History of the Ruhr District
Encyclopedia
The actual boundaries of the Ruhr
district differ slightly according to the source but a good working definition is to define the Lippe
and Ruhr
as the northern and southern boundaries respectively, with the Rhein the western boundary, stretching to the East as far as Hamm
.
In the Middle Ages, local power was vested primarily in the Counts (Grafs) of Berg
, the Mark and of Kleve. The left bank of the Rhein was held by the Archbishop of Cologne. The Hellweg
was an important trade route crossing the region from Duisburg
to Dortmund
and beyond to the Weser and Elbe. The most important towns of the region were concentrated along the Hellweg.
As a result of the Congress of Vienna
the entire area came fully under the control of Prussia
(they had already gained possessions there). This event was almost concominant with developments which would eventually make the region one of the most important industrial areas in the world.
In 1946 the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen came into being, centered around the Ruhr district. Nowadays, the previously important coal and steel industries have drastically declined and the region is in a state of re-adjustment.
, coal
and sandstone
were formed. 400 to 300 million years ago, new mountains formed in the Variscan orogeny
.
In Silesian layers were deposited which become seams of coal over a period lasting millions of years . During this period there was a constant shifting between marshy conditions and overflowing seas such that the depositing of plant material and sediment from the sea results in the current situation of coal layers separated by stone layers.
The main representatives of flora in the coal marshes were of the genus Lepidodendron
and genus Sigillaria
, tree-like plants, which belong to the plant classification Lycopodiophyta
. Members of both genus reached heights of up to 40 meters with a trunk diameter of over a meter.
In the Cretaceous
period from 135 million to about 65 million years ago, the district was submerged under a tropical ocean. In its waters lived Ammonite
s. On the floor of the sea, a large Mergellayer formed. The sediments covered the layers of carbon and contained also the shells of giant ammonites.
brings changes between warm and cold weather. During the Drenthestadien of the Wolstonian Stage glaciation in Northern Deutschlands covered the Ruhr and stretched as far as the northern reaches of the Mittelgebirges. The form of the middle and lower Ruhr valley is due to flowing melt and from the powerful force of the ice. The melt from the glaciers flowed westwards through the Ruhr valley. Where Essen lies today, the flow was temporarily hindered by a barrier of ice and rocky debris, forming an enormous lake which filled the valley at Schwerte
.
The coal and steel industries continue to expand, with the Ruhr reaching a position whereby its coal and steel production is in each case almost equivalent to the rest of continental Europe put together (excluding the USSR)
The Ruhr industrialist Fritz Thyssen
assists the NSDAP with a massive financial sum.
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
district differ slightly according to the source but a good working definition is to define the Lippe
Lippe
Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....
and Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
as the northern and southern boundaries respectively, with the Rhein the western boundary, stretching to the East as far as Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
.
In the Middle Ages, local power was vested primarily in the Counts (Grafs) of Berg
Berg (state)
Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
, the Mark and of Kleve. The left bank of the Rhein was held by the Archbishop of Cologne. The Hellweg
Hellweg
In the Middle Ages the Hellweg was an ancient east-west route through Germany, the main corridor from the Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald, reaching from Duisburg, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, to Paderborn, with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south.In the...
was an important trade route crossing the region from Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
to Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and beyond to the Weser and Elbe. The most important towns of the region were concentrated along the Hellweg.
As a result of the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
the entire area came fully under the control of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(they had already gained possessions there). This event was almost concominant with developments which would eventually make the region one of the most important industrial areas in the world.
In 1946 the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen came into being, centered around the Ruhr district. Nowadays, the previously important coal and steel industries have drastically declined and the region is in a state of re-adjustment.
Carboniferous Period
During the Carboniferous Period, a period of the Paleozoic era, which began 360 million years ago and ended 300 million years ago, layers of slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
were formed. 400 to 300 million years ago, new mountains formed in the Variscan orogeny
Variscan orogeny
The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.-Naming:...
.
In Silesian layers were deposited which become seams of coal over a period lasting millions of years . During this period there was a constant shifting between marshy conditions and overflowing seas such that the depositing of plant material and sediment from the sea results in the current situation of coal layers separated by stone layers.
The main representatives of flora in the coal marshes were of the genus Lepidodendron
Lepidodendron
Lepidodendron is an extinct genus of primitive, vascular, arborescent plant related to the Lycopsids . It was part of the coal forest flora. They sometimes reached heights of over , and the trunks were often over in diameter, and thrived during the Carboniferous period...
and genus Sigillaria
Sigillaria
Sigillaria is a genus of extinct, spore-bearing, arborescent plants which flourished in the Late Carboniferous period but dwindled to extinction in the early Permian period. It was a lycopodiophyte, and is related to the lycopsids, or club-mosses, but even more closely to quillworts, as was its...
, tree-like plants, which belong to the plant classification Lycopodiophyta
Lycopodiophyta
The Division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. It is the oldest extant vascular plant division at around 410 million years old, and includes some of the most "primitive" extant species...
. Members of both genus reached heights of up to 40 meters with a trunk diameter of over a meter.
Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period from 135 million to about 65 million years ago, the district was submerged under a tropical ocean. In its waters lived Ammonite
Ammonite
Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct subclass within the Molluscan class Cephalopoda which are more closely related to living coleoids Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct...
s. On the floor of the sea, a large Mergellayer formed. The sediments covered the layers of carbon and contained also the shells of giant ammonites.
Quartenary
The Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
brings changes between warm and cold weather. During the Drenthestadien of the Wolstonian Stage glaciation in Northern Deutschlands covered the Ruhr and stretched as far as the northern reaches of the Mittelgebirges. The form of the middle and lower Ruhr valley is due to flowing melt and from the powerful force of the ice. The melt from the glaciers flowed westwards through the Ruhr valley. Where Essen lies today, the flow was temporarily hindered by a barrier of ice and rocky debris, forming an enormous lake which filled the valley at Schwerte
Schwerte
Schwerte is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Schwerte is situated in the Ruhr valley, at the south-east border of the Ruhr Area...
.
Pre-History
- 80,000 B.C. – The region of the present-day Ruhr district was already settled during the NeanderthalNeanderthalThe Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
period, around 80,000 years ago. During the building of the Rhein-Herne-Kanal in 1911, stone tools and traces of encampment with bones from wooly rhinoceros, bisonBisonMembers of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
and mammothMammothA mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
were found in HerneHerne, GermanyHerne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
. Humanoids also settled elsewhere in the Emschertal. Similar finds in the 1960s were made in BottropBottropBottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives,...
. - 8700 BC. – In November 1978 stone-age flint instruments were found on the Kaiserberg in Duisburg which belong to the later phases of the last Ice Age and can be dated to about 9000 to 8000 BC. The oldest remains of modern humans in the area of the current Ruhr district stem from the early Middle Stone AgeMiddle Stone AgeThe Middle Stone Age was a period of African Prehistory between Early Stone Age and Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50-25,000 years ago. The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550-500,000...
. They were discovered in Spring 2004 in the Blätterhöhle in Hagen-Hohenlimburg. - 6000–4500 BCNeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
– several settlements are known in the regions of BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, HagenHagenHagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...
and DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
from the Bandkeramik and the Rössen cultureRössen cultureThe Rössen Culture is a Central European culture of the middle Neolithic .It is named after the necropolis of Rössen...
. In Spring 2004, the skeletons of several humans from the Michelsberg culture were discovered in the Blätterhöhle in Hagen-Hohenlimburg. Among them was the skeleton of a 17–22 year woman. These finds are the single source of information for burials from this period in the current Rhein-Ruhr district.
Antiquity
- 100 BC – Threat to the Celtic inhabitants by the Germanic SugambrerSicambriThe Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
- 12 BC – Construction of the Roman campCastraThe Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
Asciburgium on the present-day boundary between MoersMoersMoers is a German city on the left bank of the Rhine. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel...
and DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, the Kastell Werthhausen in present-day Duisburg-RheinhausenRheinhausenRheinhausen is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 79,566 and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine....
and the legionary camp Vetera at Birten left of the Rhine and therefore on the boundary of the district and the later provinceProvinceA province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of Germania InferiorGermania InferiorGermania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
. - 11 BC – In order to control the SugambrerSicambriThe Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
settled on the right-bank of the Rhein, DrususDrususDrusus was a cognomen in Ancient Rome originating with the Livii. Under the Republic, it was the intellectual property and diagnostic of the Livii Drusi. Under the empire and owing to the influence of an empress, Livia Drusilla, the name was used for a branch of the Claudii into which she had...
erects a military camp at Oberaden. - 8 BC – Re-settlement of the SugambrerSicambriThe Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
to the left bank of the Lower Rhein, under the control of Vetera. The military encampment in Oberaden was abandoned. - 1 BC – Around this time Roman military bases were erected along the Lippe. The most important of these bases was situated at Haltern. After the VarusschlachtBattle of the Teutoburg ForestThe Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius of the Cherusci ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions, along with their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.Despite numerous successful campaigns and raids by the...
in the autumn of 9 AD the Romans pull back to the left bank of the Rhein. - 69 AD – Revolt of the Batavi, resulting in Asciburgium and Vetera being destroyed. At Vetera, a decisive battle is waged in the year 70, which the Romans win. The legion's camp is re-built.
- 85 – Transfer of the garrisonGarrisonGarrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
from Asciburgium to present-day DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
-Werthausen so as to secure the Rhein crossing and the mouth of the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
. - 110 – The Colonia Ulpia Traiana, near to present-day Xanten, receives Roman town rightsColonia (Roman)A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
. - 275 – The Colonia Ulpia Traiana is extensively damaged by a FrankishFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
attack. In its place arises the mighty fortress of Tricensimae. - 407 – Under Caesar HonoriusHonorius (emperor)Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
the Rhein boundary of the Western Roman EmpireWestern Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
is given up. - 420 – The first traces of a Frankish settlement in DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
have been shown to stem from the 5th century, in the area of the old market. It lay immediately on the bank of the Rhein, as it then flowed. - 428 – Around this time, Chlodio assumed the leadership of the Salian FranksSalian FranksThe Salian Franks or Salii were a subgroup of the early Franks who originally had been living north of the limes in the area above the Rhine. The Merovingian kings responsible for the conquest of Gaul were Salians. From the 3rd century on, the Salian Franks appear in the historical records as...
; he is the first historically-verifiable king. According to the accounts of Gregory of ToursGregory of ToursSaint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
he lived in a district called "Dispargium" (possibly Duisburg or a castle on the Flanders Maas). - 556 – Beginning of the struggle between Franks and Saxons
Frühmittelalter (Early Middle Ages)
- 695 – At the end of the 7th. century, Christian missionaries from FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
are active in adjoining districts of the Frankish BruktererBructeriThe Bructeri were a Germanic tribe located in northwestern Germany , between the Lippe and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia around 100 BC through 350 AD....
. A wave of Saxon settlers certainly halted the religious conversion. The story of the failed mission is reflected in a Christian legendLegendeLegende is a solo work for trumpet and piano, composed by George Enescu and premiered by Merri Franquin, professor of cornet at the Paris Conservatoire. It reflects the impressionistic style of Enesco's teachers Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. The title is an homage to Professor Franquin...
