View source for Ruhr

{{Short description|Urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany}}
{{About|the urban area|the namesake river|Ruhr (river)|other uses}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                 = Ruhr
| native_name          = Ruhrgebiet
| official_name        = Ruhr Metropolis<br />''Metropole Ruhr''
| image_map            = Locator map RVR in Germany.svg
| mapsize              = 270px
| map_caption          = Map of the Ruhr within Germany
| seal_type            = Logo
| image_seal           = Regionalverband Ruhr Logo 2017.svg
| coordinates          = {{coord|51|30|N|7|30|E|region:DE|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type     = Country
| subdivision_name     = {{flag|Germany}}
| subdivision_type1    = [[States of Germany|State]]
| subdivision_name1    = {{flag|North Rhine-Westphalia}}
| established_title    =
| established_date     =
| parts_type           = Largest cities
| parts_style          = list
| p1                   = {{flag|Dortmund}}
| p2                   = {{flag|Essen}}
| p3                   = {{flag|Duisburg}}
| p4                   = {{flag|Bochum}}
| government_type    =
<!-- Politics ----------------->
| government_footnotes =
| governing_body       = Regionalverband Ruhr
| area_metro_km2       = 4435
| area_metro_sq_mi     =
| elevation_footnotes  = <ref>highest: Wengeberg in [[Breckerfeld]], lowest: [[Xanten]]</ref>
| elevation_max_m      = 441
| elevation_min_m      = 13
| population_footnotes =
| population_total     =
| population_as_of     = 2022
| population_urban     = 5,147,820
| population_density_urban_km2 = 1160
| population_metro     = 10,680,783
| population_note      =
| demographics_type2       = GDP
| demographics2_footnotes  = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/met_10r_3gdp/default/table?lang=en|title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions|last=|first=|date=|website=ec.europa.eu|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1     = Urban
| demographics2_info1      = €180.467 billion (2021)
<!-- General information  --------------->
| timezone             = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset           = +01:00
| timezone_DST         =
| utc_offset_DST       =
| website = {{URL|https://www.rvr.ruhr/}}
}}
The '''Ruhr''' ({{IPAc-en|'|r|ʊər}} {{respell|ROOR}}; {{langx|de|Ruhrgebiet}} {{IPA|de|ˈʁuːɐ̯ɡəˌbiːt||De-Ruhrgebiet.ogg}}, also ''Ruhrpott'' {{IPA|de|ˈʁuːɐ̯pɔt|audio=DE-Ruhrpott.ogg}}), also referred to as the '''Ruhr area''', sometimes '''Ruhr district''', '''Ruhr region''', or '''Ruhr valley''', is a [[wikt:polycentric|polycentric]] [[urban area]] in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Germany]].<ref group=lower-alpha name=alternative-names/> With a population density of 2,800/km<sup>2</sup> and a population of over 5 million (2017),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metropoleruhr.de/regionalverband-ruhr/regionalstatistik/bevoelkerung/zensus-2011.html |title=Zensus 2011 |last=Ruhr |first=Regionalverband |date=2018-01-09 |publisher=www.metropoleruhr.de |language=de |access-date=2018-02-05 |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073601/http://www.metropoleruhr.de/regionalverband-ruhr/regionalstatistik/bevoelkerung/zensus-2011.html |url-status=live }}</ref> it is the largest [[urban area]] in Germany and the [[List of urban areas in the European Union|third]] of the [[European Union]]. It consists of several large cities bordered by the rivers [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]] to the south, [[Rhine]] to the west, and [[Lippe (river)|Lippe]] to the north. In the southwest it borders the [[Bergisches Land]]. It is considered part of the larger [[Rhine-Ruhr]] [[metropolitan regions in Germany|metropolitan region]] of more than 10 million people, which is the third largest in [[Western Europe]], behind only [[London]] and [[Paris]].
The Ruhr cities are, from west to east: [[Duisburg]], [[Oberhausen]], [[Bottrop]], [[Mülheim|Mülheim an der Ruhr]], [[Essen]], [[Gelsenkirchen]], [[Bochum]], [[Herne, Germany|Herne]], [[Hagen]], [[Dortmund]], [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] and the districts of [[Wesel (district)|Wesel]], [[Recklinghausen (district)|Recklinghausen]], [[Unna (district)|Unna]] and [[Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis]]. The most populous cities are Dortmund (with a population of approximately 612,065),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statistikportal.dortmund.de/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerunginzahlen/#bev%C3%B6lkerungsstand |title=Bevölkerung in Zahlen 2023 |website=dortmund.de |access-date=2024-05-08}}</ref> Essen (about 583,000) and Duisburg (about 497,000).
