CityGuide Ruhr Area

The Ruhr district is the world‘s largest centre for cultural sites, consisting of a total of 53 big cities including Bochum, Essen, Hagen and Dortmund. This region features many museums of technology and industry due to its current expansion and its role in the industrialization of the 19th and 20th century. These include the German mining museum in Bochum, the German inland navigation museum in Duisburg, the transformer station Recklinghausen and the Westphalian and Rhenish industry museum in Dortmund. Furthermore, the Ludwig gallery in the palace of Oberhausen exhibits visual arts from the antiquity through to the present day whilst the Ostwall museum in Dortmund covers modern and contemporary painting, sculptures and photography. The Ruhr district also has much to offer in terms of theatre; the most famous establishments include the musical theatres in Essen and Oberhausen in which Stage Entertainment Ltd. produces musicals on a regular basis as well as the Grillo theatre in Essen and the playhouse in Bochum both of which are popular venues for classic and modern plays. The German Rhine opera in Duisburg and the Dortmund opera house provide outstanding musical entertainment. Finally, the Ruhr district has also made a name for itself with its festivals such as the Ruhrfestspiele, the Ruhrtriennale and the Extraschicht, dramatically increasing in popularity. It is no wonder that this region will be Europe’s cultural capital of 2010.