, in which the work of Black Ewald and White Ewald, who were engaged in missionary work in Aplerbeck, came to a violent end in 695. - 740 – Assumed establishment of the Königshof in Duisburg.
- 775 – The army of the FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
under CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
conquers the Sigiburg, as well as the Eresburg near Niedermarsberg a year later. They were laid out as Reichshof's. - 796 – Liudger founds the Werden Monastery.
- 863 – NormansNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
over-winter on the Bislicher Island at Xanten and destroy the local church. - 870 – In the Stift EssenEssen AbbeyEssen Abbey was a collegiate foundation for women of the high nobility in Essen. It was founded in about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid , later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near a royal estate called Astnidhi, which later gave its name to the religious house and to the town...
, founded by the Saxon noble AltfridAltfridSaint Altfrid was a leading figure in Germany in the ninth century. A Benedictine monk, he became Bishop of Hildesheim, and founded Essen Abbey. He was also a close royal adviser to the East Frankish King Louis the German.He is a Roman Catholic saint...
, the Stift ChurchEssen CathedralEssen Minster or Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Essen, the "Diocese of the Ruhr", founded in 1958...
is inaugurated. - 880 – Normans sack Birten.
- 883 – Regino von Prüm reports that Normans are over-wintering in the oppidum diusburh (Duisburg) having conquered it. The Burg Broich in Mülheim an der Ruhr is erected, probably as a reaction to these repeated VikingVikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids. It also guards the fording of the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
by the HellwegHellwegIn the Middle Ages the Hellweg was an ancient east-west route through Germany, the main corridor from the Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald, reaching from Duisburg, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, to Paderborn, with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south.In the...
. - 928 – King Heinrich I. spends Easter in Dortmund.
- 929 – Reich synod in Duisburg. Between 922 and 1016, 18 residences in Duisburg by the King are mentioned in documents.
- 938 – King Otto I.Otto I, Holy Roman EmperorOtto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
holds a Hoftag in Steele. - 941 – Otto I. (the Great)Otto I, Holy Roman EmperorOtto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
stays for the first time in DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. A few years later. he also celebrates Easter in the Rhineland Palatinate. The common usage as pfalz underlines their importance. The HellwegHellwegIn the Middle Ages the Hellweg was an ancient east-west route through Germany, the main corridor from the Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald, reaching from Duisburg, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, to Paderborn, with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south.In the...
is an important connecting road of the Ottonischen kingdom. Along this trade route lie Dortmund and other old towns of the Ruhr district, such as Duisburg and EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
. The Königshof in Duisburg is extended to a Königspfalz. - 971 – Mathilde II., granddaughter of Otto I.Otto I, Holy Roman EmperorOtto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
becomes abbess of the Stift EssenEssen AbbeyEssen Abbey was a collegiate foundation for women of the high nobility in Essen. It was founded in about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid , later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near a royal estate called Astnidhi, which later gave its name to the religious house and to the town...
. - 978 – At a Reichsversammlung (Reich assembly) in Dortmund, in the presence of Ottos II.Otto II, Holy Roman EmperorOtto II , called the Red, was the third ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.-Early years and co-ruler with Otto I:...
, the decision was made to campaign against the Franks. - 992 – On 7th. May, the young Otto III.Otto III, Holy Roman EmperorOtto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
receives ambassadors of the West Frankish king in DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. - 993 – Reich Assembly of Ottos III.Otto III, Holy Roman EmperorOtto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
in DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. Among other matters, the dispute between Bishop Dodo von Münster and the Kloster Mettelen is decided in favor of the monastery.
Hochmittelalter (High Middle Ages)
- 1000 – Initial stages of the construction of churches in the romanesque style, like for example the Stiepeler Dorfkirche or the St.-Vinzentius-Kirche.
- 1002 – Heinrich II.Henry II, Holy Roman EmperorHenry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
receives homage in Duisburg from bishops of Lorraine and the archbishop of LiegeLiegeLiège is a municipality and a city of Belgium. The term Liège or Liege may also refer to:* Liege, a party to the oath of allegiance in feudalism .* Liège Island, in the Antarctic...
. - 1005 – SynodSynodA synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of King Heinrich II. in Dortmund. - 1012 – SophiaSophia I, Abbess of GandersheimSophia I , also known as Sophie I, was Abbess of Gandersheim and an important kingmaker of the medieval Germany.- Early life :...
, daughter of Otto II.Otto II, Holy Roman EmperorOtto II , called the Red, was the third ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.-Early years and co-ruler with Otto I:...
becomes abbottess of the Essen StiftEssen AbbeyEssen Abbey was a collegiate foundation for women of the high nobility in Essen. It was founded in about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid , later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near a royal estate called Astnidhi, which later gave its name to the religious house and to the town...
. - 1033 – The Benedictine Abbey in Werden is awarded rights over shipping on the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
by King Konrad II.Conrad II, Holy Roman EmperorConrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
- for the stretch from Werden to its mouth, - 1041 – EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
receives rights to a marketMarket townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
. - 1073 – Under the Essen abbess Suanhild, the Pfarrkapelle is erected on the Stoppenberg, from the 12th. century the Stiftskirche of a convent of PremonstratensianPremonstratensianThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
s. - 1122 – Graf Gottfried von Cappenberg founds the first Premonstratensian foundation in the German-speaking lands, the Kloster Cappenberg in SelmSelmSelm is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Dortmund and 25 kilometers west of Hamm.- Geography :The town belongs to the southern part of the Münsterland...
. Furthermore, he gives over his castle and his fortune to the young order. Gottfried thereby becomes the last of the mighty Grafs von Cappenberg. His younger brother Otto von Cappenberg was godfather of Friedrich I. von StaufenFrederick I, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. In 1155, Otto received as a gift from the recently crowned king the famous Cappenberger Kopfreliquiar, a reliquary in the form of the head of Friedrich. - 1123 – The Kloster KampKamp AbbeyKamp Abbey , also known as Altenkamp Abbey or Altfeld Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery founded in German territory, in the present town of Kamp-Lintfort in North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:It was founded in 1123 by Friedrich I, Archbishop of Cologne, and settled from Morimond Abbey...
is the first Cistercian monastery in the German-speaking area. - 1145 – The Knights Hospitallers opens its first foundation on German soil, by the walls of DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, and builds the Marienkirche (church) there. - 1152–1154 – A few months after his election to King, Friedrich I. von Staufen (Barbarossa) convenes a council (Hoftag) in Dortmund. But two years later, he and his retinue convene in the Palatinate. On both occasions, the mighty Duke of SaxonyDuchy of SaxonyThe medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
, Heinrich der Löwe, is also present. - 1160 – The Grafschaft Mark comes into being as a result of the division of the inheritance of the Graf von Berg.
- 1173 – Kaiser Friedrich I. (Barbarossa) grants Duisburg the right to hold two fortnightly cloth fairs annually.
- 1199 – Completion of the Isenburg at Hattingen as the new power center of the Grafschaft Isenberg an der Ruhr.
- 1200 – In Dortmund large town walls are erected around the town. Its course is still retained in the inner city in the form of an embankment ("Wälle").
- 1225 – Murder of the archbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Köln, Engelbert I. von KölnEngelbert II of BergCount Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne was Archbishop of Cologne and a saint; he was the victim of a notorious murder by a member of his own family.-Early life:Engelbert was...
, by Friedrich von IsenbergFrederick of IsenbergCount Frederick of Isenberg was a German noble, the younger son of Count Arnold of Altena...
. Friedrich is executed, the larger part of the Grafschaft Isenberg an der Ruhr falls to his relative, the Graf von der Mark. The Isenburg and the castle and town of Nienbrügge are razed. The Isenbergers had to accommodate themselves to the Grafschaft Limburg. - 1225–1226 Settlers from Nienbrügge were settled in Ham between :de:Ahse and Lippe by Graf Adolf von der Mark and received town rights from him in 1226. The old designation of Ham, a tongue of land between two rivers, becomes the name of the town, HammHammHamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
. - 1228 – The Archbishop of Köln takes over the Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
. - 1240 – The Dortmund Rat obtained a house on the Markt vom Grafen von Dortmund. For centuries it was the Rathaus of the Reichsstadt.
- 1243 – The Wasserburg Strünkede in Herne is first mentioned in connection with a feud between KölnRoman Catholic Archdiocese of CologneThe Archdiocese of Cologne is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.-History:...
and KleveDuchy of ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
. Since the 12th. century, the resident knight there, as an official of the Graf von Kleve, is the guarantor of Kleve influence on the middle EmscherEmscherThe Emscher is a relatively small river and tributary of the Rhine, flowing through the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Its total length is 84km with an average discharge near the mouth into the lower Rhine of 16 m³/s .The Emscher has its source in Holzwickede, east of the...
. The sphere of rule of Strünkede extends temporarily from BuerBuer, GermanyBuer is the largest suburb of Gelsenkirchen. The Hochstrasse in the heart of Buer is the largest shopping street in Gelsenkirchen.-History:...
in the West via HerneHerne, GermanyHerne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
and CastropCastrop-Rauxel-Geography:Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum , Herne , and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.- Urban Area :The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of...
to Mengede in the East. - 1244 – The Gemeinschaft der Ministerialen of the Stift Essen and the citizens of the town of EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
together arrange for the Essen Town Walls to be erected. - 1248 – The ReichsstadtFree Imperial CityIn the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
s of Dortmund and Duisburg adhere to the 'anti-king' Wilhelm von Holland.
Spätmittelalter (Late Middle Ages)
- 1253 – On a bridge over the Lippe in WerneWerneWerne is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münsterland region near the Ruhrgebiet...
, DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, SoestSoest, GermanySoest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...
, Münster und LippstadtLippstadtLippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn...
founded the so-called "Werner Bund". This union of towns became a forerunner of the Hansa. Dortmund soon took on a leading role for all Westfalen towns in the Hanse. - 1254 – Battle on the Wülferichskamp east of Dortmund
- 1283–1289 – Limburger Erbfolgestreit. The weakened position of the ducal power, i.e. the Archbishop of Köln, after the Schlacht von Worringen in 1288, hardens the powerful position enjoyed by Grafs. In the Ruhr district, this applies especially to participant in the conflict – the Grafs von BergBerg (state)Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
and von der Mark, but also indirectly to the neutral Graf von KleveDuchy of ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
. - 1290 – Duisburg is 'mortgaged' to the Graf von KleveDuchy of ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
– it ends up finally under the possession of Kleve (presumably because the Emperor did not have enough finance at his disposal to buy it back). - 1321 – Graf Engelbert II. von der MarkEngelbert II of the MarkEngelbert II of the Mark was Count of the Mark and through marriage, Count of Arenberg.- Family :He was the son and heir of Count Eberhard II and his wife, Irmgard of Berg. On January 25, 1299, he married Mechtilde von Arenberg , daughter of Johann of Arenberg and Katharina of Jülich...
awards BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
town rights (he is celebrated today in the Engelbert Brunnen). - 1350 – The mediaeval plague reaches the Ruhr distinct.
- 1371 – The erection of a toll-booth on the Homberger Werth marks the founding of RuhrortRuhrortRuhrort is a district within the German city of Duisburg situated north of the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, in the western part of the Ruhr area...