In the Middle Ages, the [[Hellweg]] was an important trade route from the region of the Lower Rhine to the mountains of the [[Teutoburg Forest]]. The most important towns of the region from Duisburg to the [[imperial city]] of Dortmund were concentrated along the Hellweg from the [[Rhineland]] to [[Westphalia]]. Since the 19th century, these cities have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (including [[Düsseldorf]] and [[Wuppertal]], large cities that are nearby but officially not part of the Ruhr area).
The Ruhr area has no administrative centre; each city in the area has its own administration, although there is a supracommunal {{Ill|Ruhr Regional Association|lt=Ruhr Regional Association|de|Regionalverband Ruhr}} institution in Essen.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Ruhr Regional Association |url=https://www.rvr.ruhr/en/about-us/ruhr-regional-association/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=www.rvr.ruhr |language=en}}</ref> For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the [[European Capital of Culture|European Capitals of Culture]].<ref>{{CELEX|id=52011DC0921|text=REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Ex Post evaluation of the 2010 European Capitals of Culture (Essen for the Ruhr, Pécs, Istanbul)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.essen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet.ruhr2010.de/ |title=Home: RUHR.2010 |access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511075016/http://www.essen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet.ruhr2010.de/ |archive-date=11 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Etymology ==
{{Original research|date=May 2017}}
The 1911 edition of ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' has only one definition of "Ruhr": "a river of Germany, an important right-bank tributary of the lower Rhine". The use of the term "Ruhr" for the industrial region started in Britain only after World War I, when French and Belgian troops had [[Occupation of the Ruhr|occupied the Ruhr district]] and seized its prime industrial assets in lieu of unpaid reparations in 1923. In 1920, the [[International Labour Office]] published a report entitled ''Coal Production in the Ruhr District''. In 1923, the ''Canadian Commercial Intelligence Journal'', Volume 28, Issue 1013, includes the article, "Exports from the Ruhr district of Germany". In 1924 the English and American press was still talking of the "French occupation of the Ruhr Valley" or "Ruhr District". A 62-page publication seems to be responsible for the use of "Ruhr" as a short form of the then more common "Ruhr District" or "Ruhr Valley": Ben Tillett, A. Creech-Jones and Samuel Warren's ''The Ruhr: The Report of a Deputation from the Transport and General Workers Union'' (London 1923). Yet "The report of a deputation from the Transport and General Workers' Union which spent a fortnight examining the problems in the Ruhr Valley", published in ''The Economic Review'', Volume 8, 1923, is still using the traditional term. In the same year, "Objections by the United States to discriminatory regulations on exports from the occupied region of the Ruhr" was published in ''Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States''.
The 1926 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', in addition to its article on the river Ruhr, has a further article on "RUHR, the name given to a district of Westphalia, Germany". Thus the name "Ruhr" was given to the region (as a short form of "Ruhr District" or "Ruhr Valley") only a few years before the publication of this edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Even after World War II, the term "Ruhr" may not have been in general use for the region: it was defined in ''Documents on American Foreign Relations'' (1948): "For the purposes of the present Agreement: (i) the expression 'Ruhr' means the areas, as presently constituted, in Land North Rhine–Westphalia, listed in the Annex to this Agreement."<ref>Samuel Shepard Jones and Denys Peter Myers, ''Documents on American Foreign Relations'', Volume 10 (1948), p. 125: "Part IX: Definitions Article 29".</ref> However, Lawrence K. Cecil and Philip Hauge Abelson still write in 1967: "In the first place, the average person uses the term 'Ruhr' indiscriminately as the Ruhr River or the Ruhr district, two entirely different things. The Ruhr River is only one of half a dozen rivers in the Ruhr district, in addition to the Rhine. The Rhine itself runs through the heart of the Ruhr district."<ref>Lawrence K. Cecil and Philip Hauge Abelson, ''Water Reuse'' (American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1967), p. 122.</ref> According to ''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', a standard reference on place names around the world, the name "Ruhr" refers to the river. The name preferred for the region in this dictionary is "Ruhrgebiet", followed by "Ruhr Valley".
==Geography==
[[File:Ruhr area-map.png|thumb|300px|Map of the Ruhr area; in Green is a stricter or narrower definition of the Ruhr, comprising municipalities that are members of the Ruhr regional institution.]]
The urban landscape of the Ruhr extends from the Lower Rhine Basin east to the Westphalian Plain and south to the hills of the [[Rhenish Massif]]. Through the centre of the Ruhr runs a segment of the [[loess]] 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 [[coal]]-bearing layers from the upper [[Carboniferous]] period. The coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the river Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the 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%, and bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest. 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 there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. Thus the Ruhr is described as a polycentric urban area, which shares a similar history of urban and economic development.
