Ruhr Area
Encyclopedia
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region (German
Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area
in North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million (2009), it is the largest urban agglomeration
in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe
to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land
. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr
metropolitan region
of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric
, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg
, Oberhausen
, Bottrop
, Mülheim an der Ruhr
, Essen
, Gelsenkirchen
, Bochum
, Herne
, Hagen
, Dortmund
, and Hamm
, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel
, Recklinghausen
, Unna
and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland
, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia
. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf
and Wuppertal
). It is the fourth largest urban area in Europe
after Moscow
, London
and Paris
.
For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture
.
belt that extends across Germany from west to east. Historically, this loess belt has underlain some of Germany's richest agricultural regions.
Geologically, the region is defined by the occurrence of coal
-bearing layers from the upper Carboniferous
period, more or less independent of their depth. The coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the River Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the River Lippe, the coal seams lie at a depth of 600 to 800 metres (2,000 to 2,600 feet). The thickness of the coal layers ranges from one to three metres (three to ten feet). This geological feature played a decisive role in the development of coal mining in the Ruhr.
According to the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR, Ruhr Regional Association), 37.6% of the region’s area is built up. A total of 40.7% of the region’s land remains in agricultural use. Forests account for 17.6% of the region’s area. Bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest of the Ruhr's land. The inclusion of four mainly rural districts in the otherwise mainly industrial Ruhr helps to explain the large proportion of agricultural and forested land. In addition, the city boroughs of the Ruhr region have outlying districts with a rural character.
Seen on a map, the Ruhr could be considered a single city, since—at least in the north-south dimension—there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. For this reason, the Ruhr is described as a polycentric urban area. The area is characterized by a similar history of urban and economic development.
Because of its history, the Ruhr is structured differently from monocentric urban regions such as Berlin
and London
, which developed through the rapid merger of smaller towns and villages with a growing central city. Instead, the individual city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew independently of one another during the Industrial Revolution
. While large European cities typically have population densities of up to 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 50,000 per square mile), the population density of the central Ruhr—with only about 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 5,400 per square mile)—is thin compared to other German cities.
The transitions from one Ruhr city to another consist of relatively open suburbs and even open or agricultural fields. In some places, the borders between cities in the central Ruhr are unrecognizable due to continuous development across them.
Replanting of brownfield land
has created new parks and recreation areas. The Emscher Landschaftspark (Emscher Landscape Park) lies along the River Emscher
, formerly virtually an open sewer, parts of which have undergone natural restoration. This park connects strips of parkland running from north to south, which were developed through the regional planning in the 1920s, to form a green belt between the Ruhr cities from east to west.
and Berg
and the territories of the bishop of Münster and the archbishop of Cologne. The region knew some medieval villages and castles but was mainly agrarian, its loess soil made it one of the richer parts of western Germany. The free imperial city
of Dortmund was the trading and cultural centre, due to the Hellweg
, an important east-west trading route, that brought prosperity to the town of Duisburg
as well. Both towns were members of the Hanseatic League
.
The development of the region into an urbanized industrial area started in the late 18th century with the fortgoing early industrialisation
in the nearby Wupper
Valley in the Bergisches Land
. Here around 1820 hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textile, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes. And in even more workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manufactured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal. History has no official name for this phase of the industrial revolution, but one could call it the early waterpowered industrial revolution.
As the machines became bigger and transitioned from water- to steampower, local mined coal and charcoal became expensive and delivered insufficient burning power. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new coal mining
area along Ruhr river. Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and to carry products out to the world.
By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the center cities Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke
, needed to fuel blast furnace
s, producing iron and steel. In this period the name Ruhrgebiet became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were used up, the mining industry moved northward to the Emscher and finally to the Lippe, drilling ever deeper mines as it went. Locks built at Mülheim
on the Ruhr led to the expansion of Mülheim as a port. With the establishment of the Cologne-Minden railway in the late 19th century, several iron works were built within the borders of the present-day city of Oberhausen
.
