Unterbilk

The administration of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is an important local employer, as is the engineering company Siemens.

Since the 1980s the service sector has grown, especially after the transformation of much of the nearby docks area into the Medienhafen broadcast media, corporate office and entertainment district from the 1990s onwards.

Following the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 the fortifications were demolished, and the area became public gardens with two linked ornamental ponds, the Schwanenspiegel and Kaiserteich.

The 20 floor postmodern, parallelogram-shaped office building named the Stadttor (City Gate) opened in 1998 and won architectural awards.

The Florapark gardens opened in 1870 featuring a festival hall and greenhouse with palm trees and exotic animals.