Because of its history, the Ruhr is structured differently from monocentric urban regions such as [[Munich]], which developed through the rapid absorption of smaller towns and villages by the most significant city among them. Instead in the Ruhr, the individual city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew in a rapid and parallel fashion independently of one another during the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The population density of the central Ruhr is about 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 5,400 per square mile)—not too high compared to other German cities.
Between the constituent urban areas are relatively open suburbs and even some open land with agricultural fields. In many places however, the borders between cities in the central Ruhr are unrecognizable, blending into one urban landscape due to continuous development across them.
The replanting of [[brownfield land]] has created new parks and recreation areas in recent decades. 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 regional planning in the 1920s, to form a green belt between the Ruhr cities from east to west.
==History==
{{main|History of the Ruhr}}
[[File:Alte Markt Dortmund.JPG|thumb|left|Old market square in Dortmund with [[St. Reinold's Church, Dortmund|St. Reinold's Church]]]]
During the Middle Ages, much of the region that was later called the ''Ruhrgebiet'' was situated in the [[County of Mark]], the Duchies of [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]] and [[Berg (state)|Berg]] and the territories of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster|bishop of Münster]] and the [[Electorate of Cologne|archbishop of Cologne]]. The region included some villages and castles, and 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, lying on the [[Hellweg]], an important east–west trading route, that also brought prosperity to the town of [[Duisburg]]. Both towns were members of the [[Hanseatic League]].
===Industrial revolution===
The development of the region into an urbanized industrial area started in the late 18th century with the [[Industrial Revolution|early industrialisation]] in the nearby [[Wupper]] Valley in the [[Bergisches Land]]. By around 1820, hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textiles, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes here.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} In additional workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manufactured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal.
As the machines became bigger and moved from water power to steam power, locally mined coal and charcoal became expensive and there was not enough of it. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new [[coal mining]] area along the [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/02/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/fruehzeit-und-mittelalter-geburtsstunde-zweiter-artikelteil.html|title="Das Ruhrgebiet! Von der Steinzeit bis zur Kulturhauptsatdt 2010" part 2|author=Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde|access-date=2001-11-20|archive-date=13 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113073605/http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/02/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/fruehzeit-und-mittelalter-geburtsstunde-zweiter-artikelteil.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and for outward transport of finished products.<ref>[[Friedrich Harkort]], "Die Eisenbahn von Minden nach Köln", Brune, Hagen 1833</ref>
[[File:Zeche Zollverein abends.jpg|thumb|[[Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex]] in [[Essen]], a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001]]
[[File:Dortmund Zollern IMGP0620.jpg|thumb|[[Zeche Zollern]] in [[Dortmund]]]]
[[File:Bottrop (DE), Tetraeder -- 2022 -- 0402X.jpg|thumb|[[Tetrahedron in Bottrop|Tetrahedron]] in Bottrop]]
By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the central cities of Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into [[coke (fuel)|coke]], used in [[blast furnace]]s, producing iron and steel. In this period the name ''Ruhrgebiet'' became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were exhausted, 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 construction 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]].
Moreover, the [[urbanization]] also boosted the expansion of [[railroad]] connections. At the beginning of the 1880s, agricultural regions did not benefit from the newly built transport facilities as much as non-agricultural regions did. This in its turn increased inequality, and made [[anthropometric]] measurements, e.g. height, more dependent on [[wage]]s. In the long run, however, effects of the railroad proximity diminished.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Jörg |title=Did the Railway Increase Inequality? A Micro-Regional Analysis of Heights in the Hinterland of the Booming Ruhr Area During the Late Nineteenth Century |journal=The Journal of European Economic History |date=Summer 2009 |volume=38 |issue=2}}</ref>
Consequently, the population climbed rapidly. Towns with only 2,000 to 5,000 people in the early 19th century grew in the following 100 years to over 100,000. Skilled mineworkers were recruited from other regions to the Ruhr's mines and steel mills and unskilled people started to move in. From 1860 onwards there was large-scale migration of Polish speakers from [[Silesia]], [[Pomerania]], [[East Prussia]] and [[Province of Posen|Posen]] to the Ruhr, who were known as ''[[Ruhrpolen]]'' since. The Poles were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in [[Herne, Germany|Herne]] of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers' Union. Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in "miners' colonies", built by the mining firms. By 1870, over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/04/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/die-kohle-der-kaiser-und-die-kanonen-1.html |title="Das Ruhrgebiet! Von der Steinzeit bis zur Kulturhauptsatdt 2010" part 3 |author=Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde |access-date=2001-11-20 |archive-date=23 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123042828/http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/04/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/die-kohle-der-kaiser-und-die-kanonen-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
