Solingen (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land. It is a member of the regional authority of the Rhineland. Solingen is called the "City of Blades," since it has long been renowned for the manufacturing of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by famous firms such as DOVO Solingen, Wusthof, J. A. Henckels, Boker, Eickhorn-Solingen, and numerous other manufacturers. Wilkinson is also based here. Compare with Sheffield and Birmingham in England. In Medieval times, the swordsmiths of Solingen coined the town's image, which is preserved to this date. In the latter part of the 17th century, a group of swordsmiths from Solingen broke their guild oaths by taking their sword-making secrets with them to Shotley Bridge, County Durham in England. Some 90% of German knives are produced in Solingen.