Ruhr Area

The Zollverein Coal Mine in Essen-Stoppenberg, along with the Zollverein Coking Plant, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since December 14, 2001. Its landmark is Shaft XII, which architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer designed in the New Objectivity style and which went into operation on February 1, 1932. Coal production ended on December 23, 1986, and the coking plant ran until 1993.In the former coal washery, the Ruhr Museum has been presenting the region's history since 2010. In the old boiler house, remodelled by Norman Foster and Heinrich Böll, the Red Dot Design Museum is located.

The Gasometer Oberhausen is 117 meters high and measures almost 68 meters in diameter. It was built between 1927 and 1929 as a gas holder, and was operational until 1988. Since its conversion in 1993/94, it has been considered Europe's highest exhibition hall, with approximately 7,000 square meters across three levels.You can reach the roof by external lift or via 592 steps. On a clear day, the view extends up to 35 kilometers over the western Ruhr area.

An approximately 180-hectare park has emerged around an ironworks founded by August Thyssen in 1902 in Duisburg-Meiderich. The last blast furnace ceased operation in 1985, and the site has been publicly accessible since 1994.You can climb Blast Furnace 5 up to a viewing platform at a height of around 70 meters. In the former ore bunker, the Duisburg section of the Alpine Club has set up a climbing garden with approximately 400 routes and a via ferrata, and an old gasometer with 20,000 cubic meters of water serves as a diving center. In the evenings, Jonathan Park's light installation bathes the complex in colorful light.

Düsseldorf is the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia and, with around 642,000 inhabitants, the second-largest city in the state. Its Old Town on the Rhine, with its many pubs, is known as the "longest bar in the world," where Altbier from local breweries like Uerige, Füchschen, Schumacher, and Schlüssel is served.The car-free Rhine embankment promenade connects the Old Town with the MedienHafen (Media Harbour), where Frank Gehry's buildings of the Neuer Zollhof stand, and right next to them, the approximately 240-meter-high Rheinturm (Rhine Tower) rises. On the Königsallee, with its canal, luxury shops line up, and the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Art Collection North Rhine-Westphalia) exhibits 20th-century art in K20.

Ehrenfeld originated as a settlement outside Cologne's gates from 1845, became an independent municipality in 1867, received town rights in 1879, and has belonged to Cologne since 1888. Industry shaped the area: Helios AG, founded in 1882, pioneered alternating current technology; its lighthouse from 1885 is considered a landmark of the district, although it never guided ships. From 1899, August Horch developed his first automobiles on Venloer Straße.Today, Ehrenfeld is known for its cultural scene: small stages, the arthouse cinema Cinenova, and clubs in old factory halls and railway arches. On Venloer Straße, the district's main shopping street, stands the Central Mosque by Gottfried and Paul Böhm, opened in 2018. You can reach Ehrenfeld by S-Bahn and regional trains to Ehrenfeld station, or by Stadtbahn lines 3 and 4, which run through the district.