© Route der Industriekultur 2019 © RTG, Ravi Sejk
Germany's first industrial-cultural holiday route

Industrial Heritage Trail

Blast furnaces, gasometers and winding towers shape the face of the Ruhr area to this day. They are important witnesses to the 150-year-old industrial past of the area, but also to the structural change that is taking place in today's "Metropole Ruhr". Many of the former production sites - not a few of them are under monument protection, and the industrial complex Zollverein has even made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site - are not places of wistful memory, but have long since developed into "living" industrial and cultural spaces and attractive event locations with tourist attraction.

© Zeche Ewald Herten © RVR Berns
  • Zeche Ewald Herten © RVR Berns
© UNESCO Welterbe Zeche Zollverein
  • UNESCO Welterbe Zeche Zollverein

The Industrial Heritage Trail makes it possible to experience:

  • impressive evidence from 150 years of industrial history;
  • exhibitions, festivals and gastronomy in unusual places;
  • exciting contrasts in the lively Ruhr Metropolis.

Type of route: Holiday route
Topic: Industrial culture, culture, technology
Length: 400 km (circuit)
Federal State: North Rhine-Westphalia
Holiday regions: Ruhr area

Your visit to the Ruhr area

Quality and diversity

Countless events and festivals offer guests the opportunity to experience the quality and diversity of this unique mixture of industrial, cultural and natural landscapes and to get to know the open and warm people in the Ruhr area. Current information can be found on the website.

And so that you can really enjoy the tour on the route of industrial culture, cozy accommodations from the private quarters "Unterm Förderturm" to the pension with a view of the Ruhr to the noble hotel and numerous motorhome parking spaces invite you to stay overnight.

Explore at your own request

Bike, bus or train

If you prefer to experience the highlights of industrial culture up close by bike, there are 1,200 kilometers of cycle path network available. The RuhrtalRadweg, as the southern part of the route network, has been certified by the ADFC as a quality route with four stars. Large parts of the cycle path network run on former railway lines, attractive riverside and forest paths or roads with little traffic.

The route can also be comfortably traveled by bus and train. For this purpose, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr offers an attractive network of routes with favorable tariffs, on which almost all locations on the route can be easily reached. In the season, excursion boats on the Rhine, Ruhr and the canals as well as several tourist railways offer additional travel experiences.

© Erzbahn Bochum © RVR Berns
  • Erzbahn Bochum © RVR Berns
© Fackelführung Lpadu © Jochen Schlutius
  • Fackelführung Lpadu © Jochen Schlutius
A region is reinventing itself

Industrial culture and new attractions

Experience industrial history

30 themed routes

The core of the Industrial Heritage Trail includes 25 anchor points, including numerous museums of national importance such as the German Mining Museum in Bochum, 13 important settlements from different epochs and 17 viewpoints known as "Panoramas of the Industrial Landscape", most of them on those made of waste material from mining heaped up "mountain heaps". 30 themed routes with around 900 other locations of industrial culture complete the route system and offer in-depth insights into special topics and subregions.

This industrial and cultural heritage of the region can be experienced on a 400-kilometer road circuit. Brown signs with directions on the streets of the district show the right way. The road route connects all of the main locations on the Industrial Heritage Trail. Other interesting objects that are close to the road route are signposted as junctions.

1
Duisburg
Dolphins could be seen for the first time in Europe in the renowned Duisburg Zoo. It is one of the only three zoos in Germany that are home to koalas.
2
Essen
The cityscape of Essen has been significantly shaped by the Krupp family and your company's factories since the mid-19th century.
3
Gelsenkirchen
The eleventh-largest city in Germany has much more to offer than royal blue football culture.
4
Dortmund
In the largest city in the Ruhr, the "Dortmund U" offers artists and creatives ample space to develop.
5
Hagen
The birthplace of the rusk is the southernmost part of the Ruhr area.
6
Bochum
"Deep in the west, where the sun is stowing, it is better, much better than you think," Herbert Grönemeyer sang across the city in the heart of the Ruhr pot.
© Zeche Zollverein © RVR Berns
Jewels between mining pits

Since the end of the mining industry, the Ruhr region has faced the challenge of creating an attractive habitat for residents. New exciting places were created without losing sight of the Ruhr pot's history. Here are some highlights.