, Pomerania
, East Prussia
and Posen
to the Ruhr. A majority of them were Polish
-speakers and they were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in Herne
of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers Union of their own. Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in so-called "miners’ colonies", constructed by the mining firms. At the end of the Prussian Kingdom over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.
formed part of the demilitarized Rhineland. In January 1923 the whole Ruhrgebiet was occupied
as a reprisal after Germany failed to fulfill World War I reparation payments
as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government answered with "passive resistance", letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by the occupation forces.
and ruined public finances in Germany. Passive resistance was called off in late 1923 allowing Germany to undertake a currency reform and to negotiate the Dawes Plan
, which led to the withdrawal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925.
1943 May: Operation Chastise
1944 October: Operation Hurricane
1944 September: Bombing of German oil facilities during World War II
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million (2009), it is the largest urban agglomeration
Agglomeration
In the study of human settlements, an urban agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous...
in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe
Lippe River
The Lippe is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length.The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg Forest in Bad Lippspringe close to the city of Paderborn. It runs westward through Paderborn, Lippstadt and then along the northern edge...
to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land
Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land is a low mountain range region within the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over 20 artificial lakes...
. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr
Rhine-Ruhr
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the largest metropolitan region in Germany with about 10,100,000 inhabitants. It is of polycentric nature and the only megacity in Germany. It covers an area of 7,110 square kilometers and lies entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia...
metropolitan region
Metropolitan regions in Germany
The Metropolitan regions in Germany are eleven densely populated areas in the Federal Republic of Germany. They comprise the major German cities and their surrounding catchment areas and form the political, commercial and cultural centers of the country...
of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric
Polycentrism
Polycentrism is the principle of organization of a region around several political, social or financial centres. Examples of polycentric cities include the Ruhr area in Germany, and Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. Today, the former is a large city that grew from a dozen smaller cities, the latter a...
, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of 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...
, Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen 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...
, Bottrop
Bottrop
Bottrop 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,...
, Mülheim an der Ruhr
Mülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
, Essen
Essen
- 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...
, Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen 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....
, Bochum
Bochum
Bochum 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:...
, Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne 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...
, Hagen
Hagen
Hagen 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...
, 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 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...
, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel
Wesel
Wesel 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:...
, Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen 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...
, Unna
Unna
Unna is a town of around 67,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.-Geography:Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Hellweg road. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hansa Trade Route came from as far as London...
and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
). It is the fourth largest urban area in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
.
Geography
The urban landscape of the Ruhr extends from the Lower Rhine Basin east on to the Westphalian Plain and south on to the hills of the Rhenish Massif. Through the centre of the Ruhr runs a segment of the loessLoess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
belt that extends across Germany from west to east. Historically, this loess belt has underlain some of Germany's richest agricultural regions.
Geologically, the region is defined by the occurrence of 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...
-bearing layers from the upper Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period, more or less independent of their depth. The coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the River Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the River Lippe, the coal seams lie at a depth of 600 to 800 metres (2,000 to 2,600 feet). The thickness of the coal layers ranges from one to three metres (three to ten feet). This geological feature played a decisive role in the development of coal mining in the Ruhr.
According to the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR, Ruhr Regional Association), 37.6% of the region’s area is built up. A total of 40.7% of the region’s land remains in agricultural use. Forests account for 17.6% of the region’s area. Bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest of the Ruhr's land. The inclusion of four mainly rural districts in the otherwise mainly industrial Ruhr helps to explain the large proportion of agricultural and forested land. In addition, the city boroughs of the Ruhr region have outlying districts with a rural character.
Seen on a map, the Ruhr could be considered a single city, since—at least in the north-south dimension—there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. For this reason, the Ruhr is described as a polycentric urban area. The area is characterized by a similar history of urban and economic development.
Because of its history, the Ruhr is structured differently from monocentric urban regions such as Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which developed through the rapid merger of smaller towns and villages with a growing central city. Instead, the individual city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew independently of one another during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. While large European cities typically have population densities of up to 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 50,000 per square mile), the population density of the central Ruhr—with only about 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 5,400 per square mile)—is thin compared to other German cities.
