Editing Neuss (section)

== History ==
[[File:Rheinbahn.Neuss.jpg|left|thumb|[[Rheinbahn]] tram in downtown Neuss.]]
[[File:St. Sebastianus Kirche Neuss 2.JPG|left|thumb|[[St. Sebastian (Neuss)|Saint Sebastian]] church in the city of Neuss]]

=== Roman period ===
{{Main|Novaesium}}
Neuss was founded by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] in 16 BC as a military fortification (''[[castrum]]'') with the current city to the north of the castrum, at the confluence of the rivers [[Rhine]] and [[Erft]], with the name of '''Novaesium'''.<ref name=topos>{{cite web| url=https://topostext.org/place/512067UNov| website=ToposText| publisher = Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation|title=Novaesium, Roman fortress on the Rhine, Neuss, Germany| access-date = 26 June 2024}}</ref> 
[[Legio XVI Gallica]] ("Gallic 16th Legion") of the Roman army was stationed here in 43–70 AD. It was disbanded after surrendering during the [[Batavian rebellion]] (AD 70).<ref name="Bunson2009">{{cite book|author=Matthew Bunson|title=Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5tic2VunRoC&pg=PA313|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1027-1|pages=313–}}</ref>

Later a civil settlement was founded in the area of today's centre of the town during the 1st century AD. Novaesium, together with [[Treves|Trier]] (''Augusta Treverorum''), is one of the three oldest Roman settlements in Germany.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

=== Middle Ages ===
Neuss grew during the [[Middle Ages]] because of its prime location on several routes, by the crossing of the great Rhine valley, and with its harbour and ferry. During the 10th century, the remains of the [[martyr]] and [[tribune]] [[Saint Quirinus of Neuss|Saint Quirinus]], not to be confused with the Roman god [[Quirinus]], had been relocated to Neuss. This resulted in [[pilgrimage]] to the shrine of St. Quirinus even from countries beyond the borders of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Neuss was first documented as a town in 1138.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

One of the main events in the town's history is the [[Siege of Neuss|siege of the town in 1474–75]] by [[Charles the Bold]], Duke of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]], that lasted for nearly a year. The citizens of Neuss withstood the siege and were therefore rewarded by the Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]]. The town was granted the right to mint its own coins and to carry the imperial [[coat of arms]], the imperial eagle and the crown, in the town's own coat of arms. Neuss became a member of the [[Hanseatic League]], although it was never accepted by the other members of the League.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

=== Early modernity ===
In 1586, [[Destruction of Neuss|more than two-thirds of the city was destroyed by fire]], and several wars during the reign of King [[Louis XIV of France]] resulted in worsening finances for Neuss. Its importance as a place for trading declined rapidly, and from the mid-17th century onwards, Neuss became a place only important for its agriculture.

Until the late 18th century, Neuss belonged to the [[Electorate of Cologne]]. From 1794 to 1814, Neuss was part of France during the reign of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]. In 1815 after the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Neuss became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], and was reorganized as a district with the municipalities of Neuss, [[Dormagen]], [[Nettesheim]], [[Nievenheim]], [[Rommerskirchen]] and [[Zons]]. The town had a population of 6,333 at that time. It was part of the Prussian [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] (1815–22) and its successor, the [[Rhine Province]] (1822–1946).

=== 19th century – present ===
Neuss regained its economic power in the 19th century, with expansion of the harbour in 1835, and increasing industrial activity. The city's boundaries were expanded in 1881. Neuss became part of the new state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] in 1946.

In 1968 the spelling of the name was changed from ''Neuß'' to ''Neuss''. In 1975 the town of Neuss and the district of [[Grevenbroich]] were joined to form the district of [[Rhein-Kreis Neuss]] with a population of 440,000 and its seat of government in Neuss.  Neuss is also home to [[Toshiba]]'s European headquarters.

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Largest groups of foreign residents<ref>{{cite web|title=Die ausländischen Mitbürger in der Stadt Neuss am 0 1.01.2013|url=http://www.neuss.de/wirtschaft/statistiken/downloads/nzs-2013-05-auslaender.pdf|publisher=Stadt Neuss|access-date=2014-10-26}}</ref>
|-
! Nationality || Population (2018)
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}} || 5,440
|-
|{{flag|Poland}} || 1,775
|-
|{{flag|Greece}}|| 1,627
|-
|{{flag|Portugal}} || 1,132
|-
|{{flag|Italy}} || 1,088
|-
|{{flag|Serbia}} || 1,072
|-
|{{flag|Syria}} || 982
|-
|{{flag|Croatia}} || 829
|}

