00:00:00: “Incredible: That fellow Sauerbruch is incredibly brash, he’s really going to do it!” “An operation on an open ribcage – the chances of success are pretty slim…”

00:00:12: But it went off well! And the ground-breaking method devised by Professor Sauerbruch in Wuppertal continues to save many people’s lives. By contrast, help always came too late for the homicide victims whose deaths Chief Inspector Derrick investigated in the TV series.

00:00:26: Actor Horst Tappert, born in Wuppertal, became a household name all over the world in the title role. Only the Neanderthal Man is probably even better known. His remains, found in the neighbouring town of Mettmann, were identified in 1856 by Wuppertal teacher Carl Fuhlrott.

00:00:47: Of course, the list of important personalities from Wuppertal is much longer: Undoubtly at the top is the late Federal President Johannes Rau. Another front runner in matters of fame would be the womens-magazine “Emma” founder and feminist Alice Schwarzer.

00:01:01: And much further back the design engineer Gottlob Espenlaub, who worked in Wuppertal for quite some time. The airplane pioneer introduced lightweight construction and streamline shapes to the automotive industry. In view of today's petrol prices, we should be very grateful to him...