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Hochschule Niederrhein

Textile technology also formed the basis of industrial development in the 19th century in the Lower Rhine region on the left bank. Initially, this was underpinned by the ‘Verlegersystem’ (contracting system), under which textiles produced by weavers working from home were marketed by contractors.

Mechanisation and automation brought about a radical transformation in the middle of the century. Within a few years, the system of home-based work was phased out and replaced by automated looms in large factory halls. These changes – despite the Prussian monopoly on velvet and silk for Krefeld – made it urgently necessary for employees in the textile industry to acquire further qualifications, as many Krefeld manufacturers were sending their young successors to Lyon, their main competitor, for an apprenticeship.

In response to this local educational crisis, the ‘Höhere Webschule Krefeld’ (Krefeld Higher Weaving School) was founded in 1855 on the initiative of the Krefeld Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first higher education institution in the Lower Rhine region. This marked the birth of the Hochschule Niederrhein.

In 1878, it was once again Krefeld’s industrial sector that was concerned about the long-term viability of the ‘old’ silk industry. It seemed necessary to capitalise on the possibilities and opportunities offered by the new, emerging dyestuff and chemical industries.

The Chamber of Commerce called for a fundamental reorganisation of the ‘Municipal Weaving School’ modelled on renowned foreign institutions, such as those in Lyon.

Thanks to the considerable personal and financial commitment of wealthy silk manufacturers, the Krefeld Chamber of Commerce and the Prussian state, the ‘Royal School of Weaving, Dyeing and Finishing’ opened in 1883 – to international acclaim – in a magnificent building. All branches of textile technology and chemistry were incorporated, including modern dyeing and finishing processes.

Under the leadership of the dye chemist Prof. Dr Heinrich Lange, who took over as head of the school from BASF, the institution developed into an educational establishment of world renown. Indeed, in its first 25 years, 80 students from all over the world had already been awarded doctorates. They had previously studied at other universities under leading figures in their field, such as Justus von Liebig, and were now embarking on second studies with a practical emphasis at the “Royal School of Weaving, Dyeing and Finishing”.

In 1904, during the ‘boom’ years of the dyestuff industry, this predecessor institution was chosen to represent the German Empire’s apprenticeship in this field at the World’s Fair in St Louis, USA.

By 1895, the building had already become too small. The buildings on Adlerstraße, which still stand today, became the new home of the spun-off School of Dyeing and Finishing.

The broad, application-oriented and practical orientation fostered the development of further specialist areas within the school. In close collaboration with industry, fibre finishing, synthetic fibres, paints and varnishes, as well as cleaning and hygiene, became new fields of applied research and teaching education.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Mönchengladbach-Rheydt industrial area developed into the ‘Rhenish Manchester’ – one of the most important centres of textile processing in Germany – as the industry shifted from flax and linen to cotton.

In response to the industry’s needs, the Prussian state established, in addition to the ‘weaving schools’ which offered an apprenticeship for foremen, ‘advanced weaving schools’ to provide preliminary training for ‘manufacturers and factory managers’. On the initiative of a special commission comprising the Chamber of Commerce, local authorities from the Mönchengladbach commercial district, the District President in Düsseldorf and the Ministry of Trade in Berlin, the‘Prussian Higher Technical College for the Textile Industry in München-Gladbach’ was founded in 1901 to provide an apprenticeship for managers.

However, textile art and colour theory also play an important role here in relation to another predecessor institution, the “Crefeld School of Applied Arts”.

‘Design means giving shape to one’s surroundings’ – this was the credo of the founders of the ‘Handwerker- und Kunstgewerbeschule’ (School of Crafts and Applied Arts), established on 1 October 1904, from which the ‘Crefelder Werkkunstschule’ emerged.

It became a significant institution for the applied arts. Painting, graphic art, stained glass, textile design, ceramics and architecture were key fields of teaching at this institution.

Heinrich Campendonk, Helmut Macke, Henry van der Velde, Jan Thorn Pricker, August Biebricher, Fritz Winter and Peter Lindbergh are just a few examples of famous artists who were associated with the Werkkunstschule as university teachers / lecturers or students. Some of them have had a lasting influence on art history.

Close cooperation with industry led, in 1932, to the re-establishment and incorporation of the “Higher School of Clothing” and, ultimately, in 1936, to the “School of Textile Engineering”.

Three higher state institutions, the core of what would later become the Hochschule Niederrhein, began their journey into the 20th century. They grew out of the region and their influence extends far beyond it.