During World War I the Ruhrgebiet functioned as Germany's central weapon factory. At a big Essen company, F. Krupp A.G., the number of employees rose from 40,000 to 120,000 or more, in four years. They were partly women, partly forced labourers.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
===Weimar Republic===
In the March 1920 [[Kapp Putsch]], nationalist and monarchist elements with the armed support of [[Freikorps]] units attempted to overthrow the government of the [[Weimar Republic]]. It was able to defeat the putsch by advocating a general strike that all but shut down Berlin.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Llewellyn |first1=Jennifer |last2=Thompson |first2=Steve |date=17 September 2019 |title=The Kapp Putsch |url=https://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/kapp-putsch/ |access-date=14 April 2023 |website=Alpha History}}</ref> The work action effectively ended the putsch, but in the Ruhr it was the instigation for an armed revolt whose aim was to replace the Weimar Republic with a soviet-style [[Soviet republic|council republic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scriba |first=Arnulf |date=1 September 2014 |title=Die Märzkämpfe 1919 |trans-title=The March Battles 1919 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/revolution-191819/maerzkaempfe-1919.html |access-date=23 August 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> In the [[Ruhr uprising|Ruhr Uprising]], the [[Ruhr Red Army]] was able to take control of the Ruhr industrial area. The [[Reichswehr]], with assistance from Freikorps units, put down the rebellion in early April 1920 and re-established the Weimar Republic's control of the district. An estimated 1,000 insurgents and 200 Reichswehr soldiers were killed in the battles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wulfert |first=Anja |date=22 January 2002 |title=Der Märzaufstand 1920 |trans-title=The March Uprising 1920 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/maerzaufstand-1920.html |access-date=14 April 2023 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414115718/https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/maerzaufstand-1920.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In March 1921, French and Belgian troops occupied [[Duisburg]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 April 2009 |title=Ruhr Occupation |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ruhr-occupation |access-date=14 April 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414115718/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ruhr-occupation |url-status=live }}</ref> which under the [[Treaty of Versailles]] formed part of the demilitarized [[Rhineland]]. In January 1923 the whole [[Occupation of the Ruhr|Ruhr district was occupied]] after Germany failed to fulfill part of its [[World War I reparations|World War I reparation payments]] as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government responded with a policy of passive resistance, letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by the occupation forces. Production and transport came to a standstill and the financial consequences contributed to [[Inflation in the Weimar Republic|German hyperinflation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Llewellyn |first1=Jennifer |last2=Thompson |first2=Steve |date=25 September 2019 |title=The Ruhr Occupation |url=https://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/ruhr-occupation/#The_governments_response |access-date=14 April 2023 |website=Alpha History}}</ref> After passive resistance was called off in late 1923, Germany implemented a currency reform and negotiated the [[Dawes Plan]], which led to the withdrawal of the French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925. However, the occupation of the Ruhr caused several direct and indirect consequences to the German economy and government, including accelerating the growth of right wing parties due to the Weimar government's inability to successfully resolve the problem.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Royal J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWZ-BgAAQBAJ&q=right-wing |title=Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II |publisher=Springer |year=2012 |isbn=9789401510813 |location=Heidelberg |access-date=14 April 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414115721/https://books.google.com/books?id=lWZ-BgAAQBAJ&q=right-wing |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Nazi period===
On 7 March 1936,<ref name="R.W. Davies, Oleg Khlevnyuk, Stephen G. Wheatcroft 2014 275">{{cite book|author=R. W. Davies|title=The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia Volume 6: The Years of Progress: The Soviet Economy, 1934-1936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iM9CBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA275|year=2014|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=275|isbn=9781137362575|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110215522/https://books.google.com/books?id=iM9CBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA275|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Adolf Hitler]] took a massive gamble by [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|sending 30,000 troops into the Rhineland]]. As Hitler and other Nazis admitted, the French army alone could have destroyed the [[Wehrmacht]].<ref name="William L. Shirer, Ron Rosenbaum 1960 293">{{cite book|author=William L. Shirer, Ron Rosenbaum|title=The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QngAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA293|year=1960|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=293|isbn=9781451651683|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110215522/https://books.google.com/books?id=6QngAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA293|url-status=live}}</ref> The French passed the problem to the British, who found that the Germans had the right to "enter their own backyard", and no action was taken.