Haan () is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated at the western edge of the Bergisches Land, 12 km southwest of Wuppertal and 17 km east of Düsseldorf. In 1975, Gruiten was incorporated into Haan. History Haan's origins date back to around 2200 BC. Dated BC. At that time, a hail-shaped settlement was founded in today's city center, which is equipped with a rampart, palisade fence and hedging strips. Accordingly, the name "Haan" should be derived from Hagen, with a reorganization analogous to grove. From 718 AD Haan was close to the Saxon-Franconian border running between Sonnborn and Elberfeld (both today in Wuppertal). Since today's Kaiserstrasse was a route for the Franconian troops to the east, a marketing system (sutlers) was created in Haan to supply the soldiers. Even before the early High Middle Ages, Haan belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne together with Hilden and, even after the formation of the county and later the Duchy of Berg, was initially one of the enclaves within this territorial area. Already around 850 a pre-Romanesque chapel or church was built on the old church square, which Archbishop Wichfried von Köln consecrated in 935. At that time this church was subordinate to the main church in Hilden. In 1386 the road from Hilden via Haan to Elberfeld, today's federal road 228, was first mentioned in a document. The first evidence of the grinding and weaving trade, which was widespread in Haan until the 20th century, can be dated back to 1589 and 1724 respectively. In the second half of the 16th century the church of Haan was reformed by the Evangelicals. Until 1806, Haan, Obgruiten and Gruiten belonged to the Amt Solingen, Ellscheid to the Amt Mettmann within the Duchy of Berg. In 1808, the towns of Haan, Ellscheid, Millrath (today Erkrath), Gruiten, Schöller and Sonnborn (both today Wuppertal) came under French rule and were united to form "Mairie Haan". In 1815 this Mairie was placed under Prussian administration and rededicated to a Prussian mayor's office. [6] At that time, the Mayor's Office (no real office, in German: Bürgermeisterei) of Haan included the following seven special household parishes: Parish Haan, Honschaft Ellscheid, Honschaft Millrath, Honschaft Gruiten, Honschaft Schöller, Honschaft Obgruiten and Kirchspiel Sonnborn. In 1841, with the completion of the Elberfeld — Gruiten — Düsseldorf railway line, Haan was connected to the ever-expanding rail