When the Roman Empire was strengthening its position throughout Europe, a few Germanic tribes clung in marshy territory off the eastern banks of the Rhine River.
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the odd farming or fishing settlement could be found at the point where the small river D�ssel flows into the Rhine. It was from such settlements that the city of D�sseldorf grew.
The first written mention of the town of D�sseldorf (then called Dusseldorp in the local Low Rhenish dialect) dates back to 1135. Under Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa the small town of Kaiserswerth to the north of D�sseldorf became a well fortified outpost, where soldiers kept a watchful eye on every movement on the Rhine. Kaiserswerth eventually became a suburb of D�sseldorf in 1929.
In 1186 D�sseldorf came under the rule of the Counts of Berg. 14 August 1288 is one of the most important dates in the history of D�sseldorf as it was on this day that the sovereign Count Adolf V of Berg granted the village on the banks of the D�ssel the Town privileges.
Prior to that announcement, a bloody struggle for power had taken place between the Archbishop of Cologne and the count of Berg, culminating in the Battle of Worringen. The Archbishop of Cologne's forces were wiped out by the forces of the count of Berg who were supported by citizens and farmers of Cologne and D�sseldorf, paving the way for D�sseldorf's elevation to city status, which is commemorated today by a monument on the Burgplatz. In fact, the custom of turning cartwheels is credited to the children of D�sseldorf. There are variations of the origin of the cartwheeling children, but the most famous is the story. Today the symbol (Der Radschl�ger) represents the story and every year the D�sseldorfers celebrate by having a cartwheeling contest.
After this battle the relationship between the four cities deteriorated, because they were commercial rivals. It is often said that there is a kind of hostility between the