=== Jewish history ===
{{See also|History of the Jews in Germany|History of the Jews in Cologne}}
A Jewish community has been documented in the city since the [[High Middle Ages]]. The earliest documentation of Jews in the city is from 1096, when Jews from [[Cologne]] fleeing from [[People's Crusade|Crusaders]] were sheltered in the city by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne|Archbishop of Cologne]] {{ill|Hermann III. von Hochstaden|de|Hermann III. von Hochstaden|lt=Hermann III}}.<ref name="stefan">{{cite web |last1=Rohrbacher |first1=Stefan |title=Die jüdische Gemeinde in Neuss |url=https://cjz-neuss.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Rohrbacher_J%C3%BCdische-Gemeinde-Neuss.pdf |access-date=4 January 2023}}</ref><ref name=stadt>{{cite web |title=Synagoge – Neuss am Rhein |url=https://www.neuss.de/kultur/stadtgeschichte/neuss-historisch/synagoge |website=Neuss.de |publisher=Stadtarchiv Neuss |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> Nevertheless, about 200 of them (men, women, and children) were slaughtered by Crusaders. This all was in the context of what is known as the [[Rhineland massacres]].

There is however no indication that Neuss already had an organized Jewish community in 1096; It is however certain that there was one in the [[Hohenstaufen|Staufer]] period from the late 12th century onwards, in the context of a general influx of merchants into the city at the time.<ref name="stefan"/>

According to [[Ephraim of Bonn]], on 11 January 1197, multiple members of the Jewish community were put to death as revenge for the killing of a Christian girl by a mentally ill Jew. The killer and [[collective punishment|several of his close relatives]] were gruesomely executed. They seem to have been allowed a Jewish funeral: their bodies were brought – presumably by boat – to [[Xanten]], where they were buried alongside victims of the Rhineland massacres of 1096.<ref name="stefan"/>

The community in the High Middle Ages at first resided in the area where merchants lived, between the {{ill|Neuss Haven|de|Neusser Hafen|lt=haven}} and the market. The passage to the haven's loading place was known as the ''Judensteg''. By the year 1300 however the ''Judensteg'' was now inhabited by Christians, the Jews having moved to the area around the ''Glockhammer'', where their synagogue and school were also located. The area was not exactly a [[ghetto]], as it was not sealed, and Christians also lived there.

From the 14th century onwards the Jews faced increasing economic competition, firstly due the loss of their advantageous former location near the docks, and later because of the loss of their monopoly in money lending, with the arrival of bankers from [[Lombard banking|Lombardy]] and [[Cahorsins|Cahors]].<ref name="stefan"/>

The city was hit by the [[Black Death]] in 1348–49, and the community suffered from gruesome persecutions during that time, [[Persecution of Jews during the Black Death|as was the case elsewhere in Europe]]. In the wake of the plague, the community was numerically decimated and economically weakened. A wave of religious extremism and intolerance swept the area at the time, and the Jews were increasingly pressured and became objects of political infighting: In the year 1424, Jews were for a time expelled from the city; this was meant as a middle finger to the ''[[Landesherr]]'', who had placed the Jews under his protection.<ref name="stefan"/>

The Jews later came back, but were ultimately expelled again in 1464. The Archbishop of Cologne [[Ruprecht of the Palatinate (archbishop of Cologne)|Ruprecht von der Pfalz]] visited the city on 5 May and met with mayors, aldermen, and the council in an attempt to halt the expulsion, but to no avail. Jews were from now on banned from residing in the city, and from staying overnight within city walls.<ref name="cjz">{{cite web |last1=Weißenborn-Hinz |first1=Angelika |last2=Weißenborn |first2=Dieter |title=Geschichte der Juden in Neuss |url=https://cjz-neuss.de/juedisches-leben/geschichte-juden-in-neuss/ |publisher=Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit in Neuss e.V. |access-date=4 January 2023}}</ref> In 1694, Jews were given permission to hold a cattle market in front of the ''Obertor''.<ref name="cjz"/> Facing overdue [[lump sum]] payments, in 1704 the city instored a special tax on Jews entering the city known as the ''[[Leibzoll|Judenleibzoll]]''.<ref name="stefan"/>
[[File:Neuss--synagoge--lithographie-um-1870.jpg|thumb|230px|The former {{ill|Old Synagogue (Neuss)|de|Alte Synagoge (Neuss)|lt=Synagogue of Neuss}}, torched down during the ''[[Kristallnacht]]'' on 10 November 1938.]]
In 1794 during the [[War of the First Coalition]], Neuss fell under French control, and all discriminatory anti-Jewish laws were subsequently abrogated. It was only in 1808 however, in a context of nascent [[Industrialization in Germany|industrialization]] and population growth, that for the first time in centuries a Jewish family moved to the city: That of the butcher Josef Großmann, who had come from [[Hülchrath]]. The community slowly rose in number: in 1830, there were around 100 Jews out of a population of approximately 8000. The community kept on growing in size throughout the century. 