. - 1388–1389 – Große Dortmunder Fehde, the Reichsstadt DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
tries to assert its independence, although becomes deeply indebted in doing so. - 1389 – In a document of the Graf Engelbert III. von der Mark is the first mention of the Sälzer zu Brockhausen. It is the first evidence for full-scale salt extraction in Unna.
- 1396 – The oldest written proof for wild horses in the Emscher valley. The use of stock in the Emscherbruch between Waltrop and Bottrop was a privilege reserved for the nobility. Whereas towns were concentrated on the Hellweg and River Lippe, the region in between was sparsely populated
- 1398 – The Grafschaft of Kleve is inherited by the Graf of Mark
- 1397 – The Schlacht von Kleverhamm consolidates the position of the Graf von der Mark.
- 1403 – The Wildungener Altar is completed – the first work of the Dortmund artist Conrad von Soest
Conrad von SoestConrad von Soest, also Konrad in modern texts, or in Middle High German Conrad van Sost or "von Soyst", Conrad von Soest, also Konrad in modern texts, or in Middle High German Conrad van Sost or "von Soyst", Conrad von Soest, also Konrad in modern texts, or in Middle High German Conrad van Sost...
. - 1424 – In the war between the two brothers Adolf und Gerhard von der Mark, HattingenHattingenHattingen is a German town located in northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 1396, when the Duke of Mark granted permission to build...
is conquered by Berg troops and competely burned down, apart from two houses. The town must be re-built anew. - 1444–1449 – Soester Fehde, the towns of DorstenDorstenDorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...
and RecklinghausenRecklinghausenRecklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
in the Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
are bases for the power struggle of the Archbishop of Köln. In March 1445, a night attack by the Köln troops on the town walls of Duisburg is detected just in time and fended off. During action in the territory of Dortmund, the Steinerne Turm is besieged and damaged. - 1486 – Two Landtag sittings agree to the raising of a special tax in the Grafschaft Mark for the benefit of Duke Johann II. von KleveJohn II, Duke of ClevesJohn II, "The Pious" or "The Babymaker", Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark, was a son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers. He ruled Cleves from 1481 to his death in 1521...
. The relevant account book, the Schatboick in Mark, contains a note of all tax obligations and thereby contains much information on the district.
Frühe Neuzeit (Early Modern Period)
- 1508 – When the "French Sickness"SyphilisSyphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, Syphilis, first appears in Dortmund the entire population (including children) are heavily affected. The sexually-transmitted disease got its mediaeval name thanks to the fact that ever since 1498 it was frequently transmitted to other areas of Europe by French mercenaries. - 1518–1519 – In Dortmund, a conflict breaks out between the citizens and the clergy over the privileges of the clergyClergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, such as exemption from taxes. These events can viewed in connection with the ReformationReformation- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
. - 1521 – Kleve-Mark acquires Jülich and Berg (which themselves had amalgamated) through inheritance (forming Jülich-Kleve-Mark).
- 1529 – The sweating sickness (Englischer Schweiß)Sweating sicknessSweating sickness, also known as "English sweating sickness" or "English sweate" , was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently...
is rampant. Death follows a few hours after symptoms first occur. In Dortmund, within the first four days of the epidemic 497 people die from 500 affected by the disease. - 1538 – In the Reichsstadt of Dortmund, Baptists start to become active. Their activities are prevented by the Rat. When one of the preachers, Peter von Rulsem, decides not to cease his activities, he is executed.
- 1541 – In Wesel, printingPrintingPrinting is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
is introduced. Two years later, it is being practised in Dortmund, which becomes one of the important centers for printing in the 16th. century. - 1543 – As a complement to the church's Latin Schools, the Rat and citizens of Dortmund found a humanisticHumanismHumanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
Gymnasium. The teaching is influenced by the established Gymnasium in Emmerich and the Paulinum in Münster. One of the pupils at the Dortmund school is Hermann Hamelmann. - 1552 – The map-maker Gerhard Mercator settles in DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. Previously pursued by the Catholic Church, he is able to bring his important work to fruition in the liberal climate of the Duchy of Kleve. - 1553 – The "Reformer of Westfalen", Hermann HamelmannHermann HamelmannHermann Hamelmann was a German Lutheran theologian and the reformer of Westphalia. Born in Osnabrück, he became the priest at Kamen in 1552. While a priest, he converted to the Evangelical Lutheran faith and announced it publicly on Trinity Sunday, 1553, and as a result he was forced to leave the...
, professed for the first time in public his belief in the reformed faith, during the Festival of Trinity in Kamen, as a result of which he is forced to leave the town. - 1559 – The Schola Duisburgensis becomes the Gymnasium DuisburgLandfermann-GymnasiumLandfermann-Gymnasium is situated in the city centre of Duisburg, Germany. It is a municipal grammar school for boys and girls, and is one of the oldest schools in Germany....
. One of the teachers is Gerhard Mercator, who gives instruction in Mathematics. - 1566 – One of Mercator's pupils, Johannes Corputius, captured a view of Duisburg in an accurate map, for the first time.
- 1568 – Uprisings in neighboring NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the beginning of the Eighty Years War. - 1580 – Witch trials in Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
reached a high point between 1580 and 1581. Executions were carried out on the Segensberg in Hochlar and on the Stimberg in the Haard, near OerOer-ErkenschwickOer-Erkenschwick is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 5 km north-east of Recklinghausen, on the northern periphery of the Ruhrgebiet...
. Altogether 44 persons, predominantly women, were burned to death. In Märkish WittenWittenWitten is a university city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the home of the Witten/Herdecke University, the first private university in Germany.-Bordering municipalities:* Bochum* Dortmund* Herdecke* Wetter * Sprockhoevel* Hattingen...
at the same time, six females and one man fell victim to the witch hysteria. - 1580 – Working coal mines were mentioned in the 'Städtebuch' of BruynGeorg BraunGeorg Braun was a topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617 he edited the Civitates orbis terrarum, which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views, and maps of cities from all around the world....
and Hugenberg in Steele. - 1583 – The Spanish general Mendoza with 21,000 foot soldiers and 2,500 knights stands before Orsoy. In Walsum, a camp is set up protected by ramparts.
- 1583–1589 – The Kölnisch War, more exactly Truchsessische WarCologne WarThe Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
, was waged across large regions of the Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
, which thereby suffered badly from the war. The background to the war are the demands of the Köln Archbishop and KurfürstRoman Catholic Archdiocese of CologneThe Archdiocese of Cologne is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.-History:...
Gebhard I. von WaldburgGebhard Truchsess von WaldburgGebhard Truchsess von Waldburg was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. After pursuing an ecclesiastical career, he won a close election in the Cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst of Bavaria. After his election, he fell in love with and later married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben, a Protestant...
over the equality of the confession, connected with the intention to transform the Kurköln into a secular Fürstentum. - 1587 – The DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-occupied RuhrortRuhrortRuhrort is a district within the German city of Duisburg situated north of the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, in the western part of the Ruhr area...
was besieged and conquered by Spanish troops during the Eighty Years War. - 1598 – The Spanish send troops into Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
and the Grafschaft Mark. Among other towns, RecklinghausenRecklinghausenRecklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
was taken by General Francisco de Mendoza and his 24,000 soldiers. In 1599, his troops are before the town of Dortmund and the surrounding area is plundered. During the Eighty Years War involving the Netherlands, the bordering areas of the Lower Rhein and Westfalen are crossed repeatedly by both Spanish and Dutch troops. CastropCastropCastrop, since 1 April 1926, is part of Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The name comes from trop/torp for village and chasto/kast for shed. The oldest mention is from 834 as Villa Castrop....
, for example, suffers greatly from plundering. - 1598 – In HolzwickedeHolzwickedeHolzwickede is a municipality in the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.It is twinned with Weymouth, England and Louviers.- References :...
the development of mining is mentioned in documents, when Drost Bernhard von Romberg is mortgaged with the Kallberg sampt dem Erftstollen (Erbstollen). - 1599 – The plague breaks out in Dortmund thanks to Spanish troop movements.
- 1601 – Dutch mercenaries cause damage in Walsum.
- 1609 – The War of the Jülich successionWar of the Jülich SuccessionThe War of the Jülich Succession was a conflict that began in 1609 and ended in 1614 with the signing of the Treaty of Xanten.-Background:...
begins. On 10th. June, Brandenburg and Pfalz-Neuburg take on jointly the administration of the Duchy of Kleve in line with the Dortmunder Vertrag. - 1614 With the death of the last Duke of Jülich-Kleve-Mark, his land is divided. Berg goes to the Wittelsbacher family, while Prussia acquires Kleve and Mark.
- 1618–1648 – Thirty Years War, the rich city of DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
was repeatedly forced to hand over large amounts of money to either the Catholics or the Protestants. Until the Industrial Revolution, the city will not regain its former size. On the Lower Rhine, DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
and WeselWeselWesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
were repeatedly occupied by Dutch or Spanish troops. EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
does not fare any better. - 1620 – The manufacture of arms, the important line of trade in EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, reaches a peak with an annual production of around 15,000 rifleRifleA rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s and pistols. - 1621–1624 – The first war taxes are raised. General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba winters his 10,000 soldiers in the north of the Grafschaft Mark. Christian von Braunschweig appears with 10,000 men.
- 1629 – In Amt WerneWerneWerne is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münsterland region near the Ruhrgebiet...
30 people become victims of a witch hunt. - 1632 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu PappenheimGottfried Heinrich Graf zu PappenheimGottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim was field marshal of the Holy Roman Emperor in the Thirty Years' War.-Biography:...
occupies DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and refrains from burning the town down on the payment of a ransom. On his journey through the Grafschaft Mark, 70 noble houses are plundered. - 1635 – HattingenHattingenHattingen is a German town located in northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 1396, when the Duke of Mark granted permission to build...
is taken by the Swede Wilhelm Wendt zum Crassenstein and his 3,000 soldiers. - 1647 – In a witch trial, the Wittener peasant Arndt Bottermann is found guilty and executed. During the Thirty Years War, witch hunts in Central Europe reached a high point. In Westfalen, many witch trials took place, but the case of Arndt Bottermann is one of the few to take place in the Grafschaft Mark.
- 1648 – The Treaty of WestphaliaPeace of WestphaliaThe Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
is agreed. This treaty formally ends both the Thirty Years War and the Eighty Years War. Nevertheless the Reichstadt Dortmund, a signee of the treaty, was occupied for a further two years by Swedish and Imperial troops until it handed over large sums of money. Dutch troops also remained for some time on the Lower Rhein. - 1650 – The Swedish satisfactiongeld of 17,000 Reich talers is to be met by taxes.
Prussian Absolutism
Large areas of the Ruhr district come under Prussian control. Ironworks are started up and coal-mining accelerates. Industry in general receives some direct and indirect encouragement from the Prussian state.- 1655 – Brandenburg assumes temporary control of the Duchy of KleveDuchy of ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
and Friedrich Wilhelm I, Kurfürst of Brandenburg arranges for the foundation of a University in DuisburgUniversity of Duisburg-History:Its origins date back to the 1555 decision to create a university for the unified duchies at the Lower Rhine that were later to be merged into Prussia. After the foundation of an academic college in 1559, a university was founded in 1655 by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, the...
