NEUSS

city, North RhineWestphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies on the west bank of the Rhine, opposite Dsseldorf. Founded about 12 BC as a Roman fortress (the Novaesium of Tacitus), it was captured by the Franks and renamed Niusa. It was chartered in 118790. As the chief town of the northern part of the archbishopric of Cologne, it was unsuccessfully besieged by Charles the Bold in 147475. It was sacked by Alessandro Farnese in 1586 and passed to Prussia in 1816. The Church of St. Quirinus (1209), with its Baroque dome (1741), and the town hall (163438) were damaged in World War II but have been restored. The 13th-century Obertor (a massive gatehouse, part of the medieval fortifications) houses the Clemens-Sels Museum, and the Zeughaus (1639), or arsenal, is a concert hall. Neuss is now an important rail junction, port, grain market, and industrial centre. Its harbour is accessible to small oceangoing ships. The city's manufactures include machinery, chemicals, and processed foods. Pop. (1991 est.) 147,019.