SOLINGEN.
The town of Solingen, situated in the Prussian province of Rhineland,
13 miles east of Düsseldorf and near the river Wupper, has been for centuries
the chief home of the German cutlery and fine steel-goods industry ; the history
of its sword manufacture goes back, to the time of the .Crusades. During the
last 20 years it has developed rapidly. The population, which was 17,778 in
1885, had increased to 50,209 in December, 1905, the increase for the 20 years
being equal to 182*4 per cent. The growth during the last four inter-censal
periods has been as follows :—
Census Year.
Population.
Increase.
Inter-censal Increase
per cent.
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905
17,778
36,510
40,813
45,260
50,209
18,762
4,303
4,417
4,949
105 5
11-8
10 8
10 9
The large increase between 1885 and 1890 was mainly due to the
incorporation of several suburbs in 1888. The area of the township is
5,437 acres.
The town had a birth-rate in 1906 of 28'2 per 1,000 of the population and
a death-rate of 15*1, giving a natural increase of 13*1 per 1,000. Both birth
and death rates have fallen of late years, the former more than the latter, and
the natural increase of population was in 1906 3*5 per 1,000 less than in 1901.
The following table shows the birth and death rates, and also the rate of
infant mortality for a period of six years :—
Year.
Birth-rate per 1,000
of Population.
Death-rate per 1,000
of Population.
Infantile Mortality
per 1,000 Births.
1901
1902
1903
1901
1905
1906
345
32*3
29*6
30*6
30*0
28 2
17*9
15 1
15*5
14 6
16-3
151
170
146
170
148
136
121
Solingen is, however, only the centre of a group of towns engaged in
similar industries, with products grouped under the same general head of
“ Solingen goods.” These towns are Grafrath (population 8,706) ; Hohscheid
(population 15,382) ; Wald (population 22,909) ; and Ohligs (population
23,200). The first three of these are not separated from Solingen in fact ; the
municipal boundary in some places runs down the centre of streets which have
buildings on both sides ; and it is contended in Solingen that it would be
distinctly advantageous, both on financial and other grounds, if these first three
towns could be brought under a single administration with Solingen. Of that,
however, there seems no immediate prospect. The towns are linked together
partly by the railway (Ohligs is an important junction), and partly by a good
system of tramways provided by the municipality of Solingen (but leased) and
by the authorities of the rural circle (i.e. area for rural local government, from
which Solingen is excluded).
Solingen itself is an ancient town, and in the centre retains many of its old
characteristic features. The streets there are narrow and somewhat hilly (they
occupy the site of the old stronghold, which stood on rising ground), and many
of the houses are a couple of centuries old. These houses are of the type long
peculiar to the Berg Country (i.e., the old duchy of Berg, more or less independent
till 1814, when it was definitely included in Prussia, to which the town and
