Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf (ˈdʊsəldɔːrf , USˈdjuːs- ; ˈdʏsl̩dɔʁf; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: Düsseldörp ˈdɵsəldœʀ(ə)p; archaic Dusseldorp ˈdʏsəlˌdɔr(ə)p) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne, and the sixth-largest city in Germany, with a population of 653,253. Düsseldorf is located at the mouth of the Düssel into the Rhine. The Düssel, from which the city and the borough of Düsseltal take their name, divides into four separate branches within the city, each with its own mouth into the Rhine. Most of Düsseldorf lies on the right bank of the Rhine, and the city has grown together with Neuss, Ratingen, Meerbusch, Erkrath and Monheim am Rhein. Düsseldorf is the most centrally located city of the North Rhine-Westphalian main settlement axis, the metropolitan region Rhine-Ruhr, that stretches from Bonn via Cologne and Düsseldorf to the Ruhr (from Duisburg via Essen to Dortmund). The -dorf suffix means "village" in German (English cognate: thorp); its use is unusual for a settlement as large as Düsseldorf. Linguistically, Düsseldorf is the largest city in the German part of the Low Franconian area, dialects that are closely related to Dutch. Düsseldorf Airport is Germany's fourth-busiest airport, serving as the most important international airport for the population of the densely populated Ruhr, Germany's largest urban area. Mercer's 2012 Quality of Living survey ranked Düsseldorf the sixth most livable city in the world. Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre, renowned for its fashion and trade fairs, and is headquarters to one Fortune Global 500 and two DAX companies. Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of premier trade shows. As second largest city of the Rhineland, Düsseldorf holds Rhenish Carnival celebrations every year in February/March, the Düsseldorf carnival celebrations being the third most popular in Germany after those held in Cologne and Mainz.