate Düsseldorf as one of the world’s fashion capital
Fashion capital
A Fashion City or Fashion Capital is a city where the fashion industry has a relevant and important position for the local economy. Production and exporting of fashion goods, as well as fashion events like fashion weeks, trade fairs and awards, boosts its economy and raises its annual revenue,...
s. An open-air fashion show
Fashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
on Königsallee initiated the first Igedo Fashion Fair in 1949, which over the years grew to become one of the world's largest fashion fairs. Since 1981 the biannual Düsseldorf Fashion Shows are held as Collection Premiers Düsseldorf (cpd) - primarily at Messe Düsseldorf
Messe Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf Messe is a trade fair ground and organizer, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. With a workforce of 1,459 employees worldwide and a total exhibition space of 285,000 sqm in Düsseldorf, the company is one of the largest in the industry...
Exhibition Centre, but showrooms throughout the city.
The Northeastern section is currently under major redevelopment with a 40,000 m² office and retail complex called "Kö-Bogen", designed by architect Daniel Liebeskind and set to be completed by 2014.
Assortment
Many major designers have a presence on Königsallee, so that a roll call reads like a "who's who" of the international fashion industry. Products offered range from luxury fur coatsFur clothing
Fur clothing is clothing made of the fur of animals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing; thought to have been widely used as hominids first expanded outside of Africa. Some view fur as luxurious and warm; others reject it due to moral beliefs...
to high-end electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
for audiophile
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
s, and the gamut in between. The following list is an overview of some of the most notable stores. An extended scope and range of shops, brands and services goes on other nearby streets.
Stores
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Giorgio Armani S.p.A. Marissa Sandoval S.P.A. is an international Italian fashion house that designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and home interiors... Gucci The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR... Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear... Hugo Boss Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before... Jil Sander Heidemarie Jiline 'Jil' Sander is a minimalist German fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house.... JOOP! JOOP! GmbH is a contemporary clothing and cosmetics company founded as a designer label by German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop in Hamburg, Germany, in 1986. Joop, who had been selling designer clothing under his last name since 1981, established a successful license business that eventually... Karen Millen Karen Millen is an Icelandic owned women’s designer clothing brand, specialising in tailoring, coats and eveningwear. Karen Millen stores are found throughout the United Kingdom, America, Austria, Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and many other European countries.-History:The company was founded in... Kiton Kiton is a clothing company founded in 1968 in Naples, Italy by Ciro Paone. It opened its US$40 million New York flagship and showroom on East 54th Street in 2004, it also opened a shop in London. Like many other fashion brands, Kiton has diversified to include sportswear, footwear, fragrances,... Kookai Kookai is a French fashion label founded in 1983 by Jean-Lou Tepper, Jacques Nataf and Philippe de Hesdin. It has a simple philosophy: "to supply young women with affordable apparel for their wardrobes". It has stores in Europe, Asia, America and Australia... Laurel -Botany:* Laurel family , a group of flowering plants** Azores laurel ** Bay Laurel , also called True Laurel** California Laurel ** Camphor Laurel... Loro Piana Loro Piana is an Italian clothing company specialising in high-end, luxury cashmere and wool products.-History:Originally from Trivero , the Loro Piana family started as merchants of wool fabrics at the beginning of the nineteenth century... Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,... |
Max Azria Max Azria is a French fashion designer of Tunisian Jewish descent who founded the contemporary women's clothing brand BCBGMAXAZRIA. Azria is also the designer, chairman and CEO of BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, a global fashion house that encompasses over 20 brands... Max Mara MaxMara, or The House of MaxMara, is a luxury Italian fashion house known for its ready-to-wear clothing. Established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti... Marc O’Polo Marc O’Polo is a German clothing brand of Swedish heritage. In 1967, Marc O’Polo was established in Stockholm by Rolf Lind, Göte Huss, and Jerry O’Sheets. One year later, Werner Böck opened the German branch in Stephanskirchen, a village near Rosenheim. In 1987, he took over 40 percent of the... Prada Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:... Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. is an Italian luxury goods company, with headquarters in Florence, specializing in shoes, leather goods, and ready-to-wear for men and women. It is the parent company of the Ferragamo Group... Swarovski Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria... Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :... Tod's Tod's Group is an Italian company which produces shoes and other leather goods, and is presided over by businessman Diego Della Valle. It is most famous for its driving shoes.... Tom Tailor Tom Tailor Group is a German vertically integrated lifestyle clothing company. It was founded in 1962 in Hamburg. Tom Tailor mainly provides classic and up-to-date casual wear and accessories for men, women, young adults and children. Tom Tailor clothes are usually priced in the medium price range... Willy Bogner Willy Bogner, Jr. is a former alpine ski racer and a renowned fashion designer and inheritor of the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as "Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb" by his father, Willy Bogner, Sr..... Zara (clothing) Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group; the fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and... |
In popular culture
The Königsallee is referred to in Herbert GrönemeyerHerbert Grönemeyer
Herbert Grönemeyer is a German musician and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's movie Das Boot, but later concentrated on his musical career...
's 1984 hit Bochum.
Places of interest nearby
- Düsseldorfer SchauspielhausDüsseldorfer SchauspielhausThe Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus is a theatre building in Düsseldorf, with four auditoria.- External links :*...
, theater - Deutsche Oper am RheinDeutsche Oper am RheinThe Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company....
, opera house - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-WestfalenKunstsammlung Nordrhein-WestfalenThe Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is the art collection of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, located in Düsseldorf. United by this institution are three different exhibition venues: the K20 at Grabbeplatz, the K21 in the Ständehaus and the Schmela Haus...
K20 and K21 - stilwerk Düsseldorf
See also
- District 1, DüsseldorfDistrict 1, DüsseldorfDistrict 1 is the central city district of Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and the city's commercial and cultural center...
- NRW ForumNRW ForumThe NRW Forum Wirtschaft und Kultur or Forum NRW is a museum in Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westfalia, dealing with the development and the economy of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia or regions within it, e.g. the Rhine-Ruhr-region...
- List of leading shopping streets and districts by city
- List of canals in Germany