. - 1666 – As a result of an agreement over inheritance, the Duchy of Kleve and the Grafschaft Mark pass permanently to BrandenburgBrandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
. - 1672 – During the French-Dutch WarFranco-Dutch WarThe Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
, French soldiers under Marshall TurenneHenri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de TurenneHenri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
invade the region. As an example of their actions, they burn down the Haus Steinhausen. - 1674 – A permanent freight and passenger service by river is set up between Duisburg and Nijmegen (Börtschifffahrt).
- 1706 – In Vest Recklinghausen (which is under the control of Köln) the last of a total of 130 witch trials since 1514 takes place.
- 1716 – The RuhrortRuhrortRuhrort is a district within the German city of Duisburg situated north of the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, in the western part of the Ruhr area...
Magistrat decide on the building of a harbor. This was the germ of the present-day Duisburg-Ruhrort Harbor. - 1734 – The Saline Königsborn (saltworks) in Unna was founded by the PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n state. - 1736 – In HolzwickedeHolzwickedeHolzwickede is a municipality in the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.It is twinned with Weymouth, England and Louviers.- References :...
, the Caroliner Erbstollen mined coal which supplied the Saline Königsborn. - 1736 – Essen's first newspaper appeared. Published by the printer of books Johann Heinrich Wißmann under the title Neueste Essendische Nachrichten von Staats- und Gelehrten Sachen (Newest Essen News of State and Learned Matters). In 1775 Zacharias Gerhard Diederich BaedekerBaedekerVerlag Karl Baedeker is a Germany-based publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred as simply "Baedekers" , contain important introductions, descriptions of buildings, of museum collections, etc., written by the best specialists, and...
took over both the press and publishing sections. - 1738 – The Märkische Bergamt (office for supervising mines) was founded in BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
. Among the largest deep mines of the Grafschaft Mark was the "Glückauf" mine in GennebreckSprockhövelSprockhövel is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Neighbouring places:* Hattingen* Witten* Wetter * Gevelsberg* Wuppertal* Schwelm-Divisions of the town:* Niedersprockhövel* Obersprockhövel...
with 17 employees. - 1755 – Friedrich IIFrederick II of PrussiaFrederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
commissioned Ludwig Philipp Freiherr vom Hagen and Johann Friedrich Heintzmann with the drawing-up of new mine and Knappschaft regulations. - 1756–1763 – Seven Years War. This was a major international conflict in which Prussian was aligned with Britain (and Hannover) among others, against France, Austria and Russia. Prussia was very nearly brought to its knees but appears to have been saved by the death of the Russian Empress Elizabeth and the more conciliatory attitudes of the new czar, Peter IIIPeter III of RussiaPeter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
. In 1758, the Battle of RheinbergBattle of RheinbergThe Battle of Rheinberg took place on 12 June 1758 in Rheinberg, Germany during the Seven Years War. A French force under the command of Comte de Clermont and an Anglo-German force under the command of the Duke of Brunswick fought a largely indecisive battle. It was a precursor to the more decisive...
preceded the more crucial Battle of KrefeldBattle of KrefeldThe Battle of Krefeld was a battle fought on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian-Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War.-Background:...
during which Hanoverian/Prussian troops pushed the French army across the Rhine. - 1758 – On 18th. October, a new nine-meter high blast furnace of the St Antony Hütte in Osterfeld (in present-day Oberhausen) was used for the first time. The first ore-based production in the district.
- 1766 – On 29. April, Friedrich II issues the 'Revised Mining Ordinances for the Duchy of Kleve, the Principality of Meurs and the Grafschaft Mark“
- 1769 – The Dortmundischen vermischten Zeitungen appeared for the first time, published by a member of the Essen publishing family BaedekerBaedekerVerlag Karl Baedeker is a Germany-based publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred as simply "Baedekers" , contain important introductions, descriptions of buildings, of museum collections, etc., written by the best specialists, and...
. This is the town's first newspaper. - 1780 – The construction of the last of 16 Ruhr locks commissioned by Prussia was completed. These locks were necessary to circumvent obstacles such as weirs and were constructed in tandem with other measures such as widening and dredging needed to make the Ruhr navigable. It became extremely well used, primarily for coal, although traffic fell off with the later construction of railways and the advance of the coalfield northwards. At this time, coal was being extracted from shallow drift minesAditAn adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
in the vicinity of the river. Of particular importance, a toll road, the Aktienstrasse, carried coal to the river at Mülheim. - 1781 – Founding of the Hütte Gute Hoffnung in Sterkrade (in present-day Oberhausen). This soon came under the control of a member of the Krupp family.
- 1784 – Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom und zum Stein becomes director of the Bergamt in Wetter an der RuhrWetter (Ruhr)Wetter is a town in western Germany and belongs to the area of Ruhr area and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Wetter belongs to the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The river Ruhr flows through the urban area and separates the district of Altwetter from the districts of Esborn,...
. He encourages the development of mines and ironworks in the western areas of Prussia. - 1787 – The Rauendahler Schiebeweg is opened in Sundern for the transporting of coal from mines to the Ruhr shipping lane. It is the first of several horse tramways in the Ruhr valley to copy the British model. Involved in the planning are the Bergrat Eversmann and Oberbergrat Freiherr vom Stein.
- 1788 – The old HellwegHellwegIn the Middle Ages the Hellweg was an ancient east-west route through Germany, the main corridor from the Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald, reaching from Duisburg, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, to Paderborn, with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south.In the...
starts to be upgraded to more modern standardsStructural road designStructural road design aims to ensure the road is strong enough for the expected number of vehicles in a certain number of years. The input of a calculation is the number expected of vehicles divided in groups and the number of years that the road has to function before the road structure has to...
. This was encouraged by the Freiherr vom Stein. The Stift EssenEssen AbbeyEssen Abbey was a collegiate foundation for women of the high nobility in Essen. It was founded in about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid , later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near a royal estate called Astnidhi, which later gave its name to the religious house and to the town...
also became involved and upgraded roads in their vicinity, connecting to the east to Kleve. - 1794 – The French occupy the left bank of the Rhein.
- 1798 – The Liberal Arnold Mallinckrodt founded the Westfälischen Anzeiger in Dortmund, the leading organ in the region at the time. Carl Arnold KortumCarl Arnold KortumCarl Arnold Kortum was a German physician, but best known for his writing and poetry.Born in Mülheim, Kortum studied medicine and was from 1771 physician in Bochum, where he died in 1824....
was one of its employees. - 1799 – In Unna-Afferde a steam engineSteam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
was used for the first time in the Saline Königsborn. The new method of brine production produced such an increase in production that by the following year Saline was already occupying third place among all salt-producing companies in Prussia for its productivity.
First Half of the 19th. Century – Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution advances in the Ruhr district. At the start of the century the steam engine is used there for the first time, and Napoleonic measures abolish feudal influences. When the entire area comes under Prussian hegemony in 1815, further advances are made in transportation and encouragement of industry. By the 1830s, the important deep-lying coking-coal seams of the Emscher Basin are reached for the first time, railways make their appearance and in 1849 smelting iron ore with coke is successfully carried out for the first time in the Ruhr district.- 1801 – The annexation of the left bank of the Rhein by the French was recognized in the Peace of LunèvilleTreaty of LunévilleThe Treaty of Lunéville was signed on 9 February 1801 between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, negotiating both on behalf of his own domains and of the Holy Roman Empire...
on 9th. February 1801. - 1801 – The first (but still imported) steam engineSteam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
used in the Ruhr mines was employed in removing water in the Zeche Vollmond in WerneBochum-WerneBochum-Werne is a district of the city of Bochum in the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Werne is in the East of Bochum, North of Langendreer.Werne borders to the city of Dortmund....
(in present-day Bochum). The technician responsible, Franz DinnendahlFranz DinnendahlFranz Dinnendahl , built the first steam engine in the Ruhr District in Essen in 1803.- Life :...
, founded a factory in Essen a few years afterwards and manufactured steam engines designed by himself. - 1802 – In August, Prussian troops occupy the former religious territories of Essen und Werden. As part of a secret agreement made with the French, they are intended as compensation for territories lost by Prussia on the left bank of the Rhine.
- 1803 – Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, as a result of secularisation the religious territories of Reichsabtei Werden and Stift Essen are dissolved. These territories are transferred eventually to PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Duke Ludwig-Engelbert von ArenbergLouis Engelbert, 6th Duke of ArenbergLouis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg , nicknamed the blind duke, was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth Duke of Arenberg and 12th Duke of Aarschot...
receives, as compensation for his left-bank principality, the Vest RecklinghausenVest RecklinghausenVest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
and other areas. - 1806–1813 – The Napoleonic Grand Duchy of BergBerg (state)Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
is in existence from October 1806 until 18th. November 1813. Its departements include the Ruhr département, whose prefecture was based in Dortmund, and the Rhein département with prefecture in Düsseldorf. Freiherr Gisbert von Romberg zu Brünninghausen was appointed as prefect of the Ruhr département. The first ruler of Berg is Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law. The French abolished tolls on the River Ruhr, just as they has previously abolished tolls on the Rhein (on the Rhein tolls extracted at Köln had previously been a severe barrier to river traffic). - 1808 – Napoleon issued a decree from Madrid on 12th. December that abolished serfdom and bound labor etc.
- 1808 – Krupp sells its interest in the Hütte Gute Hoffnung to a syndicate composed of Gottlob Jacoby, Heinrich Huyssen and the brothers Franz and Gerhard Haniel, who unite a couple of other iron works into the company
- 1809 – Napoleon introduced freedom to engage in a tradeEconomic freedomEconomic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...
. The guilds were dissolved. - 1809, 1811 Die Lehns- und Gutsuntertänigkeit of the peasants was lifted by Imperial Decrees on 11th. January 1809 and 13th. September 1811.
- 1811 – In Essen Friedrich KruppFriedrich KruppFriedrich Krupp was a German steel manufacturer and founder of the Krupp family commercial empire that is now subsumed into ThyssenKrupp AG. He launched the family's metal-based activities, building a small steel-foundry in Essen in 1811. He was the father of the arms manufacturer Alfred Krupp....
founds a Gussstahl foundry (but soon closes the business). - 1811 – In Mülheim Johann Dinnendahl founds a factory to manufacture steam engines, the beginnings of the later Friedrich Wilhelms-Hütte.
- 1815 – Vienna Congress at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
regains its possessions in Westfalen (Westphalia) and on the Rhein, to which are added the former Duchy of BergBerg (state)Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
and the territories of the former Reichsstadt (imperial city) and Grafschaft DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. As a result, all territories on the Ruhr, Emscher and lower Rhine are united under one regime. The area to the East belongs to the Prussian province of WestfalenProvince of WestphaliaThe Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
and that to the West to its Rheinprovinz. - 1816 – The 'Year Without a SummerYear Without a SummerThe Year Without a Summer was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities caused average global temperatures to decrease by about 0.4–0.7 °C , resulting in major food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere...
' (on the 25th. June there was even a fall of snow) brings hunger. - 1816 – The Bochumer Bergschule is founded. Leading personnel for the mines are trained there.
