Mettmann (German:[ˈmɛtˌman]) is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf and west of Wuppertal. A local variety of the Limburgish language called Metmannsch Platt is spoken in town.
The Neandertal (/niˈændərˌtɑːl/, also US: /-ˌtɔːl/, German:[neˈʔandɐtʰaːl]; sometimes called "the Neander Valley" in English) is a small valley of the river Düssel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 12 km (7.5 mi) east of Düsseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. The valley lies within the limits of the towns of Erkrath and Mettmann. In August 1856, the area became famous for the discovery of Neanderthal 1, one of the first specimens of Homo neanderthalensis to be found.
The Neandertal was originally a limestone canyon widely known for its rugged scenery, waterfalls and caves. However, industrial quarrying during the 19th and 20th centuries removed most of the limestone and dramatically changed the shape of the valley. It was during such a quarrying operation that the bones of the original Neanderthal man were found in a cave known as Kleine Feldhofer Grotte. Neither the cave nor the cliff in which the bones were located still exist.
The Neanderthal Museum is a museum in Mettmann, Germany. It was established in 1996. Located at the site of the first Neanderthal man discovery in the Neandertal, it features an exhibit centered on human evolution. The museum was constructed in 1996 to a design by the architects Zamp Kelp, Julius Krauss and Arno Brandlhuber and draws about 170,000 visitors per year. It includes an archaeological park on the original discovery site, a Stone Age workshop, as well as an art trail named "human traces". All signs, as well as the audio guide offered, are available in German and English.