Ratingen Coordinates : 51°18′N 6°51′E Ratingen Country Germany State North Rhine-Westphalia Administrative region Düsseldorf District Mettmann Population 92 , 897 ( 2005 ) Area 88.72 km² Population density 1 , 047 / km² Elevation 35-180 m Coordinates 51°18′ N 6°51′ E Postal code 40878-40885 Area code 02102 Licence plate code ME Mayor Harald Birkenkamp Website ratingen . de Ratingen is a town in the district of Mettmann , in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany , in the northwestern part of Berg - about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf . Administration With a communal reform of 1975 the independent municipalities of Breitscheid , Eggerscheidt , Hösel , Lintorf ( seat Angerland ) as well as the local part of Homberg and the municipality of Homberg-Meiersberg ( seat Hubbelrath ) were added into the city of Ratingen . History Ratingen was settled before 849 . Since the Middle Ages , the Ratingen area belonged to the count and later dukes of Berg . On December 11 , 1276 the settlement received city rights . Ratingen was one of the four places of Berg which experienced an economic boom in the end of the Middle Ages , but slowed down during the Thirty Years ' War . At the beginning of the Industrial Age , the first manufacturing plants opened in 1783 . In Cromford the first mechanical spinnery of Europe opened , which grew into the Textilfabrik Cromford , now part of the Rheinisches Industriemuseum ( Rhine Industry Museum ) . In the Napoleonic times , it became part of the city of Berg and in 1815 , into the Kingdom of Prussia . In the communal re-organization of 1929 , Ratingen maintained its independence . After relatively small war damage , Ratingen in the 1960s and the 1970s experienced years the growth and development ( West Ratingen with 20 , 000 inhabitants , developed in the late 1960s-1980s ) . Several important international enterprises ( particularly from the IT industry ) as Vodafone , Sun Microsystems , Hewlett-Packard , SAP , Tiptel and Esprit maintain branches and/or main centers in Ratingen . In 1970 , before further incorporations the number of inhabitants surpassed 50 , 000 . People Dieter Nuhr , comedian Marius Müller-Westernhagen , rock musician and actor Claudia Jung , folk singer Sönke Wortmann , director External links Official Website , in German ratingenweb - local magazine , in German LUX - local community center Categories : Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia In other languages : Deutsch | Eesti | Français | Nederlands | Plattdüütsch | Simple English | Svenska Ratingen Wappen Ratingen stilisiert.jpg Lage der Stadt Ratingen in Deutschland.png North Rhine-Westphalia Düsseldorf Mettmann 92 , 897 2005 1 , 047 88.72 35-180 51 18 N 6 51 E 40878-40885 02102 ME Harald Birkenkamp ratingen . de 