The Lower Rhine valley was once the cosmopolitan cultural heartland of the Holy Roman Empire. However, virtually nothing survives of the prewar Rhineland. While Germany rebuilt the great factories and cities in the visage of a new era, you can only glimpse the ancient past in individual monuments and a few small villages.
In Germany, travel through the Lower Rhine is synonymous with post-industrial gray depression. Except for Carnival, most Germans would never consider a trip to the region as a holiday, only as some form of punishment. In fact, the Lower Rhine has a great deal on offer, it’s just not as easily accessible, and many destinations may be of only particular interest. From the modern but unique metropolis of Düsseldorf to the carefully reconstructed Roman and Medieval citadels of Xanten, there is still something worth seeing.
The Lower Rhine valley was once a much more culturally diverse region. Before the Industrial Revolution, the Counties of Gelderland and Cleves controlled much of the north. This resulted in the lowlands exerting considerable influence on the architecture and language of the north. The Duchy of Berg dominated the right bank of the Rhine and the Prince-Archbishops of Cologne, the Left Bank.