<ref name="A.J.P. Taylor 2001 386">{{cite book|author=A. J. P. Taylor|title=English History 1914-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4CbmiuJe50C&pg=PA386|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=386|isbn=9780192801401|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110215526/https://books.google.com/books?id=l4CbmiuJe50C&pg=PA386|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[League of Nations]], the Soviet delegate [[Maxim Litvinov]] was the only one who proposed [[economic sanctions]] against Germany.<ref name="R.W. Davies, Oleg Khlevnyuk, Stephen G. Wheatcroft 2014 275" /><ref name="A.J.P. Taylor 2001 386"/> All restraint on German rearmament was now removed. France's eastern allies (the [[Soviet Union]], [[Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Romania]] and [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]) concluded that since the French refused to defend their own border, they certainly would not stand up for their allies in the East. Hitler could now continue eroding the alliance system that France had built since 1919.<ref name="Samuel W. Mitcham 2008 66-67">{{cite book|first=Samuel W.|last=Mitcham|author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham|title=The Rise of the Wehrmacht: Vol. 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DW66ejQS2xoC&pg=PA66|year=2008|publisher=Praeger|pages=66–67|isbn=9780275996413|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110215524/https://books.google.com/books?id=DW66ejQS2xoC&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref> On 16 October 1936, [[Belgium]] repudiated the 1921 alliance with France and declared its absolute neutrality.<ref name="Samuel W. Mitcham 2008 66">{{cite book|first=Samuel W.|last=Mitcham|author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham|title=The Rise of the Wehrmacht, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DW66ejQS2xoC&pg=PA66|year=2008|publisher=Praeger|page=66|isbn=9780275996413|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110215524/https://books.google.com/books?id=DW66ejQS2xoC&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1937, Belgium signed a non-aggression pact with Germany.<ref name="The Evening Independent">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19371013&id=ePVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5438,2426020&hl=en German-Belgian Pact Concluded] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501001915/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19371013&id=ePVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5438,2426020&hl=en |date=1 May 2016 }}, 13 October 1937</ref>
{{Infobox
| bodystyle  = width:auto;
| header1    = WWII Ruhr Bombing Operations
| labelstyle = font-weight:normal;
| label2     = 1943 March–July: |data2=[[Battle of the Ruhr]]
| label3     = 1943 May: |data3=[[Operation Chastise]]
| label4     = 1944 October: |data4=[[Operation Hurricane (1944)|Operation Hurricane]]
| label5     = 1944 September: |data5=[[Oil Campaign of World War II|Bombing of German oil<br />facilities during World War II]]
}}
During World War II, the [[Battle of the Ruhr|bombing of the Ruhr]] in 1940–1944 caused a loss of 30% of plant and equipment (compared to 15–20% for German industry as a whole).<ref name=Botting>Botting (1985), p. 125</ref> A second battle of the Ruhr (6/7 October 1944 – end of 1944) began with an attack on [[Dortmund]]. The devastating bombing raids of Dortmund on 12 March 1945 with 1,108 aircraft – 748 Lancasters, 292 Halifaxes, 68 Mosquitos – was a record to a single target in the whole of World War II. More than 4,800 tons of bombs were dropped through the city centre and the south of the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-in-actions/lancaster/16345-raf-bomber-command-748-lancasters-carried-out-a-large-attack-on-dorthmund-on-1112th-of-march-1945.html|title=RAF Bomber Command 748 Lancasters carried out a large attack on Dortmund on 12th of March 1945|first=Fred|last=Vogels|website=Back to Normandy|date=12 March 1945 |access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=17 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014827/https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-in-actions/lancaster/16345-raf-bomber-command-748-lancasters-carried-out-a-large-attack-on-dorthmund-on-1112th-of-march-1945.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Levine|1992|p=173}}
In addition to the [[strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing of the Ruhr]], in April 1945, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] trapped several hundred thousand [[Wehrmacht]] troops in the [[Ruhr Pocket]].
[[File:Innenhafen Duisburg.jpg|thumb|right|View of the redeveloped [[Duisburg Inner Harbour]] in 2010]]
===Postwar period===
After the war, the region fell within the [[British occupation zone in Germany|British occupation zone]], and [[Industrial plans for Germany|Level of Industry plans for Germany]] abolished all German munitions factories and civilian industries that could support them and severely restricted civilian industries of military potential. The [[International Authority for the Ruhr|Ruhr Authority]], an international body to regulate the Ruhr's coal and steel industries, was created as a condition for the establishment of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]].<ref>Yoder (1955), pp. 345–358</ref>
During the [[Cold War]], the Western allies anticipated that any [[Red Army]] thrust into [[Western Europe]] would begin in the [[Fulda Gap]] 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 the multinational [[European Coal and Steel Community]] in 1951. The nearby [[Saar (protectorate)|Saar region]], 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 tried 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 [[Factory|manufacturing plants]] in the west, and steel production capacity had been reduced by 6.7 million tons.<ref>Gareau (1961), pp. 517–534</ref> Dismantling finally ended in 1951. In all, less than 5% of the industrial base was dismantled.<ref>[[John Ardagh]], ''Germany and the Germans'' (1987) p 84</ref>
The Ruhr was at the centre of the German economic miracle [[Wirtschaftswunder]] of the 1950s and 1960s, as very rapid economic growth (9% a year) created a heavy demand for coal and steel.
