Derby (Derbyshire)

City of Derby
	Location of Derby in England
Coordinates	52 ° 55 ′ N , 1 ° 29 ′ W Coordinates: 52 ° 55 ′ N , 1 ° 29 ′ W
OS National Grid	SK3533936187
	City of Derby
	City of Derby
Residents	257,174 (as of June 30, 2018)
surface	78.03 km² (30.13 mi² )
Population density:	3296 inhabitants per km²
administration
prefix	01332
Part of the country	England
Ceremonial county	Derbyshire
ONS code	00FK
Website: www.derby.gov.uk

City Museum and Library Building, Derby

Derby [ 'dɑrbi ] is a town on the River Derwent in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England .

Derby was the traditional administrative center of Derbyshire. However, this is now Matlock . Since April 1997 Derby has been administratively independent and a unitary authority .

Derby is also the seat of the Bishop of Derby.

history

It is often assumed that the name Derby comes from the Danish Deor-a-by (village of the stag). This would make Derby one of the few English cities whose name is of Danish origin; another example is York , whose Danish name was Jorvik . But there are some indications that the name comes from the Roman name of the settlement Derventio . Some older maps also show Derby as Darby or Darbey . Derby recently celebrated its 2000th anniversary.

Recent archaeological research has provided evidence that Vikings and Anglo-Saxons lived side by side in two riverside settlements in the Derby area . In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (approx. 900) it is said that Derby is divided by the water. The two areas were known as Northworthy and Deoraby and were on Irongate on the north side of town.

Derby was awarded the status of a 1977 City by Queen Elizabeth II. On the occasion of her 25th jubilee . Before that, Derby was one of the few cities that had a cathedral and was not a city.

During the English Civil War (1642–1649) Derby was a garrison town of parliamentarians under the command of Sir John Gell , who was appointed governor of Derby in 1643. These troops took part in the defense of Nottingham , the Siege of Lichfield , the Battle of Hopton Heath and numerous other combat operations in Nottinghamshire , Staffordshire and Cheshire ; likewise in the successful defense of Derbyshire against the royal troops.

Derby and Derbyshire were centers of the industrial revolution . In 1717 the first water-powered silk mill opened in Derby , built by John Lombe and George Sorocold . Lombe had previously stolen the process of silk yarn production in the Italian Piedmont (allegedly he was poisoned by the Piedmontese in 1722 out of revenge).

Other famous people associated with Derby in the 18th century include Samuel Johnson (author of the English Dictionary), the painter Joseph Wright of Derby , the cartographer, geodesist, engraver and engineer Peter Perez Burdett , the builder and architect Joseph Pickford , the watchmaker and philosopher John Whitehurst and Erasmus Darwin , physician, scientist, philosopher and grandfather of Charles Darwin .

During the First World War , a German zeppelin attack on January 31, 1916 killed 5 people. During the Second World War the Luftwaffe bombed the city, targeting a Rolls-Royce plant . In July 1942, numerous buildings were destroyed or damaged in air raids and civilians were killed.

Attractions

Town twinning

Osnabrück since 1976
Toyota (Aichi)

Derby and Osnabrück in Lower Saxony have been officially twin cities since February 17, 1976. In 1948, only three years after the end of the Second World War, the Osnabrück city leaders contacted the British authorities. The aim was to build bridges of understanding with the former opponents. These early efforts were unsuccessful and it was only in 1972 that Osnabrück took up the idea of a partnership with an English city. Four years later the partnership agreement was signed in the Osnabrück Peace Hall. Since then, the two cities have been exchanging city ambassadors. These city ambassadors hold their office for twelve months in their respective twin cities. The tasks of the ambassadors vary. The tasks include:

Translations
Lectures at schools and for groups of all kinds
Find pen pals, host families and internships
Support groups and organizations as well as schools with exchanges of all kinds
Organizing a citizens' trip to the twin city

The exchange of city ambassadors is very unusual. No other city in Germany sends or receives city ambassadors and in England only Wigan has a similar exchange.