00:00:00: If you thought in the past that the cradle of industrialisation in this country had been the Ruhr District, then we have to disappoint you. By the middle of the 19th century and as a result of all the machinery in the factories, Wuppertal had become one of the first and largest industrial centres in the German Reich.

00:00:18: In those days the rapidly expanding twin towns of Barmen and Elberfeld had a larger population than Düsseldorf or Frankfurt.

00:00:26: In those days people had to put up with this racket, often slaving away 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Children and adults alike. Friedrich Engels, son of a textile manufacturer, had first-hand knowledge of the terrible conditions.

00:00:45: Wuppertal’s children are obviously much better off today. For example they can carry out research work just like the grown-ups in their own Junior University – a unique educational project launched down here by the Wupper.