In 1933, the National Socialists’ seizure of power led to the standardisation of all state institutions, particularly educational establishments. Above all, the fine arts were subjected to unprecedented suppression and discrediting. The ‘School of Applied Arts’ was renamed the ‘School for Master Craftspeople’. The architecture, sculpture and ceramics departments were closed in 1934. Five out of seven ‘art teachers’ were dismissed; only the craft departments remained.

In 1932, the ‘Higher Technical College for Textile Surface Art’ was fortunate enough to be affiliated with the Krefeld Weaving School. The employees there were able to conceal their abstract ambitions partly behind the textiles, whilst also putting them to use.

The National Socialists recognised textile production – ideally without raw materials from abroad – and the associated research and apprenticeship as a crucial factor for the economy and armaments. Few technical restrictions or adjustments were imposed. In Mönchengladbach, work involving cotton – a raw material considered foreign – was restricted. In Clothing Technology, uniforms played a greater role. In Krefeld, research into chemical fibre production was stepped up. Professors are dismissed if they have not “at all times unreservedly championed the national state”.

The ‘National Socialist German Students’ League’ is founded. Its members are obliged to serve in the SA and thus to undergo military-style training. Other student associations are banned.

The result is war, death and chaos: in June 1943, the Higher School of Weaving in Krefeld is the first to be affected. The apprenticeship continues in the equally badly damaged building of the ‘School of Dyeing and Finishing’ on Adlerstraße. One day later, the School of Applied Arts on Peterstraße in Krefeld is struck. The apprenticeship continues in the manor house at Linn Castle.

The building of the Mönchengladbach School of Textile Engineering and its facilities were almost completely destroyed during the 1944/45 winter semester. The apprenticeship was relocated to Münchberg (Upper Franconia) at the end of 1944.

The tyranny and the war destroyed much, but not everything. The three schools survived and got back on their feet. In 1955, the long-established Krefeld School of Textile Engineering was given a modern, award-winning new building on Frankenring, featuring an impressive glass façade. It represents an early work by the architects Lohrscheidt and Pfau, who became famous for projects including the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus.

The Werkkunstschule was rebuilt on Peterstraße. In Mönchengladbach, the buildings of the School of Textile Engineering rose from the ruins on Webschulstraße.

On 1 April 1958, the“State School of Mechanical Engineering” was founded. The Krefeld Chamber of Industry and Commerce contributed one million German marks (DM) towards its funding through a special contribution scheme. The City of Krefeld donated a further one million DM, the building plot on Reinarzstraße – where today’s Krefeld South Campus is located – and the extension site in the allotment garden area.

All of Krefeld’s metal and electrical engineering firms made a contribution, as did the chemical industry and the Post Office, which was the operator of the communications networks at the time. The departments of Mechanical and Process Engineering, and later, Process Engineering and Electronics are established. The university’s faculties of ‘Mechanical and Process Engineering’ and ‘Electrical Engineering and Computer Science’ develop.

The “State Higher School of Economics” was officially opened on 2 October 1962 in the Balkonsaal of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle in Mönchengladbach. The “Faculty of Business Administration and Economics” was established. The guest list included the patrons of this founding: Minister-President Franz Meiers, a native of Mönchengladbach; Chamber President Prof. Dr Viktor Achter; and City Director Dr Elbers. It was not until 1970 that the college was able to move into its new building on Webschulstraße. The “Mönchengladbach campus” is gradually taking shape.

On 1 August 1971, the “Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences” was founded. Its six faculties were built upon a foundation of 13 “state universities of applied sciences”, which brought with them a long tradition and a strong track record of academic excellence. Academic and geographical links already existed in a variety of forms; these were reorganised and strengthened. Two new faculties were added when the university of applied sciences was founded: the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences. These subjects had previously been taught at technical colleges and were now adapted to meet society’s increased demands. Food and nutrition had by then become important economic sectors in the Lower Rhine region. The ‘Mönchengladbach Campus’ was completed by the addition of these two faculties.

Also in 1971, a section of the ‘State School of Engineering for Textiles in Krefeld’ was merged with the ‘State School of Engineering for Textiles in Mönchengladbach’. This gave rise to the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology at the Hochschule Niederrhein, with a range of specialisms unique in Europe, spanning from fibres to finished products in the fields of clothing and materials for technical textiles.

The interdisciplinary range of courses was expanded, initially to include “Industrial Engineering” and subsequently – by which time the institution was already known as the Hochschule Niederrhein ( since 9 July 2001) – “Health Care”. From the 2010/11 winter semester, The Hochschule Niederrhein offers a range of educational and research programmes across ten faculties.