After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and increasing 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 became exhausted, 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 reduced their labor force and began to concentrate on high-profit specialty items.<ref>Ardagh, ''Germany and the Germans'' (1987) pp 74–82</ref><ref>Christian Berndt, "Ruhr Firms between Dynamic Change and Structural Persistence. Globalization, the 'German Model' and Regional Place-Dependence", ''Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers'' New Series, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1998), pp. 331–352 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/623205 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026101556/http://www.jstor.org/stable/623205 |date=26 October 2016 }}</ref>
As demand for coal decreased after 1958, the area went through phases of structural crisis (see [[steel 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.<ref>De Ridder K. et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part I: Reproducing the base state. Atmospheric Environment 42,7059–7069</ref><ref>De Ridder K et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part II: Development and evaluation of an urban growth scenario. Atmospheric Environment 42,7070–7077</ref> In 2005 [[Essen]]<ref>[http://en.kulturhauptstadt-europas.de/start.php] "Essen for the Ruhrgebiet" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915121601/http://en.kulturhauptstadt-europas.de/start.php|date=September 15, 2008}}</ref> was the official candidate for nomination as [[European Capital of Culture]] for 2010.
==Climate==
{{See also|Rhine-Ruhr#Climate}}
The Ruhr has an [[oceanic climate]] in spite of its inland position, with winds from the Atlantic travelling over the lowlands to moderate temperature extremes, in spite of its relatively northerly latitude that sees significant variety in daylight hours. A consequence of the marine influence is a cloudy and wet climate with low sunshine hours. Summers normally average in the low 20s, with winters being somewhat above the freezing point.
From the onset of the 21st century, the effects of [[Climate change|global warming]] have become more profound. The area has been affected by severe droughts (like 2018), heat waves with temperatures above {{Convert|40.0|C|F}} (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schunck|first=Britta|date=2020-12-17|title=41,2 Grad im Sommer 2019: Duisburg und Tönisvorst sind neue Hitze-Spitzenreiter in Deutschland|url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/panorama/duisburg-toenisvorst-heisseste-stadt-in-deutschland-41-2-grad-in-2019_aid-55260643|access-date=2021-06-20|website=RP ONLINE|language=de|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204812/https://rp-online.de/nrw/panorama/duisburg-toenisvorst-heisseste-stadt-in-deutschland-41-2-grad-in-2019_aid-55260643|url-status=live}}</ref> and severe weather events like the [[bow echo]] that hit the cities on June 9, 2014, and caused tens of thousands of trees to fall<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-09|title=Fünf Jahre nach "Ela" – Erinnerungen an den Pfingststurm|url=https://www.waz.de/region/rhein-und-ruhr/fuenf-jahre-nach-ela-erinnerungen-an-den-pfingststurm-id225980923.html|access-date=2021-06-20|website=www.waz.de|language=de-DE|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203517/https://www.waz.de/region/rhein-und-ruhr/fuenf-jahre-nach-ela-erinnerungen-an-den-pfingststurm-id225980923.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which was publicly dubbed the "Pfingststurm" (German for "Whitsun storm"). Winters have become more mild which poses a risk for crops such as [[apple]]s whose blooms are vulnerable to late freezes if bud break happens too early.
{{Weather box
|location = Essen
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 4.5
|Feb high C = 5.5
|Mar high C = 9.1
|Apr high C = 12.7
|May high C = 17.6
|Jun high C = 19.9
|Jul high C = 22.2
|Aug high C = 22.3
|Sep high C = 18.3
|Oct high C = 13.7
|Nov high C = 8.2
|Dec high C = 5.6
|year high C = 13.3
|Jan mean C = 2.4
|Feb mean C = 2.9
|Mar mean C = 6.0
|Apr mean C = 8.9
|May mean C = 13.4
|Jun mean C = 15.8
|Jul mean C = 18.0
|Aug mean C = 18.0
|Sep mean C = 14.7
|Oct mean C = 10.7
|Nov mean C = 5.9
|Dec mean C = 3.6
|year mean C = 10.0
|Jan low C = 0.2
|Feb low C = 0.3
|Mar low C = 2.9
|Apr low C = 5.0
|May low C = 9.1
|Jun low C = 11.6
|Jul low C = 13.7
|Aug low C = 13.7
|Sep low C = 11.1
|Oct low C = 7.6
|Nov low C = 3.6
|Dec low C = 1.6
|year low C = 6.7
|Jan precipitation mm = 84.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 58.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 78.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 61.0
|May precipitation mm = 72.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 92.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 81.2
|Aug precipitation mm = 78.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 78.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 75.1
|Nov precipitation mm = 81.1
|Dec precipitation mm = 93.1
|year precipitation mm = 934.1
|Jan precipitation days = 14.1
|Feb precipitation days = 10.5
|Mar precipitation days = 13.6
|Apr precipitation days = 11.1
|May precipitation days = 11.1