The transitions from one Ruhr city to another consist of relatively open suburbs and even open or agricultural fields. In some places, the borders between cities in the central Ruhr are unrecognizable due to continuous development across them.
Replanting of brownfield land
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
has created new parks and recreation areas. The Emscher Landschaftspark (Emscher Landscape Park) lies along the River Emscher
Emscher
The 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...
, formerly virtually an open sewer, parts of which have undergone natural restoration. This park connects strips of parkland running from north to south, which were developed through the regional planning in the 1920s, to form a green belt between the Ruhr cities from east to west.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, much of the region that later was called Ruhrgebiet was situated in the Mark, the Duchies of ClevesDuchy of Cleves
The 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 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:...
and the territories of the bishop of Münster and the archbishop of Cologne. The region knew some medieval villages and castles but was mainly agrarian, its loess soil made it one of the richer parts of western Germany. The free imperial city
Free Imperial City
In 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...
of Dortmund was the trading and cultural centre, due to 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...
, an important east-west trading route, that brought prosperity to the town of 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...
as well. Both towns were members of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
.
Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the nearby Wupper
Wupper
The Wupper is a right tributary to the Rhine river in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous area of the Bergisches Land Berg County and enters the Rhine at Leverkussen, south of Düsseldorf...
Valley in the Bergisches Land
Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land is a low mountain range region within the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over 20 artificial lakes...
. Here around 1820 hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textile, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes. And in even more workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manufactured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal. History has no official name for this phase of the industrial revolution, but one could call it the early waterpowered industrial revolution.
As the machines became bigger and transitioned from water- to steampower, local mined coal and charcoal became expensive and delivered insufficient burning power. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
area along Ruhr river. Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and to carry products out to the world.
By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the center cities Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke
Coke (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 :...
, needed to fuel blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s, producing iron and steel. In this period the name Ruhrgebiet became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were used up, the mining industry moved northward to the Emscher and finally to the Lippe, drilling ever deeper mines as it went. Locks built at Mülheim
Mülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
on the Ruhr led to the expansion of Mülheim as a port. With the establishment of the Cologne-Minden railway in the late 19th century, several iron works were built within the borders of the present-day city of Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen 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...
.
Migration
The population climbed rapidly. Cities that in the early 19th century counted 2,000–5,000 inhabitants, grew in the following 100 years to over 100,000. Employers recruited skilled mine workers from other regions to the Ruhr's mines and steel mills and unskilled people started to move in. From 1860 onwards masses of new workers migrated from SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
to the Ruhr. A majority of them were Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
-speakers and they were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne 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...
of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers Union of their own. Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in so-called "miners’ colonies", constructed by the mining firms. At the end of the Prussian Kingdom over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.
World War I
During the first World War the Ruhrgebiet functioned as Germany's central weapon-factory. At a big Essen company the amount of employees in four years rose from 40,000 to 120,000. They were partly women, partly forced labourers.French and Belgian occupation
In March 1921, French and Belgian troops occupied Duisburg, which according to the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
formed part of the demilitarized Rhineland. In January 1923 the whole Ruhrgebiet was occupied
Occupation of the Ruhr
The 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:...
as a reprisal after Germany failed to fulfill World War I reparation payments
World War I reparations
World 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...
as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government answered with "passive resistance", letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by the occupation forces.
Hyperinflation
Production and transportation came to a standstill and the financial consequences contributed to German hyperinflationInflation in the Weimar Republic
The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three year period of hyperinflation in Germany between June 1921 and July 1924.- Analysis :...
and ruined public finances in Germany. Passive resistance was called off in late 1923 allowing Germany to undertake a currency reform and to negotiate the Dawes Plan
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan was an attempt in 1924, following World War I for the Triple Entente to collect war reparations debt from Germany...
, which led to the withdrawal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925.
1943 May: Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise
Operation 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...