Learn more
Nature in the industrial area

Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord

A highlight on the Industrial Heritage Trail is the Duisburg-Nord landscape park. The industrial park covers an area of 180 hectares, the heart of which is the disused blast furnace building. The complex has been a listed building since 2000, but not as a classic industrial museum, but rather as an experience location - long walks, exciting tours and events in a special setting are just a few of the possibilities that the landscape park offers its visitors.

© Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord © Christoph - stock.adobe.com
  • Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord © Christoph - stock.adobe.com
More than just sport

Soccer culture in the Ruhr region

It is difficult to talk about the Ruhr without mentioning the many football clubs. Football is lived more intensively here than anywhere else in Germany. First-class sport is shown in modern, huge stadiums, e.g. Signal-Iduna-Park in Dortmund, Germany's largest football stadium. Particularly the derbytes between associations in the Ruhr are heart issues that determine everyday life in advance and after days. Make sure you plan to visit the stadium during your trip!

© Dortmund Skyline © Daniel Wirtz - stock.adobe.com
  • Dortmund Skyline © Daniel Wirtz - stock.adobe.com
The rise of the Krupp family

Villa Hügel in Essen

Villa Hügel has been enthroned over the Ruhr area since 1870 and symbolizes the prosperity that industrial culture created for the population and wealthy industrial families in the Ruhr area. Originally intended as a representative location for the Krupp family, where high-ranking guests were received, the 8,100 square meter villa is now open to the public. In an extensive art exhibition and numerous exhibits, you can find out more about the Krupp family and the history of the Ruhr area. The spacious park and the concert hall of Villa Hügel offer exciting experiences for both eyes and ears.

© Villa Hügel Essen © Yannic Niedenzu - stock.adobe.com
  • Villa Hügel Essen © Yannic Niedenzu - stock.adobe.com
Cast off in the centre of Europe

Inner harbor of Duisburg

Hard to believe, but despite the long distance to the sea there is a port in the Ruhr area. For over a century, the Duisburg inner harbor served as a central transshipment point to ship the goods produced around the world. The inner harbor of Duisburg is now home to many museums. Among other things, you will find the Museum of Culture and City History here, which explains the city history of Duisburg very vividly. At the end of the day, we recommend a visit to a restaurant or bar with a view of the water.

© Duisburg Innenhafen © Pixabay
  • Duisburg Innenhafen © Pixabay
Experience 200 years of the Ruhr with your own eyes

LWL open-air museum Hagen

Life in the Ruhr area has been subject to constant changes for centuries. Nowhere are these changes as clear as in the LWL open-air museum in Hagen. The life of the people in the Ruhr area is vividly illustrated on around 42 hectares. Beginning in the 18th century with the emergence of handicrafts and trades through early industrial production to high industrialization at the beginning of the 20th century, you can marvel at how forged, printed or baked was done in the past. Many sites are still operational and there are regular demonstrations.

© Freilichtmuseum Hagen © Tobias Arhelger - stock.adobe.com
  • Freilichtmuseum Hagen © Tobias Arhelger - stock.adobe.com

Photo journey of the Industrial Heritage Trail

Industrial Heritage Trail- main route

Route guidance with parking space information

You will soon find further sections of the Industrial Heritage Trail in our travel world map

This information is a service offer from ALPINE in cooperation with FERIENSTRASSEN.INFO

Contact

RVR operation Route der Industriekultur
Kronprinzenstr. 35
D - 45128 Essen

T +49 (0) 201 / 2069-0
M info@rvr.ruhr

INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE TRAIL