|Jun precipitation days = 12.0
|Jul precipitation days = 10.4
|Aug precipitation days = 9.9
|Sep precipitation days = 11.2
|Oct precipitation days = 10.9
|Nov precipitation days = 13.6
|Dec precipitation days = 14.1
|year precipitation days = 142.5
|Jan humidity = 83
|Feb humidity = 82
|Mar humidity = 78
|Apr humidity = 75
|May humidity = 74
|Jun humidity = 76
|Jul humidity = 78
|Aug humidity = 80
|Sep humidity = 79
|Oct humidity = 81
|Nov humidity = 82
|Dec humidity = 80
|year humidity = 79
|Jan sun = 43.4
|Feb sun = 78.3
|Mar sun = 102.3
|Apr sun = 147.0
|May sun = 192.2
|Jun sun = 183.0
|Jul sun = 186.0
|Aug sun = 182.9
|Sep sun = 135.0
|Oct sun = 111.6
|Nov sun = 57.0
|Dec sun = 40.3
|year sun = 1459
|source 1 = [[World Meteorological Organization]] ([[United Nations|UN]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldweather.wmo.int/016/c01345.htm|title=World Weather Information Service - Essen|website=worldweather.wmo.int|access-date=19 March 2021|archive-date=10 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310082909/https://worldweather.wmo.int/016/c01345.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hong Kong Observatory]]<ref>[http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/ger_pl/essen_e.htm "Climatological Information for Essen, Germany"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026000533/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/ger_pl/essen_e.htm |date=26 October 2019 }} – Hong Kong Observatory</ref> <small>for data of sunshine hours</small>
|date=August 2010
}}
==Demographics==
{{See also|List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants}}
The ten largest cities of the Ruhr:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!align="center" |Pos.
!align="center" |Name
!align="center" |Pop. 2020
!align="center" |Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
!align="center" |Pop. per km<sup>2</sup>
! style="text-align:center;" class="unsortable"| Map
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 1 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Dortmund]] || 587,696 || 280.37 || 2,071 || rowspan=10 | [[File:Ruhr area-administration.png|400px]]
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 2 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Essen]] || 582,415 || 210.38 || 2,733
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 3 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Duisburg]] || 495,885 || 232.81 || 2,154
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 4 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Bochum]] || 364,454 || 145.43 || 2,652
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 5 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Gelsenkirchen]] || 259,105 || 104.86 || 2,557
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 6 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Oberhausen]] || 209,566 || 77.04 || 2,841
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 7 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Hagen]] || 188,687 || 160.36 || 1,228
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 8 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] || 178,967 || 226.24 || 814
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 9 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mülheim an der Ruhr]] || 170,921 || 91.28 || 1,872
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 10 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Herne, Germany|Herne]] || 156,940 || 51.41 || 3,100
|}
[[File:Dortmund Panorama.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dortmund]] is the largest city of the Ruhr.]]
[[File:Essen Panorama.jpg|thumb|right|[[Essen]] is the second largest city of the Ruhr.]]
The local regiolect of [[German language|German]] is commonly called ''[[Ruhrdeutsch]]'' (''Ruhrgebietsdeutsch, Ruhrpottdeutsch, Ruhrpottisch, Ruhrpöttisch'') although there is really no uniform regiolect that justifies designation as a ''single'' regiolect. It is rather a working-class [[sociolect]] 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 "Pott", which is a derivate of "Pütt" (pitmen's term for ''mine''; cp. the English "pit"), or "Revier".
During the nineteenth century, the Ruhr attracted up to 500,000 ethnic [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Mazurs|Masurians]] and [[Silesians]] from [[East Prussia]] and [[Silesia]] in a migration known as ''[[Ostflucht]]'' (flight from the east). By 1925, the Ruhrgebiet had around 3,800,000 inhabitants. Most of the new inhabitants came from Eastern Europe, but immigrants also came from [[France]], [[Ireland]], and the [[United Kingdom]]. It has been claimed that immigrants came to the Ruhr from over 140 countries. Almost all their descendants today speak German as a first language, and for various reasons, they do not identify with their Polish roots and traditions, often their Polish family names only remain as a sign of their past.
==Culture==
[[File:Dortmund Oper Kaufmann.jpg|thumb|Opera Dortmund]]
[[File:Grillo-Theater-2012.jpg|thumb|Grillo-Theater Essen]]
[[File:Dortmunder Unionbrauerei.jpg|thumb|Ostwall Museum at U-Tower Dortmund]]
[[The Industrial Heritage Trail]] ({{langx|de|Route der Industriekultur}}) links tourist attractions related to the [[European Route of Industrial Heritage]] in the Ruhr area.