Jews who moved to Neuss came from surrounding rural areas in the [[Rhineland]], and as a result were more conservative and shaped by rural life than their counterparts in other German cities. Popular innovations in the time of the ''[[Haskalah]]'' such as religious services in German did not take root here: they continued in [[Medieval Hebrew|Hebrew]]. As a general rule of thumb, Neuss Jews were more religious than in other German cities.<ref name="stefan"/>

Relations between Jews and Christians were generally good at the time: they lived one next to another, and one could find Christians [[Shabbos goy|performing forbidden tasks]] such as lighting/extinguishing fires in Jewish homes on [[Shabbat]].

A fracture in this peace took place in 1834 however: In the ''[[Lower Rhine region|Niederrhein]]'' area [[blood libel]] rumors spread around, leading to a wave of anti-Jewish violence: Synagogues were set on fire in [[Gindorf]] and {{ill|Bedburdyck|de}}; in {{ill|Hemmerden|de}}, [[Wevelinghoven]] and elsewhere fierce fighting took place between vigilantes and [[hussar]]s. Neuss was not left unaffected either, with crowds strolling down the streets chanting anti-Jewish songs, with the epicenter being the poor areas of Neuss around the ''Viehmarkt''. This situation lasted for days, until a contingent of soldiers was moved into the city to quell the unrest.<ref name="stefan"/>

On 29 March 1867, the {{ill|Old Synagogue (Neuss)|de|Alte Synagoge (Neuss)|lt=synagogue}} was unveiled, designed by the Prussian architect Friedrich Weise and built in the popular [[Moorish Revival architecture|Orientalist]] style. The city held celebrations for 3 days upon its inauguration. Despite serving only about 1% of the population, the  Synagogue was a proud hallmark of the Neuss skyline.<ref name="stadt"/> The synagogue community's size peaked at 316 members in 1890.

After the acquittal of the Jewish butcher Adolf Buschoff in the 1892 {{ill|Xanten blood libel case|de|Xantener Ritualmordvorwurf|fr|Affaire de Xanten}}, antisemitic violence took place in nearby Neuss: Jewish-owned property was set on fire, and Jewish families were sent threatening messages. About a quarter of the community left the city.
{{clear}}

In 1933, there were no more than 227 citizens of Jewish faith in Neuss. From that year onwards they suffered [[History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany#Jews_under_the_Nazis_(1933–45)|increasing persecution]] by [[the Nazis]]. Few [[Emigration of Jews from Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe|went into exile on time]]. Then began the so-called "''[[Final Solution to the Jewish Question]]''" and the deportations. On 22 July 1942, the last inhabitant of the ''{{ill|Judenhaus|de}}'' at Küpperstaße 2 was put on a train from [[Aachen]] to [[Theresienstadt]]. On 23 November 1942, Neuss was cynically declared ''[[Judenrein]]''. (= <u>'''clean'''</u> of Jews)

However, there was still a handful of Jews who survived through hiding, or who were not targeted due to being married to "Aryans".<ref name="rp">{{cite web |last1=Berrischen |first1=Beate |title=Im Kampf gegen Antisemitismus |url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/neuss/neusser-stadtgespraech-der-konrad-adenauer-stiftung-blikt-auf-juedisches-leben_aid-58312727 |publisher=[[Rheinische Post]] |access-date=4 January 2023 |date=28 May 2021}}</ref>

The exact number of Jewish victims of the Nazi regime is not known with certainty. However, one can find the names of 204 murdered Jews who had some sort of link to Neuss on a monument by [[Ulrich Rückriem]]. A significant amount of ''[[Stolpersteine]]'' can be found around the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mahnmal zur Erinnerung an die ermordeten Neusser Juden |url=https://www.neuss.de/kultur/museen-und-kunst/mahnmal |website=Neuss.de |publisher=Stadt Neuss}}</ref>

Since the 1990s the community has enjoyed a revival thanks to [[History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany#Jews_in_the_reunited_Germany_(post-1990)|an influx of Jews from the ex-USSR]]. In 2021, it was estimated that around 550 Jews lived in Neuss.<ref name="rp"/>