Art-loving Elector Jan Wellem and his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici of Tuscany, were the patrons of D�sseldorf's first significant cultural activities in the 17th and 18th centuries. Heinrich Heine, whose 200th birthday was celebrated in 1997, Clara and Robert Schumann as well as Felix Mendelssohn are the most prominent artists related to the city. Artistic impulses were often born in the Academy of Fine Arts and the names of Paul Klee, Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter as well as Albert Bierstadt are associated with the institution (D�sseldorf School). The D�sseldorf cultural scene comprises traditional and avant-garde, classical and glamorous. The world famous state art collection of North Rhine-Westphalia, the highly acclaimed Deutsche Oper am Rhein (opera), and the D�sseldorfer Schauspielhaus (theatre), artistic home of Gustaf Gr�ndgens, are major elements of D�sseldorf's reputation as a centre of the fine arts.
D�sseldorf is well known for its Altbier, a hoppy beer which translates as old [style] beer, a reference to the pre-lager brewing method of using a warm top-fermenting yeast like British pale ales. Over time the Alt yeast adjusted to lower temperatures, and the Alt brewers would store or lager the beer after fermentation, leading to a cleaner, crisper beer.
The name "altbier" first appeared in the 19th century to differentiate the beers of D�sseldorf from the new pale lager that was gaining a hold on Germany. Brewers in D�sseldorf used the pale malts that were used for the modern pale lagers, but retained the old ("alt") method of using warm fermenting yeasts.
The first brewery to use the name Alt was Schumacher which opened in 1838. The founder, Mathias Schumacher, allowed the beer to mature in cool conditions in wooden casks for longer than normal, and laid the foundation for the modern alt � amber coloured and lagered. The result is a pale beer that has some of the lean dryness of a lager but with fruity notes as well.