1944 October: Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane (1944)
Operation Hurricane was a 24 hour bombing operation to "demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre" and "cause mass panic and in the Ruhr, disrupt frontline communications and demonstrate the futility of resistance"...
1944 September: Bombing of German oil facilities during World War II
World War II
During World War II, the "Ruhr 1940–1945"RAF battle honours
Battle Honours are awarded by the Sovereign to Royal Air Force squadrons to commemorate the squadron's role in a particular operation.This practice was inherited by the RAF from its Army and Navy predecessors upon its creation in 1918. Several squadrons therefore carry honours awarded when they...
bombing caused a loss of 30% of plant and equipment (compared to 15–20% for the entire German industry). A second battle of the Ruhr (6/7 October 1944–end of 1944) is claimed to have begun with an attack on 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....
. In addition to the strategic bombing of the Ruhr
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
, in April 1945, the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
trapped several hundred thousand Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
troops in the Ruhr Pocket
Ruhr Pocket
The 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...
.
Post-World War II
Demilitarization
The Level of Industry plans for GermanyIndustrial plans for Germany
The Industrial plans for Germany were designs the Allies considered imposing on Germany in the aftermath of World War II to reduce and manage Germany's industrial capacity.-Background:...
abolished all German munitions factories and civilian industries that could support them and severely restricted civilian industries of military potential. The French Monnet Plan
Monnet Plan
The Monnet plan was proposed by French civil servant Jean Monnet after the end of World War II. It was a reconstruction plan for France that proposed giving France control over the German coal and steel areas of the Ruhr area and Saar and using these resources to bring France to 150% of pre-war...
pushed for an internationalization of the area, and the subsequent Ruhr Agreement
International Authority for the Ruhr
The 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....
was imposed as a condition for permitting for establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the Western allies anticipated that any Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
thrust into Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
would begin in the Fulda Gap
Fulda Gap
The Fulda Gap is a region of lower elevation between the former East German border and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War...
and have the Ruhr as a primary target. Increased German control of the area was limited by the pooling of German coal and steel into a multinational community in 1951
European Coal and Steel Community
The 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...
. The nearby Saar region
Saar (protectorate)
The Saar Protectorate was a German borderland territory twice temporarily made a protectorate state. Since rejoining Germany the second time in 1957, it is the smallest Federal German Area State , the Saarland, not counting the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen...
, containing much of Germany's remaining coal deposits, was handed over to economic administration by France as a protectorate in 1947 and did not politically return to Germany until January 1957, with economic reintegration occurring two years later. Parallel to the question of political control of the Ruhr, the Allies conducted an effort to decrease German industrial potential by limitations on production and dismantling of factories and steel plants, predominantly in the Ruhr. By 1950, after the virtual completion of the by-then much watered-down "level of industry" plans, equipment had been removed from 706 manufacturing plants
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in the west, and steel production capacity had been reduced by 6.7 million tons. Dismantling finally ended in 1951. In all, less than 5% of the industrial base was dismantled.
Economic miracle
The Ruhr was at the center of the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, as very rapid economic growth at 9% a year created a heavy demand for coal and steel.Decline after 1970
After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and persistently high unemployment, which jumped from 300,000 in 1973 to 1.1 million in 1975. The Ruhr region was hardest hit, as the easy-to-reach coal mines petered out, and German coal was no longer competitive. Likewise the Ruhr steel industry went into sharp decline, as its prices were undercut by lower-cost suppliers such as Japan. The welfare system provided a safety net for the large number of unemployed workers, and many factories reduce their labor force and began to concentrate on high-profit specialty items.As demand for coal decreased after 1958, the area went through phases of structural crisis (see steel crisis
Steel crisis
The steel crisis was a recession in the global steel market during the 1970s recession, following the end of the post-World War II economic boom and the 1973 oil crisis....
) and industrial diversification, first developing traditional heavy industry, then moving into service industries and high technology. The air and water pollution of the area are largely a thing of the past although some issues take a long time to solve. In 2005, Essen
Essen
- 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...
was the official candidate for nomination as European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
for 2010.