- 1816 – Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom Stein settles in the Schloss Cappenberg in SelmSelmSelm is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Dortmund and 25 kilometers west of Hamm.- Geography :The town belongs to the southern part of the Münsterland...
. From 1826 on, he is the president of the first three Westfalen Provinziallandtag assemblies (provincial parliaments). - 1818 – On 18th. October, the university in Duisburg was shut down by a Kabinettsorder of Friedrich Wilhelm IIIFrederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
. In the same year, Bonn UniversityUniversity of BonnThe University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
is re-founded. Large parts of Duisburg University Library as well as the University Scepter are transferred to Bonn. - 1819 – Friedrich Harkort founds his Mechanischen Werkstätten on the Burg in Wetter an der RuhrWetter (Ruhr)Wetter is a town in western Germany and belongs to the area of Ruhr area and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Wetter belongs to the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The river Ruhr flows through the urban area and separates the district of Altwetter from the districts of Esborn,...
and manufactures steam engines. - 1819 – Friedrich Krupp sets up in business on land outside the actual city of Essen, adjacent to the Limbecker Gate. By 1824, things had gone so badly he had to sell his house on the Flax Market in Essen and move into a house in the works itself. He died in 1826, but the works he established became the location for the later more-successful enterprise.
- 1827 – In LünenLünenLünen or Luenen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund along the Lippe River. It is the largest town of the Unna district, and part of the green Münster area....
the Gewerkschaft Eisenhütte "Westphalia" started up business. - 1828 – Franz Haniel opens a shipyard in Ruhrort for the construction of steamersSteamboatA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
. - 1837 – a shaft of the Zeche Kronprinz (on the boundary of present-day Essen and Mülheim) succeeds for the first time in boring through the overlying chalk seam in the Northern coalfield to reach the coal seams below).
- 1838 – The Gesellschaft der Hardenbergischen Kohlebergwerke is the first joint stock companyAktiengesellschaftAktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
in the Ruhr district. - 1839 – According to the Prussian Regulativ über die Beschäftigung jugendlicher Arbeiter in den Fabriken (regulations on the employment of young workers in factories), the minimum age for child workers is nine years old and their working time is restricted to ten hours a day. Children cannot be employed on Sundays and Bank Holidays or during the night.
- 1839 – In the Gutehoffnungshütte, their first steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
is built – called the Ruhr. - 1847 – Opening of the Köln-Minden RailwayCologne-Minden Railway CompanyThe Cologne-Minden Railway Company was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding :The founding of the...
. It is decisive for the industrial development of the Ruhr district and follows the valley of the EmscherEmscherThe Emscher is a relatively small river and tributary of the Rhine, flowing through the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Its total length is 84km with an average discharge near the mouth into the lower Rhine of 16 m³/s .The Emscher has its source in Holzwickede, east of the...
, via DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, OberhausenOberhausenOberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
, Altenessen, GelsenkirchenGelsenkirchenGelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Herne, CastropCastrop-Rauxel-Geography:Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum , Herne , and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.- Urban Area :The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of...
und DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, and from there further to HammHammHamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
and via BielefeldBielefeldBielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
to MindenMindenMinden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
. - 1839 – Even while the railway was still being built in the northern part of the Ruhr district, the Köln banking house of Camphausen und SchaafhausenA. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank AssociationThe corporation of A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association was a bank based in Cologne and was the first joint stock company legally recognised as a Bank in Germany.-Company history:...
started to interest themselves in the resulting potential for growth in the Emscherland. The Kölner Bergwerksverein was founded as an early Aktiengesellschaft of Ruhr mines (including shaft mines) in Northern Essen, among them the Zeche CarlZeche Carl150px|right|thumb|[[The Industrial Heritage Trail|Ruhr Industrial Heritage Trail]]Zeche Carl is a cultural centre set up by Essen Council in a former coal mine.-History:...
. - 1847 – The first steam locomotive to travel along the Ruhr valley, on the Steele-Vohwinkler RailwayPrinz-Wilhelm-EisenbahnThe Prince William Railway Company was the first horse-drawn railway in Germany. It was originally founded as the Deil Valley Railway Company in 1828 and renamed in 1831...
- 1849 – For the first time in the Ruhr district, cokeCoke (fuel)Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
was used for steelSteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
production – in the Friedrich Wilhelms-Hütte in Mülheim.
Second Half of the 19th. Century – Industry Booms
The advances made in the first half of the century were built upon, producing a significant advance in production. In 1850, the district produced 2 million tonnes of coal, by 1913 it produced 114 million tonnes. Likewise, in 1850 it produced 11,500 tonnes of cast iron which rose by 1913 to 8.2 million tonnes. Coal production moved northwards as steam engine technology allowed the exploitation of deep coking coal seams (the earlier mines, generally nearer the River Ruhr, had tended to be drift mines exploiting the anthracite lying nearer the surface). 'Vertical' concerns came into being, with collieries, cokeries and ironworks under common ownership, and it was not uncommon to have all constituents located on the same site or close together.- 1854 – In HattingenHattingenHattingen is a German town located in northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 1396, when the Duke of Mark granted permission to build...
, the Henrichshütte is founded. Initially, ore is available in the immediate neighborhood. Later the Ruhr Valley Railway transported ore and coal to the works. In HördeHördeHörde is a Stadtbezirk and also a Stadtteil in the south of the city of Dortmund, in Germany.Hörde is situated at 51°29' North, 7°30' East, and is at an elevation of 112 metres above mean sea level.It situated in southern part of Dortmund, a major town in the Ruhrgebiet.It is made up of the...
a blast furnace using coke was also employed for the first time. It was meant to work with the local Kohleneisenstein, a mixture of Eisenstein with clay and coal. - 1855 – Under the supervision of William Thomas Mulvany the sinking of the first shaft of the Zeche Hibernia in GelsenkirchenGelsenkirchenGelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
is begun. As a technical innovation, tubbings was used for the shaft lining. In the following years, Mulvaney had a hand in the opening of several mines in the Emscherniederung, among them the Zeche Shamrock in Herne und the Zeche Erin in CastropCastrop-Rauxel-Geography:Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum , Herne , and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.- Urban Area :The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of...
. The money came from Irish and Belgian financiers. Their coal was transported over the Cologne-Minden Railway. - 1856 – A railway along the right bank of the Rhine connects OberhausenOberhausenOberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
with ArnhemArnhemArnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
in the Netherlands. - 1857 – The economic crisis of 1857Panic of 1857The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
leads to a drop in sales for coal and steel, with ensuing social effects for employees. - 1858 – The Verein für die bergbaulichen Interessen im Oberbergamtsbezirk Dortmund, in short – the Bergbau-Verein, based in Essen, is founded on 17th. December.
- 1862 – The Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft inaugurates their Witten/Dortmund–Oberhausen/Duisburg railway between Witten/Dortmund and Oberhausen/Duisburg as the second important connection between East and West based in the South of the Ruhr district.
- 1862 – In Mülheim an der Ruhr a factory opens for the production of coke briquettes at the Zeche Wiesche. It is the first installation of this type in the Ruhr district.
- 1867 – August ThyssenAugust ThyssenAugust Thyssen was a German industrialist.-Career and marriage:...
with several relatives founds das Eisenwerk "Thyssen-Foussol & Co." in Duisburg. (This is dissolved in 1870 and a new company founded in Müheim in 1871. Thyssen was involved in several organizations which were only later unified under one holding company) - 1869 – The industrialist Alfred Krupp starts building the Villa HügelVilla Hügel150px|right|thumb|[[The Industrial Heritage Trail|Ruhr Industrial Heritage Trail]]The Villa Hügel is a mansion in Bredeney in Germany. It belonged to the Krupp family of industrialists and was built by Alfred Krupp during 1873 as a residence...
in Southern Essen. In the 'Grundbuch der Stadt' he enters the estate as a family house with garden. Four years later, the building is finished. - 1870–1871 – The Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
is won by the united German states. Founding of the German Reich. - 1871–1873 – The so-called GründerjahreGründerzeit' refers to the economic phase in 19th century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. At this time in Central Europe the age of industrialisation was taking place, whose beginnings were found in the 1840s...
. The French reparationsReparation (legal)In jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim. Monetary restitution is a common form of reparation...
lead to a building boom. In the Ruhr district, numerous mining companies are founded with the help of the capital flowing in from France. - 1873 – Gründerkrise – because of speculation by German investors, capital from the French reparations flowed into the Ruhr mining companies, ohne dass weitere Kapitalforderungen aus den :de:Kuxen gedeckt sind. Steel production in the Ruhr district dropped by 13%.
- 1882 – On 24th. February 1882 fifteen Rheinish and Westfälish steelworks formed themselves into a cartel to protect themselves from competition.
- 1889 – A mass strike of miners spreads from BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
to encompass the entire Ruhr district. The workers demand a share in the profits of the companies whose production was stabilising after the years of the Gründerkrise. In the same year, the first permanent miners' union, the "Alten Verband" was founded in Dortmund-Dorstfeld. In 1894, a Christian union was also founded and in 1902 a Polish miners' union. - 1892 – The Grillo-Theater is opened in Essen.
- 1893 – Formation of the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Kohlen-Syndikat with base in Essen, as an association of a large number of Ruhr mines. Its aim is to regulate production, den Absatz und prices. Sales are organized at a central point.
- 1893 – In EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
the first electric tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
in Rhein-Ruhr starts operating.
- 1895 – The later Social Democratic Reichstag Member Otto Hue becomes editorContributing editorA contributing editor is a magazine job title that varies in responsibilities. Most often, a contributing editor is a freelancer who has proven ability and readership draw. The contributing editor regularly contributes articles to the publication but does not actually edit articles, and the title...
of the Berg- und Hüttenarbeiterzeitung of the Alten Bergarbeiterverbandes. Soon Hue, because of his job, becomes known as the Sprecher der Bergarbeiter (speaker for the miners). - 1898 – The Rheinisch-Westfälischen Elektrizitätswerke (RWE) is founded.
- 1899 – The Emschergenossenschaft is founded, primarily to deal with drainage and flooding measures in the Ruhr district generally.
- 1899 – The Dortmund-Ems-Kanal is opened. Wilhelm II arrives for the official opening of the port of DortmundDortmund PortConstruction on Dortmund's port which terminates the Dortmund-Ems Canal connecting Dortmund to the North Sea started in 1895. It was opened 1899 by Kaiser Wilhelm. At the beginning of the 20th century it was mainly used for the import and export of wheat, coal and ore...
and the Schiffshebewerk Henrichenburg (boat lift)Henrichenburg boat liftThe Henrichenburg boat lift facilitates a change in elevation of the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal in Waltrop-Oberwiese. The boat lift is part of the Waltrop Lock Park , which includes the old Henrichenburg boat lift built in 1899, a disused shaft lock from 1912, the new boat lift built in 1962 and a modern...
. The canal becomes particularly important for the transporting of imported ore, especially Swedish ore routed via the Norwegian port of Narvik.
First half of the 20th Century (up to 1945)
- 1904 – The businessman Otto Heinrich Flottmann from Herne receives a patent for the pneumatic drillJackhammerA jackhammer is a pneumatic tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel that was invented by Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are typically powered by compressed air, but some use electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are...
