SOLINGEN, a Prussian town, in the province of the Rhine, stands on a height near the Wupper, 13 miles east-by-south of Düsseldorf. It is one of the chief seats of the German iron and steel industry, its specialty consisting in all kinds of cutting implements of steel. Solingen swordblades have been celebrated for centuries, and probably form part of the equipment of every modern army, while bayonets, knives, scissors, surgical instruments, files, steel frames, and the like are also produced in enormous quantities. These articles are largely made by the workmen at their own homes and supplied to the depots of the large dealers; there are about 30,000 workers in steel in Solingen and its vicinity. The population of the town in 1885 was 18,643, of whom three-fourths were Protestants.

Solingen is an ancient place, and received its town charter in 1374. Sword-blades have been made here since the early part of the Middle Ages, and tradition affirms that the art was introduced during the crusades by smiths from Damascus.