Largest cities
The ten largest cities of the Ruhr:| Pos. | Name | Pop. 2010 | Area (km²) | Pop. per km² | map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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.... |
580,688 | 280.37 | 2,071 | |
| 2 | Essen Essen - 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... |
575,027 | 210.38 | 2,733 | |
| 3 | 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... |
501,564 | 232.81 | 2,154 | |
| 4 | Bochum Bochum Bochum 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:... |
385,626 | 145.43 | 2,652 | |
| 5 | Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen 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.... |
268,102 | 104.86 | 2,557 | |
| 6 | Oberhausen Oberhausen Oberhausen 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... |
218,898 | 77.04 | 2,841 | |
| 7 | Hagen Hagen Hagen 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... |
196,934 | 160.36 | 1,228 | |
| 8 | 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... |
184,239 | 226.24 | 814 | |
| 9 | Herne Herne, Germany Herne 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... |
170,992 | 51.41 | 3,326 | |
| 10 | Mülheim an der Ruhr | 169,917 | 91.29 | 1,861 |
Language
The local dialect of GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
is commonly called Ruhrdeutsch or Ruhrpottdeutsch, although there is really no uniform dialect that justifies designation as a single dialect. It is rather a working class sociolect
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
with influences from the various dialects found in the area and changing even with the professions of the workers. A major common influence stems from the coal mining tradition of the area. For example, quite a few locals prefer to call the Ruhr either "Ruhrpott", where "Pott" is a derivate of "Pütt" (pitmen's term for mine; cp. the English "pit"), or "Revier".
Migration
During the 19th century the Ruhr attracted up to 500,000 ethnic PolesPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Masurians and Silesians
Silesians
Silesians , are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA....
from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
in a migration known as Ostflucht
Ostflucht
The Ostflucht was a movement by residents of the former eastern territories of Germany, such as East Prussia, West Prussia, Silesia and Province of Posen beginning around 1850, to the more industrialized western German Rhine and Ruhr provinces...
. By 1925, the Ruhrgebiet had around 3.8 million inhabitants. Most of the new inhabitants migrated from Eastern Europe, however, immigrants also came from France
France
The 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...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It has been claimed that immigrants came to the Ruhr from over 140 different nations. Almost all of their descendants today speak German only and due to various reasons they do not identify with their Polish roots and traditions, often only their Polish family names remaining as a sign of their past.
In 1900, the main concentrations of the Polish minority were:
- District of 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....
(Westfalia) 13.1 % - District 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:...
(Westfalia) 9.1 % - District 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....
(Westfalia) 7.3 % - City of 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....
(Westfalia) 5.1 %
Official minority status and rights for Poles (Polish-speaking emigrants and their descendants) in Germany in general and in Ruhr specifically were revoked by Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
's World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
decree of 27 February 1940, and their property was confiscated. After World War II, even more immigrants originated from beyond German eastern and southern borders, first the former Polish, Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war and slave-laborers of Nazi Germany who stayed in Ruhr, and then the guest workers from the south and other emigrants (Silesians, Masurians and Kashubians) from beyond the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. These guest workers or Gastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter is German for "guest worker." It refers to migrant workers who had moved to West Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme...
came mostly from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and since the fall of communism most other Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an countries as well. Official minority status for Poles in Germany has never been restored nor Nazi-confiscated property returned, in spite of numerous promises and declarations by various German governments and European Community reports. Polish government signed a treaty with Germany called Treaty of Good Neighbourship
Treaty of Good Neighbourship
The Polish–German Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation was signed between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland on 17 June 1991...
on June 17, 1991 where official Polish minority status in Germany was not recognized whereas the German minority in Poland
German minority in Poland
The registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
status was and has been since fully protected.
Culture
The city 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...
(representing the Ruhr) was selected as European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
for 2010 by the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The 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...
.
The Industrial Heritage Trail
The Industrial Heritage TrailThe Industrial Heritage Trail
The Industrial Heritage Trail links tourist attractions related to the industrial heritage in the Ruhr area in Germany. It is a part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.-The route:...
links tourist attractions related to the European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
in the Ruhr area.