. The use of the new drill in the Ruhr mining areas increases extraction levels markedly. - 1905 – As a result of a district-wide strike, miners win a maximum 8 hour day.
- 1905 – For the purposes of extending the harbor at the mouth of the Ruhr, as desired by the Prussian Government, RuhrortRuhrortRuhrort is a district within the German city of Duisburg situated north of the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, in the western part of the Ruhr area...
and MeiderichMeiderichMeiderich is a quarter of the city of Duisburg. It is divided into Unter-, Mittel- and Obermeiderich.Meiderich belongs to the city district Meiderich/Beeck, which started in 1975, during the course of municipal reorganization. On the 31 December 2004, 75,000 people lived in the district...
are incorporated into Duisburg. - 1908 – The Zechenverband is founded on 22nd. January as an association of employers in the Ruhr district.
- 1912 – Miners strike across the whole of the Ruhr district. In response Wilhelm II sends in the troops. The workers give up in the face of the imperial threat.
- 1912 – In Mülheim an der Ruhr, the Kaiser-Wilhelm (today: Max-Planck) Institut für KohlenforschungMax Planck Institute for Coal ResearchThe Max Planck Institute für Kohlenforschung is a chemical research institute located in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. The institute is part of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, a network of scientific research institutes mainly located in Germany...
(institute for research into coal) is founded. - 1913 – Under the influence of the work of Karl Imhoff on the cleaning-up of the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, the Ruhrreinhaltungsgesetz (law concerned with cleaning up the Ruhr) is introduced. At the same time, the work of the Ruhrtalsperrenvereins (the dams) is regulated by the Ruhrtalsperrengesetz (law concerned with the damming of the Ruhr). Both laws contribute significantly in ensuring the water supply of the growing conurbation. - 1914 – Opening of the Rhein-Herne-Canal, which becomes the most-used inland canal in Europe. It makes a connection between the Rhein at Duisburg and Herne, from where it connects to the Dortmund-Ems-Canal.
- 1914–1918 – First World War, in the 'Hunger Winter' of 1916–17 shortages in the supply of food in Deutschland become chronic. The inhabitants of the Ruhr suffer especially.
- 1919 – In the aftermath of the January KPD uprising, large-scale socialist uprisings in the Ruhr district result in "armed struggles" between miners and the Freikorps.
- 1920 – Ruhr UprisingRuhr UprisingThe Ruhr uprising was a left-wing workers' revolt in the Ruhr in March 1920. The uprising took place initially on the occasion of the call for a general strike issued by the Social Democrat members of the German government in response to the Kapp Putsch of 13 March 1920:The first demonstrations...
following the Kapp-Putsch. The general strike called in response to the Putsch leads to a more military struggle involving the Red Ruhr Army. Initially engaged against the Freikorps, latterly they also engage the regular army. - 1921 – French and Belgian troops occupy Duisburg (and Düsseldorf) on 8 March, in response to Germany defaulting on the reparationWorld War I reparationsWorld War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles following its defeat during World War I...
payments laid down by the Versailles Conference. - 1923 – On 10–11 January, the occupation was extended from Duisburg to the rest of the Ruhr district (Occupation of the RuhrOccupation of the RuhrThe Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
). In Duisburg in October, separatists call for independence for the "Rheinische Republik", but by November their efforts are brought to an end by the occupying troops. The financing of the resistance the Ruhr occupation by the German Government CunoWilhelm CunoWilhelm Carl Josef Cuno was a German politician who was the Chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923. He was born in Suhl, Prussian Saxony. Cuno's government is best known for its passive resistance of the French occupation of the Ruhr Area . Cuno's government was also responsible for its poor...
is one of the reasons for the impending hyperinflationInflation in the Weimar RepublicThe hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three year period of hyperinflation in Germany between June 1921 and July 1924.- Analysis :...
and the Cuno strikesCuno strikesThe Cuno strikes were nation-wide strikes in Germany against the government of Reich chancellor Wilhelm Cuno in August 1923. The wave of strikes demanded and helped bring about the resignation of the Cuno government on August 12, 1923, just nine months after it began...
.
The Ruhr industrialist Fritz Thyssen
Fritz Thyssen
Friedrich "Fritz" Thyssen was a German businessman born into one of Germany's leading industrial families.-Youth:Thyssen was born in Mülheim in the Ruhr area...
assists the NSDAP with a massive financial sum.
- 1925 – August/September: Adoption of the Dawes PlanDawes PlanThe Dawes Plan was an attempt in 1924, following World War I for the Triple Entente to collect war reparations debt from Germany...
by the German Government. The Allies end the occupation of the Ruhr. - 1923 – Representatives from the towns of Köln, Düsseldorf und Duisburg found the "Studiengesellschaft für die rheinisch-westfälische Schnellbahn". A Schnellbahn (suburban railway) direct from Köln to Dortmund is planned. The Reichsbahn (National railway system) hinder these plans and intend to extend the current lines and construct their own Schnellbahn system.
- 1923 – The WestfalenhalleWestfalenhalleWestfalenhallen are three multi-purpose venues, located in Dortmund, Germany. The original building was opened in 1925, but was destroyed during World War II. New halls were built, the Große Westfalenhalle opened in 1952. The capacity of the arena is 16,500...
is opened in Dortmund. It becomes a location for six-day racingSix-day racingA six or six-day is a track cycling race that lasts six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, individuals competed alone, the winner being the individual...
and other large sporting events, as well as political meetings of the Weimar Republic. - 1925 – On 27 April 1925 Dortmund Airport is opened for business. Dortmund became a stop on the route Copenhagen-Hamburg-Bremen-Dortmund-Frankfurt(M)-Stuttgart-Zürich operated by Deutsche Luft HansaDeutsche Luft HansaDeutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
(this was a different airport than the present-day Dortmund AirportDortmund AirportDortmund Airport , is the international airport located east of Dortmund, Germany. Its slogan is Näher als man denkt . Since 2006 it has been carrying the name "Dortmund Airport 21", in reference to the fact that Dortmund's utility company, DSW21, is its major shareholder...
). - 1926 – Despite having been completed in 1921, the WedaustadionWedaustadionWedaustadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Duisburg, Germany. It was the home ground for MSV Duisburg until the club moved to the new MSV-Arena after the 2003-04 season. The stadium held 30,112. It was built in 1921 and was the second biggest stadium in Germany at the time.-External links:***...
in DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
is officially opened. With a capacity of 40,000 it is the second-largest in Deutschland after the GrunewaldstadionDeutsches Stadion (Berlin)Deutsches Stadion was a multi-use stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was initially used as the stadium of German football championship matches. It was replaced by the current Olympic Stadium in 1936. The capacity of the stadium was 64,000 spectators. Located in the Grunewald Race Course was due to...
in Berlin. By 1922 the German Athletics Championships are being staged there. In 1924, Deutschland lost a football match for the first time on German soil, against Italy in the WedaustadionWedaustadionWedaustadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Duisburg, Germany. It was the home ground for MSV Duisburg until the club moved to the new MSV-Arena after the 2003-04 season. The stadium held 30,112. It was built in 1921 and was the second biggest stadium in Germany at the time.-External links:***...
, losing 1:0. - 1928 – Paul Reusch founds the Ruhrlade in January 1928 .
- 1928 – A period of boundary reforms. As a result the "double-towns" of Gelsenkirchen-Buer and Duisburg-Hamborn were formed. Two years beforehand, this new construction had a precedence in the likes of Castrop-RauxelCastrop-Rauxel-Geography:Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum , Herne , and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.- Urban Area :The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of...
and Wanne-Eickel. - 1928 – During the Ruhreisenstreit (Ruhr Iron Strike) more than 200,000 employees of the iron and steel industry were locked out and had to be helped by the state.
- 1929 – The Volkspark GrugaparkBotanischer Garten GrugaparkThe Botanischer Garten Grugapark is a municipal botanical garden located in the Grugapark at Virchowstraße 167a, Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged....
is opened as Große Ruhrländische Gartenbau-Ausstellung (Great Ruhr Garden Exhibition). - 1929 – The Oberhausen GasometerGasometer OberhausenThe Oberhausen gasometer, the largest disc-type gas holder in Europe, is an industrial monument located in Oberhausen, Germany. It was constructed between 1927 and 1929. Today it is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and serves as an exhibition hall...
is completed, the largest gas holder in Europe. - 1929 – The start of the world economic crisis causes the export-orientiated production of the coal and steel industry to collapse.
- 1932 – The Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
reaches its high point. Unemployment in the Ruhr district stands 31.2%. Production of iron had reduced by 60%, and it was a similar situation in the steel and coal industries - 1932 – The industrialist Friedrich FlickFlick familyThe Flick family is a wealthy German industrial and political dynasty, heir to an industrial empire that formerly embraced holding in companies involved in coal, steel and a minority holding in Daimler AG...
manages to sell his interest in Gelsenkirchen Bergwerke to the German government for about three times its market value, an event sometimes known as the Gelsenberg affair. - 1933 – National Socialist takeoverMachtergreifungMachtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
– the Steinwache in DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
becomes a prison and torture chamber of the Gestapo. - 1936 – Jewish business owners were dispossessed, like for example the Gebr. Alsberg.
- 1938 – During KristallnachtKristallnachtKristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, the synagoges in most Ruhr towns were destroyed, such as the Alte Synagoge in Dortmund. The construction of the Old Synagoge in Essen is so robust that it proves impossible to blow it up without damaging the surrounding buildings – therefore the building remained standing, although its interior was desecrated and burnt out. - 1938 – In Drewer Mark in MarlMarlMarl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
, the Chemischen Werke Hüls is founded. It is largely a subsidiary of I.G. FarbenIG FarbenI.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
. During the Third Reich, synthetic rubber, BunaSynthetic rubberSynthetic rubber is is any type of artificial elastomer, invariably a polymer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more elastic deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation...
, was produced there for tyres. Slave laborUnfree labourUnfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
was also used for production. - 1939 – The Second World War began on 1st. September.
- 1943 – Allied Bombing of the RuhrBattle of the RuhrThe Battle of the Ruhr was a 5-month long campaign of strategic bombing during the Second World War against the Nazi Germany Ruhr Area, which had coke plants, steelworks, and 10 synthetic oil plants...
destroys over 65% of living accommodation in a few towns, such as DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. In EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
more than half of accommodation is destroyed. Thousands of people lose their lives. The centers of cities along the Hellweg zone lie almost completely in rubble. - 1943 – On 18 May, the Möhne Dam is bombed and breached by 617 squadron of the British Air Force (see Operation ChastiseOperation ChastiseOperation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...
). A flood wave races along the valleys of the Möhne and the Ruhr. Over 1,000 people lose their lives. The town of Neheim-Hüsten (now a part of ArnsbergArnsbergArnsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg's administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:...
