To occupy the post of municipal music director Schumann came to Düsseldorf on the Rhine in 1850 and it was probably the impressions of the Rhineland that inspired the composer to write his Symphony No. 3. In a letter to the publisher Simrock Schumann himself wrote that the peculiarities of Rhenish life had found expression in the work. To Schumann the view of the Cathedral of Cologne was a highlight of his trips in the area surrounding Düsseldorf; even if there are no records testifying to his attending a church service it almost seems as if the impressions of such a service are reflected in the fourth movement of the symphony which was originally entitled'In the Character of the Accompaniment to a Solemn Ceremony'.