Economy
Largest companies
(A–Z)- AldiALDIALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
- Evonik IndustriesEvonik IndustriesEvonik Industries is an industrial corporation in Germany owned by RAG Foundation and one of the world´s leading specialty chemicals companies. It was created on 12 September 2007 as a result of restructuring of the mining and technology group RAG...
- Franz Haniel & Cie.
- HochtiefHochtiefHochtief Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's largest construction company. It is based in Essen but operates globally, ranking as the top general builder in the United States through its Turner Corporation subsidiary, and in Australia through the Leighton Group. In 2010 it employed more than 70,000...
- Klöckner & Co.
- RWERWERWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe...
- TengelmannTengelmann GroupTengelmann Warenhandelsgesellschaft KG, doing business as the Tengelmann Group, is a holding company based in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.-Structure:The corporation has the following subsidiaries:*A&P Tea Company ; 362 stores...
- ThyssenKruppThyssenKruppThyssenKrupp AG is a German multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Duisburg Essen, Germany. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide. While ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's largest steel producers, the company also provides components and systems for the automotive...
Road transport
The Ruhr has one of the densest motorway networks in all of Europe, with dozens of Autobahns and Autobahn like Schnellstraßen (expressways) crossing the region. The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with 4 east-west (A2, A40Bundesautobahn 40
, is one of the most frequented Autobahns in Germany. It crosses the Dutch-German border as a continuation of the Dutch A67, crossing the Rhine, leading through the Ruhr valley toward Bochum, then becomes B 1 at the Kreuz Dortmund-West and eventually merges into the A 44 near...
, A42
Bundesautobahn 42
is an autobahn in western Germany. It connects Kamp-Lintfort with Castrop-Rauxel, linking several large cities in the Ruhr area, such as Dortmund, Duisburg, the North of Essen and Gelsenkirchen. It is colloquially known as Emscherschnellweg, after the river Emscher, which it roughly follows...
, A44
Bundesautobahn 44
is a German Autobahn. It consists of three main-parts and a few smaller parts. It begins in Aachen at the German-Belgian border and ends near Kassel. Before the German unification it was an unimportant provincial-motorway but after this event it became an integral part of the German highway-system...
) and 7 north-south (A1, A3, A43
Bundesautobahn 43
is an autobahn in western Germany, connecting Münster via Recklinghausen to Wuppertal. It is an important bypass for traffic coming from the A 1 wanting to go to the western Ruhr valley and wanting to avoid tailbacks at the Kamener Kreuz near Dortmund....
, A45
Bundesautobahn 45
is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Dortmund in the west with Aschaffenburg in the southwest. It is colloquially known by its byname Sauerlandlinie, which derives from the Sauerland, the landscape which said autobahn is running through between the cities of Hagen and Siegen. Many people think of...
, A52
Bundesautobahn 52
is an autobahn in western Germany. It starts at the Dutch-German border near the community of Niederkrüchten, district of Viersen. From Elmpt it runs northeast....
, A57
Bundesautobahn 57
The Bundesautobahn 57 is a German Autobahn that begins at the Dutch-German border near Goch and ends in Köln. It runs parallel to the Rhine River. Neuss and Krefeld are the biggest cities at this motorway. The A 57 is continuation of the Dutch A77...
, A59
Bundesautobahn 59
is an autobahn in Germany that starts in Dinslaken and runs with three breaks along Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne to Bonn.In the south of Duisburg it is the city highway, too....
) routes. A1, A2 and A3 are mostly used by through traffic, while other autobahns have a more regional function. Both A44 and A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing links are currently not considered to be constructed.
Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
s are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Ruhr opened during the mid-1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternate routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less compared to Randstad
Randstad
Image:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Clickable schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns possess six lanes, but there are no eight-lane Autobahns in the Ruhr.