) is hit hard and the Himmelpforten Monastery is completely swept away. Most of the reported fatalities were foreign forced laborers and prisoners of war. By October the dam had been repaired and general industrial production in the Ruhr had recovered by about the same time. The following year, the Dortmund-Ems canal is breached by 617 squadron. - 1943 – During the Tehran ConferenceTehran ConferenceThe Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
, it was already clear enough how important the Allies considered the Ruhr area for the new ordering of Deutschland after the war. Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
proposed placing the region under international administration, independent of other German states. - 1944 – The Morgenthau-Plan is discussed in the USA. This would have made the Ruhr area an international zone administered by the United Nations, and would have set up separate North German and South German states. Industrial installations were threatened with dismantling as part and parcel of a prohibition on re-industrialization.
- 1945 – The fighting in the Ruhr PocketRuhr PocketThe Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. For all intents and purposes, it marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were...
/Ruhrkessel results in about 105,000 dead. - 1945 – On 11 April, the arms manufacturer Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und HalbachAlfried Krupp von Bohlen und HalbachAlfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach , often referred to as Alfried Krupp, was a convicted war criminal, an industrialist, a competitor in Olympic yacht races and a member of the Krupp family, which has been prominent in Germany since the early 19th century.The family company, known...
was placed under arrest by American troops in the Villa HügelVilla Hügel150px|right|thumb|[[The Industrial Heritage Trail|Ruhr Industrial Heritage Trail]]The Villa Hügel is a mansion in Bredeney in Germany. It belonged to the Krupp family of industrialists and was built by Alfred Krupp during 1873 as a residence...
. - 1945 – During the Potsdam ConferencePotsdam ConferenceThe Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
, Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
discuss an exchange of Ruhr coal from the British zone of occupation for food from the Soviet Zone. Simultaneously, reparations were determined in the form of industrial equipment from the Ruhr area. Stalin and TrumanHarry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
are agreed that the Ruhr should remain a part of Deutschland, against the wishes of France who wanted a special state status for the region.
Second Half of the 20th. Century (from 1946)
Industry in the district is restored after the war, but by the end of the century the coal and steel industries have declined drastically- 1946 – Founding of the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen by the British military government, with the entire Ruhr region lying within its boundaries previously France had been pressing for the Ruhr to be detached from Deutschland, similar to the situation they were able to engineer in the Saarland).
- 1946–1947 – The hunger winter affects the population of the Ruhr area particularly hard. Thousands of town inhabitants undertake Hamsterfahrten to the farming regions of the uplands.
- 1948 – In January, in the towns of the Ruhr area, the number of strikes is growing and growing – in Essen alone 50,000 workers take action. The workers protest about shortages in the supply of food. Bavaria, especially, refuses to fulfill its obligations to the exchange of goods in the BizoneBizoneThe Bizone, or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones in 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone in March 1948, the entity became the Trizone...
(i.e. the area covered by the British and American zones). - 1948 – With the currency reform in June, goods started to become more plentiful again – however households with limited income, for example working-class families, had to bear the burden of the cost of the war via the resulting reduction of the value of money.
- 1949 – The RuhrstatutInternational Authority for the RuhrThe International Authority for the Ruhr was an international body established in 1949 by the Allied powers to control the coal and steel industry of the Ruhr Area in West Germany....
of 28th. April 1949 regulated the control of the coal and steel production by setting up the International Ruhr Authority to supervise these industries. When state sovereignty is taken on by the Bundesrepublik in May, industries relevant to the armament industry remain under international control. On 13th. June Belgian soldiers went into action against German workers who erected barriers to block the demolition of Hydrierwerk. - 1952 – The Dortmund WestfalenhalleWestfalenhalleWestfalenhallen are three multi-purpose venues, located in Dortmund, Germany. The original building was opened in 1925, but was destroyed during World War II. New halls were built, the Große Westfalenhalle opened in 1952. The capacity of the arena is 16,500...
is re-constructed in its present form, after the destruction of the first in the war. The official opening took place on 2nd. February in the presence of the President Theodor HeussTheodor HeussTheodor Heuss was a liberal German politician who served as the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany after World War II from 1949 to 1959...
. - 1952 – On the founding of the European Coal and Steel CommunityEuropean Coal and Steel CommunityThe European Coal and Steel Community was a six-nation international organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and create the foundation for the modern-day developments of the European Union...
on 23 July, the International Ruhr Authority ceases their work. The Coal and Steel Community is the seed of the later European Union. - 1954 – In OberhausenOberhausenOberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
the annual short-film festival takes place for the first time. - 1955 – In Dortmund the oldest (stone) Rathaus in Deutschland is demolished.
- 1956 – the demand for coal reaches 124,6 million tonnes per year and the number of workers in Ruhr mining reaches its high point at 494,000.
- 1957 – At Bochum ObservatoryBochum ObservatoryBochum Observatory, often known in Bochum as Cape Kaminski is a research institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The institution came into being through a private initiative...
in October, Heinz KaminskiHeinz KaminskiHeinz Kaminski was a German chemical engineer and space researcher.On 5 October 1957, Kaminski received signals in Bochum from the Sputnik satellite, the first person outside of the Soviet area of influence to do so. Heinz Kaminski founded and later directed the Bochum Observatory...
receives radio signals from Sputnik 1Sputnik 1Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
, possibly the first outside the Soviet Union to do so. - 1959 – In Bonn, Bochum miners protest against the import of cheap American coal. The Zechensterben (death of the mines) begins.
- 1962 – Opening of an Opel factory in Bochum.
- 1962 – The writer Max von der GrünMax von der GrünMax von der Grün was a German novelist.Max von der Grün was born in Bayreuth and grew up in Mitterteich. After a clerical apprenticeship, he became a paratrooper during World War II in 1944. He was captured by U.S...
publishes his first novel, influenced by the working world of miners of the Ruhr district, Männer in zweifacher Nacht. - 1963 – The Bundesliga (German football league) is inaugurated. It has three clubs from the Ruhr district: Schalke 04FC Schalke 04Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
, Meidericher SV (heute: MSV DuisburgMSV DuisburgMSV Duisburg is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed "the Zebras" for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was one of the original members of the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963.-Early years:...
), Borussia DortmundBorussia DortmundBallspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football... - 1964 – The Adolf-Grimme-Preis is awarded for the first time in MarlMarlMarl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
. The first winner is Günter Gaus. - 1964 – The Rationalisierungsverband des Steinkohlenbergbaus proposes the closure of 31 large mines employing 64,000 workers. Demonstrations follow.
- 1964 – The Planetarium Bochum is opened. Since then it has been the most modern and largest installation of its type in Deutschland.
- 1965 – The Ruhr University in Bochum is opened, the first University in the Ruhr district. Garden show in GrugaBotanischer Garten GrugaparkThe Botanischer Garten Grugapark is a municipal botanical garden located in the Grugapark at Virchowstraße 167a, Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged....
in Essen. - 1966 – On 5 May, Borussia DortmundBorussia DortmundBallspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
win the European Cup Winners Cup by beating Liverpool 2-1 in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. - 1966 – The Duisburger Vertrag is concluded on 16th. September. It forms an agreement between the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and Bayern over the financing and executiont of the extension to the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, forming the basis for a through connection between the mouth of the Rhein in Rotterdam and the mouth of the Danube on the Black Sea.
- 1967 – KruppKruppThe Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
was converted into a KapitalgesellschaftCorporationA corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
. - 1968 – The University of Dortmund was founded on 16 December.
- 1969 – The Ruhrkohle AG was founded.
- 1969 – The Stadtbahngesellschaft Ruhr, founded on an initiative of the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen takes over the planning of the Stadtbahnnetz Rhein-Ruhr (local railways).
- 1970 – The first Revierpark comes into being in Herne.
- 1972 – The universities of Essen and Duisburg are founded. In 2003, they are fused into the University of Duisburg-EssenUniversity of Duisburg-EssenThe University Duisburg-Essen is a public university in Duisburg and Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a member of the new founded University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr....
. - 1973 – The Zentralstelle für die Vergabe von Studienplätzen is set up in Dortmund. In Mülheim an der Ruhr, the RheinRuhrZentrum opens, Deutschland's first undercover shopping center.
- 1974 – The World Cup in Deutschland. Games are played in the newly-constructed stadiums – ParkstadionParkstadionParkstadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is no longer used to host any major events. The stadium was built in 1973 and hosted five matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup...
in Gelsenkirchen and WestfalenstadionWestfalenstadionWestfalenstadion is an association football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the home stadium of the Borussia Dortmund football team playing in the German Bundesliga....
in Dortmund. - 1975 – Bochum and Duisburg are extended: Bochum incorporates Wattenscheid and Duisburg receives RheinhausenRheinhausenRheinhausen is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 79,566 and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine....
, Homberg und Walsum. HerneHerne, GermanyHerne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
and Wanne-Eickel are united. - 1977 – The steel crisis signals problems in theindustry, problems which started to occur in 1975. Since 1974 the production of steel has sunk from 32,2 million tonneTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s to 21,5 million tonnes. The crisis affects large parts of the Ruhr district. 200,000 jobs are lost. - 1977 – In the center of Essen the Straßembahn line between Saalbau and Porscheplatz is transferred underground. The U18 between Mülheim and Essen becomes the first "genuine" Stadtbahn.
- 1979 – The Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet (KVR) arises from the Siedlungsverband Ruhrkohlenbezirk (SVR).
- 1979 – For the first time in the Ruhr district, a SmogSmogSmog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
alarm is given on the 17th. January. - 1980 – The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is founded. In the Haard, the Schacht Haltern 1 is dug. The Old Synagoge in Essen becomes a Gedenkstätte (official memeorial).
- 1981 – First TatortTatortTatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...
TV program with Horst SchimanskiHorst SchimanskiHorst Schimanski is a fictional policeman who appears in the German Tatort crime series. Portrayed by Götz George, he made his debut in the 1981 episode "Duisburg-Ruhrort" and appeared in 29 episodes until 1991. In 1997 his own Schimanski crime series was started. Schimanski now was a retired...
, commissar with the Duisburg Police, provokes protests in DuisburgDuisburg- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. - 1982 – Area wide protests by steelworkers against closures and lay-offs im the Ruhr district. Krupp shut down the rolling mill in Duisburg-Rheinhausen. The last blast-furnace between Duisburg and Dortmund is closed down in Gelsenkirchen.
- 1983 – Proposal for a new structuring of the German steel industry. The last piece of the S-Bahn connecting Düsseldorf with Dortmund, between Bochum and Dortmund, is completed.
- 1984 – In Dortmund the first U-Bahn line is opened.
- 1985 – In the western part of the Ruhr district, a highest-level smog warning level is issued in January. Nordrhein-Westfalen at this time had the highest levels of smog in Deutschland.
- 1985 – Günter WallraffGünter WallraffGünter Wallraff is a famous German writer and undercover journalist.-Research methods:Wallraff came to prominence thanks to his striking journalistic research methods and several major books on lower class working conditions and tabloid journalism...
's book Ganz unten is published. - 1986 – In May, there is a serious accident at the Hamm-Uentrop atomic power stationVery high temperature reactorThe Very High Temperature Reactor , or High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor , is a Generation IV reactor concept that uses a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. The VHTR is a type of High Temperature Reactor that can conceptually have an outlet temperature of...
and a radio-active cloud hangs over HammHammHamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
and over the Ruhr district. The operators attempt to hush the incident up. In Essen they became aware of the increased radiation as they had been taking regular measurements ever since the Chernobyl disasterChernobyl disasterThe Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. - 1988 – The Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet is founded.
