Textile production, once the engine of industrialisation, was the foundation of the economic rise in the valley of the Wupper. In the 19th century, one of the leading industrial centres in Germany was located here. The textile industry provided the impetus for the development of many new industries: Dye factories were followed by paint factories; mechanical engineering experienced a strong impulse; buttons were produced as well as decorative art patterns for the industry; several technical schools were established.
The "Textile in the Wupper Valley" route invites you on a voyage of discovery through well-known and unknown quarters of an old industrial city. The illustrated text panels on the route tell about homes of home weavers in Unterbarmen, bleachers' houses in Rauental, dye works in Oberbarmen, ribbon factories in Wichlinghausen and Langerfeld, lining weaving mills on Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse, ready-made clothing factories and trading houses in Hofaue.
The route "Textile in the Wupper Valley" presents industrial history, impressions of the working world, architectural and social history and biographical information at 30 stops. 17 stations are located near the suspension railway. They are easily accessible from the stops. The suspension railway, the city's steel transport axis, also provides a view of the old factory ensembles from the river side. The journey becomes a time travel through the 19th and 20th centuries.
The map of the industrial route is available in the museum shop of the Engels Pavilion.
