Two lines give Oberkassel its shape: one runs straight through the district, while the other curves broadly around it. Luegallee connects the bridgehead with Belsenplatz, while the Rhine gives the peninsula its rounded form. Streets and blocks of houses lie between them, with meadows opening out towards the river. That arrangement already suggests why Oberkassel is shaped as much by its avenue as by the view across the water.
The growth of a coherent urban district here was closely tied to the crossing of the Rhine. The first permanent Oberkassel bridge opened in 1898, while the Rheinische Bahngesellschaft developed the new residential area and the railway connection to Krefeld. Oberkassel still belonged to the municipality of Heerdt at the time. It became part of Düsseldorf when Heerdt was incorporated in 1909. Rather than simply extending the streets of the right bank, the district developed across the river with a deliberately planned form of its own.
Many houses still make that period visible. Much of the development dates from around 1900 to the First World War, with Art Nouveau elements shaping numerous façades. Whole streets create the setting, their continuous rows enlivened by bay windows, gables and differing façades. The broader avenue allows a more distant view, while side streets bring individual buildings into closer focus. The impression changes between the main road and a neighbouring block, even where the buildings belong to the same period.
Within that fabric, St. Antonius occupies more space than the surrounding houses. Built between 1909 and 1910, the church and its towers stand near the district town hall on Luegallee. Its Romanesque Revival design belongs to the creation of modern Oberkassel, even though its forms deliberately look much further back. Early plans placed the centre of the new neighbourhood here. The church is therefore more than a visual landmark: it also helps to explain the district's layout.
The avenue has remained more than a grand axis. Tram tracks run between the buildings, and everyday shops sit alongside boutiques and galleries. This combination of through route and shopping street brings movement into the architectural scene. Between tracks, shop windows and doorways, ordinary routes overlap on a broad street that accommodates them as readily as it offers a view of its façades.
Towards the Rhine, the continuous rows of houses finally open out. Broad meadows lie in front of the built-up riverbank, with right-bank Düsseldorf visible across the water. The avenue that previously provided a clear direction recedes behind the curve of the landscape. Beyond the last houses, the view continues over grass and water until the buildings on the opposite bank bring it to rest.
Sources and data
Information checked and sources accessed: 2026-10-17. Main sources: City of Düsseldorf: the left-bank districts and their history, Visit Düsseldorf: a walk along Luegallee and St. Antonius: building history.