- 1989 – The Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park begins its work.
- 1992 – In December, the Kokerei Kaiserstuhl
Yankuang GroupYankuang Group Company Limited, restructured from Yanzhou Mining Bureau, was established in 1976. It is the fourth largest coal mining state-owned enterprise in People's Republic of China. In 1999, Yanzhou Mining Bureau was renamed to Yankuang Group Company Limited...
in Dortmund starts business as one of the most modern Kokerei in Europe. The installation will only operate for eight years. - 1993 – The first Mayday takes place in the Westfalenhalle. It is the largest Indoor-Rave in Deutschland and until today a part of the Technokultur.
- 1994 – In December a EU-SummitEuropean CouncilThe European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
is held in Essen, in der GrugahalleGrugahalleGrugahalle is an indoor sports arena, located in Essen, Germany. Opened in 1958, the seating capacity of the arena is 5,309 people, for sporting events and 7,800, for concerts.It is currently home to the TUSEM Essen handball team....
. The most important themes for the Europäisch RatCouncil of the European UnionThe Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
are suggestions for fighting unemployment and for the promotion of equality of opportunity in the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. - 1995 – The Ruhr district becomes a part of the newly-defined European metropolitan areaMetropolitan areaThe term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
Rhein-Ruhr. - 1995 – The last base of the British Army of the RhineBritish Army of the RhineThere have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
, the Suffolk Barracks in Dortmund, is shut down on 17th. November. - 1996 – On 11th. September, the CentrOCentrOCentrO is part of a large commercial development in Oberhausen, Germany, called the "Neue Mitte" or "new center". A large steel production plant used to occupy the site until the late 1980s. Besides the CentrO shopping mall the area today houses attractions such as a children's theme park and a...
shopping center in Oberhausen is opened. It is the core of the Neue Mitte, built on the grounds of the former Gutehoffnungshütte and a visible sign of economic change in the Ruhr district. - 1997 – As part of the BundesgartenschauBundesgartenschauThe Bundesgartenschau is the biennial Federal horticulture show in Germany. It also covers topics like landscaping. Taking place in different cities, the location changes in a two-year cycle....
in Gelsenkirchen, the grounds of the former Zeche Nordstern is converted into the Landschaftspark Nordsternpark. - 1999 – Final stages of the IBA Emscher Park – portraying new uses for the Inner HarborDuisburg Inner HarbourThe Innenhafen in Duisburg, encompassing an area of 89ha., was for over a hundred years, during the high point of the Industrial Revolution, the central harbor and trading point of the town. Since the mid-60s, the importance of the harbour declined and it lay in a disused condition for 20...
in Duisburg.
21st century
- 2004 – The Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet (KVR) is replaced by the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR). On the insistence of the towns of the Reich district, this body has extended rights and has now, for example, authority over so-called master-plans such as the conversion of the Emscher system to an underground Emscherkanal.
- 2004 – Adam Opel AG plans to lose several thousand jobs in Bochum. A strike of work forceWorkforceThe workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
against the will of IG MetallIG MetallIG Metall is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany. Analysts of German labor relations consider it a major trend-setter in national bargaining. As a metalworkers' union, it represents workers in the motor vehicle industry...
and against their own BetriebsratWorks councilA works council is a "shop-floor" organization representing workers, which functions as local/firm-level complement to national labour negotiations...
brings European produktion to a standstill. On 19th. October, 25,000 people gathered on the Platz am Schauspielhaus as a spontaneous display of solidarity. - 2005 – The introduction of Hartz IVHartz conceptThe Hartz concept is a set of recommendations that resulted from a commission on reforms to the German labour market in 2002. Named after the head of the commission, Peter Hartz, it went on to become part of the German government's Agenda 2010 series of reforms, known as Hartz I - Hartz IV...
. Almost a million people in the Ruhr district are affected. - 2005 – The formation of a Regionalpräsidiums Ruhrgebiet is announced by the parties in the Nordrhein-Westfalen government.
- 2005 – In Duisburg and its neighbors of Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen und Bottrop, the 7th. World GamesWorld GamesThe World Games, first held in 1981, are an international multi-sport event, meant for sports, or disciplines or events within a sport, that are not contested in the Olympic Games...
took place. - 2006 – Essen is chosen as the European City of Culture 2010. Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen stage games during the World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
. - 2007 – In January, the Federal Government announced the intention to subsidize the German coal industry until 2018. The Land government announce that aid from them will cease in 2015.
- 2007 – In August the Loveparade takes place in. The first staging of the event since its move from Berlin to the Ruhr district carries the motto Love Is Everywhere.
- 2008 – The Nokia factory in Bochum is closed.
- 2008 – The Loveparade is celebrated in Dortmund with 1.6 million participants – a record.
- 2009 – Opel is in crisis following the insolvency of General MotorsGeneral MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. - 2010 – Essen and the rest of the Ruhr district stage RUHR.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas.
See also
- History of Westfalen
- Ruhr Mining
- Ruhr Shipping
- List of Mines in Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Histories of individual Ruhr towns/cities: Bochum, Bottrop, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Hamm, Hattingen, HerneHerne, GermanyHerne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
, Kamen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen, Unna und Wesel.
External links
- Ruhr Museum, Natural, cultural history and industrial museum
- Bombing raids on the Ruhr district 1939–1945
- Daniel A. Rehbein: Das Eisenbahnnetz im Ruhrgebiet (the post-war development of the railways)
- Engels on the Ruhr Coal Strike of 1889
- Reproduction of the call to miners in support of the strike in the Ruhr district, 7th. January 1905
- Contemporary report on the strike of 1905
Literature
- Dietmar Bleidick/Manfred Rasch (Hg.): Technikgeschichte im Ruhrgebiet. Technikgeschichte für das Ruhrgebiet. (Technological History of the Ruhr District) Klartext Verlag, Essen; 2004; ISBN 3-89861-376-3
- Ernst Dossmann: Auf den Spuren der Grafen von der Mark. Wissenswertes über das Werden und Wachsen der ehemaligen Grafschaft Mark und über den Märkischen Kreis; (On the Trail of the Grafs of the Mark) Verlag Mönnig Iserlohn; 1983; ISBN 3-922885-14-4
- Doris Freer (Konzept); Stadt Duisburg, Frauenbüro (Hrsg.): Von Griet zu Emma. Beiträge zur Geschichte von Frauen in Duisburg vom Mittelalter bis heute. 2. (Contributions to History from Duisburg Females, from the Middle Ages to the Present) Duisburger Frauengeschichtsbuch, Duisburg 2000. (pdf Teil 1 (1 Mb); pdf Teil 2 (3,25 Mb))
- Jan Gerchow: Haus, Stand und Amt. Die Gesellschaft des Ruhrgebiets vor der Industrie (Society of the Ruhr District before Industrialization), in: Die Erfindung des Ruhrgebiets. Arbeit und Alltag um 1900. Katalog zur sozialhistorischen Dauerausstellung, Ruhrlandmuseum Essen, hrsg. von Michael Zimmermann u.a., Essen-Bottrop 2000, S. 31–46, ISBN 3-89355-211-1
- Roland Günter: Im Tal der Könige: ein Reisebuch zu Emscher, Rhein und Ruhr (A Travel Guide to the Emscher, Rhine and Ruhr), Essen; 1994; ISBN 3-88474-044-X
- Bodo Harenberg (Hg.): Chronik des Ruhrgebiets. Dortmund: WAZ-Buch Chronik Verlag, 1987. ISBN 3-88379-089-3 (mit 155 Kalendarien, 1.693 Einzelartikeln, 1.759 überwiegend farbigen Abbildungen, 19 Übersichtsartikeln, Tabellen- und Statistik-Anhang sowie Personen- und Sachregister)
- Wilhelm Hermann, Gertrude Hermann; Die alten Zechen an der Ruhr (The Old Mines on the Ruhr); 2003; ISBN 3-7845-6992-7
- Joachim Huske: Die Steinkohlenzechen im Ruhrrevier. Daten und Fakten von den Anfängen bis 1997, Bochum 1998, ISBN 3-921533-62-7
- Hetty Kemmerich: Sagt, was ich gestehen soll! Hexenprozesse – Entstehung-Schicksale-Chronik!, Dortmund: Lessing, 2003, ISBN 3-929931-17-6
- Egon Erwin KischEgon Erwin KischEgon Erwin Kisch was a Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. Known as the The raging reporter from Prague, Kisch was noted for his development of literary reportage and his opposition to Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.- Biography :Kisch was born into a wealthy, German-speaking...
: Stahlwerk in Bochum, vom Hochofen aus gesehen / Das Nest der Kanonenkönige: Essen; zwei Reportagen; in: Der rasende Reporter, Berlin 1924; Aufbau-Verlag 2001, ISBN 3-7466-5051-8 - Ruth Kersting, Lore Ponthöfer: Seydlitz / Gymnasiale Oberstufe / Wirtschaftsraum Ruhrgebiet. Berlin: Cornelsen Schroedel, 1990
- Wolfgang Köllmann u.a.: Das Ruhrgebiet im Industriezeitalter. Geschichte und Entwicklung, 2 Bde., Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf 1990. ISBN 3-491-33206-0
- Harald Polenz; Von Grafen, Bischöfen und feigen Morden; Klartext-Verlag, Essen; 2004; ISBN 3-89861-260-0
- Andreas Schlieper: 150 Jahre Ruhrgebiet. Ein Kapitel deutscher Wirtschaftsgeschichte. Düsseldorf, 1986. ISBN 3-590-18150-8
- Ferdinand Seibt (Hrsg.): Vergessene Zeiten, Mittelalter im Ruhrgebiet, Ausstellungskatalog, 2 Bünde, Essen; 1990, ISBN 3-89355-052-6
- Gregor Spohr, Wolfgang Schulze; Schöne Schlösser und Burgen: der Revier-Freizeitführer; Pomp, Bottrop; 1996; ISBN 3-89355-133-6
- Diederich von Steinen: Westphälische Geschichte, 1757
- Albert K. Hömberg: Geschichtliche Nachrichten über Adelssitze und Rittergüter im Herzogtum Westfalen und ihre Besitzer. aus dem Nachlass veröffentlicht, Münster / Westf. 1969–1979, 20 Hefte (Veröffentlichungen der Hist. Komm. Westfalens, Bd. 33)
- Friedrich Keinemann: Soziale und politische Geschichte des westfälischen Adels 1815–1945, Hamm 1976
- Paul Kanold [et al.]: Grundlagen für die Neuregelung der kommunalen Grenzen im Ruhrgebiet, Berlin 1928
- Die kommunale Neugliederung im Ruhrgebiet als Etappe zur diktatorischen großpreußischen Zentralisation, Schriften der Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft deutscher Föderalisten, Köln 1929
- Gustav Adolf Wüstenfeld: Auf den Spuren des Kohlenbergbaus : Bilder u. Dokumente zur Geschichte d. Ruhrbergbaus im 18. u. 19. Jh., Wetter-Wengern : Wüstenfeld, 1985, ISBN 3-922014-04-6
- ders.: Frühe Stätten des Ruhrbergbaues, Wetter-Wengern : Wüstenfeld, 1975