Early Industrialization to Expressionism

No, that is not the 5th volume of Encarta, but rather the subjects of two museums which I visited during my stay in Wuppertal. Just to get everyone oriented, Wuppertal is a medium-sized city in central-Western Germany, not too far from either Cologne or Düsseldorf. The border to either France or Belgium is less than two hours away. Wuppertal derives its name from the Wupper river and the valley (or "Tal") it creates and has a population of about 320,000. While I am actually staying in a section of the city Remscheid (pop. 115,000), most of my time has been spent going to/through Wuppertal. Some may recognize Wuppertal as the home of the firm Bayer (and they still make the aspirin), others as the home of the Schwebebahn, a suspended train which runs directly over the Wupper river through the town.
Going back to my post's title, I would like to recount some of the museums I toured. In Wuppertal I stopped by the Early Industrialization Museum and Friedrich Engels house. Engels, for those who haven't brushed up on the Communist Manifesto lately, was Karl Marx's intellectual partner (and as some would argue, "better half" in an academic sense) and champion of communism in the mid-19th century. In other words, the same time as Industrial Revolution migrated to Germany.
Düsseldorf has a host of museums, including the K21 Kunstsammlung. While housed in a beautiful Baroque building, the art inside is indeed modern. A little too modern at times. But this questionable "aesthetic" was countered by Wuppertal's renowned (and it truly is, not just more German boasting) Van der Hydt Museum's exhibit of German expressionism and special exhibit of the Blue Rider artists. But enough of the 20th Century!
The Schlossburg museum is a medieval fortress in the Wupper valley, destroyed during the late Middle Ages, it was renovated in the late 1800's when Otto von Bismarck felt he need to build German pride in its past. The museum winds through all the Count's rooms, the fortress walls and the keep, which held the Archbishop of Cologne prisoner for 13 months in the 14th Century.
I wondered why we don't see more museums in Minnesota, then I remembered our history is a blink of the Germany eye. We weren't around when the Romans founded Cologne in the first century AD, and no American emperor spent time in Chaska, so i guess there is no reason for a museum. Unless, yes, of course. A Gedney's pickles museum!