Krefeld

Krefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, whose prosperity and identity were shaped by silk and velvet textile production.

Mennonites: Mennonites are members of an Anabaptist Christian tradition that emphasizes adult baptism and nonviolence. Mennonite families helped establish Krefeld’s silk industry and connect it to wider commercial networks.
Silk weaving: Silk weaving interlaces silk threads on a loom to produce fabric. Krefeld’s weavers transformed imported and locally processed silk into luxury cloth.
Adolf von Beckerath: Adolf von Beckerath was a German industrialist and art collector from Krefeld. His family belonged to the city’s prominent textile-manufacturing elite.
Haus Lange: Haus Lange is a modernist house in Krefeld designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1930. The residence was commissioned by a local silk manufacturer, linking textile wealth to modern architecture.
German Textile Museum: The German Textile Museum in Krefeld displays historical textiles and clothing from around the world. Its collections connect Krefeld’s local textile heritage with the wider history of fabric and dress.
John William Friso, Prince of Orange: John William Friso was a Dutch nobleman and Prince of Orange from 1702 until his death in 1711. His 1702 decree granted Mennonites in Krefeld religious freedom and helped attract skilled textile workers.
Velvet weaving: Velvet weaving creates a raised pile by forming extra loops or cut threads over a woven ground. This technique produced the distinctive velvet fabrics associated with Krefeld.
Hermann von Beckerath: Hermann von Beckerath was a German banker, politician, and liberal statesman born in Krefeld. He came from a Krefeld merchant family whose wealth was connected to the textile trade.
Haus Esters: Haus Esters is a modernist house in Krefeld designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1930. A Krefeld textile industrialist commissioned the house as a mark of the city’s manufacturing prosperity.
Krefeld Silk Weaving Mill: The Krefeld Silk Weaving Mill is a historic industrial building associated with the city’s silk production. The mill offers a tangible example of the factories that made Krefeld a textile center.

Linked from 1 page

MönchengladbachRelated: Krefeld shares the Lower Rhine textile heritage that shaped Mönchengladbach's industrial history.