Museum Burg Linn is situated in a beautiful park that hosts the famous Flachsmarkt event once a year, © Stadt Krefeld

Krefeld

A silk and vel­vet town

Krefeld with is tex­tile his­tory is ly­ing to the left of the river Rhine. It is best known among ar­chi­tec­ture en­thu­si­asts as the two silk-in­dustry rep­res­ent­at­ives Lange and Es­ters had their im­press­ive vil­las built here by ar­chi­tect Lud­wig Mies van der Rohe. The moated castle Linn, of­fer­ing in­sights in­to life on the Lower Rhine in cen­tur­ies of the past, adds an­oth­er high­light.

Krefeld, once also called “Krähenfeld” (crow’s field) served as a place of refuge for many people prosecuted for their faith in the surrounding lands back in 1600. The “von der Leyens”, who brought an economic upswing to Krefeld as a textile centre, were one of the best-known families in the local Mennonite community. Although large parts of Krefeld were destroyed in World War II, the town continues to be an important site of industry and is part of Germany’s creative scene to this day with the design course at the Hochschule Niederrhein university.

Art in Krefeld

Krefeld has some art museums of international renown: The Kaiser Wilhelm Museum and the Haus Lange and Haus Esters museums are exhibiting changing selections of contemporary art from a comprehensive collection. The two Haus Lange and Haus Esters villas are some outstanding witnesses of the time of the Neues Bauen style in Germany, impressively reflecting the Bauhaus ideas.

The moated castle Linn

Anyone feeling like travelling back through time should take a trip to the historical quarter of Linn, where a moated castle more than nine centuries old, complete with a hunting lodge, an archaeological museum, and the Deutsches Textilmuseum can be found. Permanent and special exhibitions are supplemented by interactive events and presentations. You might, for example, take a trip through time to old recipe collections, baking tins, and kitchen equipment in the historical hunting lodge kitchen, followed by a walk through the park or the well-preserved old town of Linn with its little cafes and cosy restaurants. Speaking of the park: more than 300 exhibitors from across Germany and the adjacent countries are showing off their production of clothes, cultural heritage, and useful objects with historical methods here during the traditional Flachsmarkt event at Pentecost.

Map of NRW

Images and videos

Be inspired: images of your NRW

The Krefeld Großmarkt area has food and flower stores as well as bicycle ones and stock sales, © Niederrhein Tourismus, Foto: Patrick Gawandtka
Museum Burg Linn is a popular destination for cyclists. Any number of travellers are setting out on their bikes on cycling day, © Stadt Krefeld
The old town of Linn offers an opportunity for a long stroll, © Stadt Krefeld
Rows of decorative houses and small cafés are waiting in the old town of Linn, © Stadt Krefeld
The Kaiser Wilhelm Museum focuses on art from the second half of the 20th century, © Johannes Höhn
The artistic Haus Lange and Haus Esters villas impressively reflect the Bauhaus idea, © Manfred Grünwald
Krefeld has seen a number of street-art campaigns before. Gigantic murals such as the piece created by Anna Mrzyglod and Gregor Wosik at the Seidenweberhaus are still preserved, © Stadtmarketing Krefeld
The “Edible City” urban gardening project is showing its first success at the banks of the Rhine, © Stadtmarketing Krefeld

More information

Discover it now!

Would you like to make an enquiry?

Please contact »Stadt Krefeld« directly


Your contact details

I have taken note of the data protection declaration of Tourismus NRW e.V. and agree that the data I have provided may be collected and stored electronically for the purpose of contacting me.

Security question *

* Please complete this field