Public transport
All public transport companies in the Ruhr are run under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-RuhrVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is the public transport association covering the area of the Rhine-Ruhr megalopolis in Germany...
, which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the entire area. The Ruhr region is well-integrated into the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, both in passenger and cargo rail.
Air transport
Düsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International Airport
Düsseldorf International Airport is the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the third largest airport in Germany, handling 18.99 million passengers in 2010....
serves as the interncontinental airport for North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
and is within 20 km for most of the Western Ruhr area. Dortmund Airport
Dortmund Airport
Dortmund 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...
in the Eastern Ruhr is a mid-sized airport, offering scheduled flights to domestic and European destinations.
See also
- Rhine-RuhrRhine-RuhrThe Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the largest metropolitan region in Germany with about 10,100,000 inhabitants. It is of polycentric nature and the only megacity in Germany. It covers an area of 7,110 square kilometers and lies entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia...
- Metropolitan regions in GermanyMetropolitan regions in GermanyThe Metropolitan regions in Germany are eleven densely populated areas in the Federal Republic of Germany. They comprise the major German cities and their surrounding catchment areas and form the political, commercial and cultural centers of the country...
- 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:...
(1923–1924) - RuhrpolenRuhrpolenRuhrpolen is a German umbrella term for a mixture of people from the former kingdom of Poland , also from Silesians, Masurians, Kashubians), who migrated to the rapidly-industrializing areas of the Ruhr Valley.-Origins:The immigrants, many who had left under the harsher czarish rule and failed...
- Silesian metropolitan areaSilesian metropolitan areaThe Upper Silesian metropolitan area is the metropolitan area in southern Poland and northeast Czech Republic, centered on the cities of Katowice and Ostrava in Silesia...
- Upper Silesian Coal Basin
Further reading
- Kift, Roy, Tour the Ruhr: The English language guide (3rd ed., 2008) (ISBN 3-88474-815-7) Klartext Verlag, Essen http://www.roy-kift.com
- Berndt, Christian. Corporate Germany Between Globalization and Regional Place Dependence: Business Restructuring in the Ruhr Area (2001)
- Crew, David. Town in the Ruhr: A Social History of Bochum, 1860–1914 (1979) (ISBN 0231043007)
- Fischer, Conan. The Ruhr Crisis, 1923–1924 (2003)
- Gillingham, John. "Ruhr Coal Miners and Hitler's War", Journal of Social History Vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer, 1982), pp. 637–653 in JSTOR* Chauncy D. Harris, "The Ruhr Coal-mining District", Geographical Review, 36 (1946), 194–221.
- Gillingham, John. Industry and Politics in the Third Reich: Ruhr Coal, Hitler, and Europe (1985) (ISBN 0231062605)
- Pounds, Norman J. G. The Ruhr: A Study in Historical and Economic Geography (1952) online
- Pierenkemper, Toni. "Entrepreneurs in Heavy Industry: Upper Silesia and the Westphalian Ruhr Region, 1852 to 1913", Business History Review Vol. 53, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 65–78 in JSTOR
- Royal Jae Schmidt. Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II (1968)
- Spencer, Elaine Glovka. "Employer Response to Unionism: Ruhr Coal Industrialists before 1914" Journal of Modern History Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 397–412 in JSTOR
- Spencer, Elaine Glovka. Management and Labor in Imperial Germany: Ruhr Industrialists as Employers, 1896–1914. Rutgers University Press. (1984) online
- Todd, Edmund N. "Industry, State, and Electrical Technology in the Ruhr Circa 1900", Osiris 2nd Series, Vol. 5, (1989), pp. 242–259 in JSTOR
External links
- Post-Surrender Program for Germany (Sept. 1944)
- Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, March 24, 1947
- Draft, The President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Report 3, March, 1947; OF 950B: Economic Mission as to Food…; Truman Papers.
- France, Germany and the Struggle for the War-making Natural Resources of the Rhineland Describes the contest for the Ruhr and Saar over the centuries.
- Ruhrgebietsbilder: Photos about the Ruhr