Ruhr is known for its numerous cultural institutions, many of which enjoy international reputation. Ruhr has three major opera houses and more than 10 theaters and stages.
* '''[[Schauspielhaus Bochum]]'''
* '''[[Opernhaus Dortmund]]'''
* '''[[Theater Dortmund]]'''
* '''[[Theater Oberhausen]]'''
* '''[[Deutsche Oper am Rhein|German Opera on the Rhine]]''' at Duisburg
* '''[[Aalto Theatre|Theater Essen]]'''
* '''[[Grillo-Theater]]''' at Essen
There are special classical music halls like the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Duisburg Mercatorhalle, the Saalbau Essen or the [[Dortmunder Philharmoniker]]. Each year in spring time, there is the [[Klavier-Festival Ruhr]] in the Ruhr area with 50 to 80 events of classical and jazz music.
With more than 50 museums, Ruhr has one of the largest variety of museums in Europe.
* '''[[German Mining Museum]]''' at Bochum
* '''[[German Football Museum]]''' at Dortmund
* '''[[Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte|Museum of Art and Cultural History]]''' at Dortmund
* '''[[Museum Ostwall]]''' at Dortmund
* '''[[Natural history museum]]''' at Dortmund
* '''[[Museum Folkwang]]''' at Essen
* '''[[Essen Cathedral Treasury]]''' at Essen
* '''[[Museum Küppersmühle]]''' at Duisburg
* '''[[Lehmbruck-Museum]]''' at Duisburg
* '''[[Hagen Open-air Museum]]''' at Hagen
Industrial Museum
* '''[[Zollern II/IV Colliery]]''' at Dortmund
* '''[[German Inland Waterways Museum]]''' at Duisburg
* '''[[Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord]] ''' at Duisburg
* '''[[Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex]]''' at Essen
* '''[[Gasometer Oberhausen]]''' at Oberhausen
* '''[[Ewald Colliery]]''' at Herten, dedicated to green energy and a commercial and cultural park
The city of Essen (representing the Ruhr) was selected as [[European Capital of Culture]] for 2010 by the [[Council of the European Union]].
In [[association football]], the [[Revierderby]] is the rivalry between [[Borussia Dortmund]] and [[FC Schalke 04]], and to a lesser extent between either club and/or [[VfL Bochum]], [[MSV Duisburg]] or [[Rot-Weiss Essen]] (''kleines Revierderby'').
== Education ==
[[File:570 Im Chinesischen Garten.JPG|thumb|250px|Chinese Garden of the [[Ruhr University Bochum|Ruhr University]] in Bochum]]
[[Image:Mathetower TU Dortmund.jpg|thumb|right|Dortmund University's ''Mathetower'']]
With 22 universities and colleges and more than 250,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metropoleruhr.de/regionalverband-ruhr/regionalstatistik/daten-zur-metropole-ruhr/bildung/studierende.html|title=Studierende|last=Ruhr|first=Regionalverband|date=2017-09-28|website=www.metropoleruhr.de|language=de|access-date=2017-10-02|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007152949/http://www.metropoleruhr.de/regionalverband-ruhr/regionalstatistik/daten-zur-metropole-ruhr/bildung/studierende.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> students, the Ruhr region has the highest density of further education establishments anywhere in Germany. These include five universities alone in the cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Dortmund, Essen and [[Witten]]. In addition, [[Folkwang University of the Arts]] is an internationally acclaimed art college with its base in the Ruhr region. Furthermore, the universities are not the only places in the Ruhr region where academic qualifications can be obtained. There are 17 different universities of applied sciences which offer students to have the opportunity to undertake practice-relevant and qualified studies in various subjects, such as economics, logistics, administration or management.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.welcome.ruhr/en/career/studying/|title=Studying in the Ruhr region: 22 universities and colleges - welcome.ruhr|website=www.welcome.ruhr|language=en|access-date=2017-10-02|archive-date=3 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003030608/http://www.welcome.ruhr/en/career/studying/|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Universities ===
The Ruhr area has 5 major universities in 6 cities with about 120,000 students.
* [[Ruhr University Bochum]]
* [[University of Duisburg-Essen]]
* [[Technical University of Dortmund]]
* [[Folkwang University of the Arts]]
* [[Witten/Herdecke University]]
==== UA Ruhr ====
The three largest universities (Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, and the University of Duisburg-Essen) opened an alliance called "[[ConRuhr|UA Ruhr]]". Students enrolled at one of the UA Ruhr universities can attend lectures and seminars at all three institutions without having to pay a visiting student fee. Consequently, they have many options to specialize in and to explore their chosen disciplines in depth. The UA Ruhr has three liaison offices for interested students in [[New York City]], [[Moscow]] and [[São Paulo]].
=== Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts ===
==== Bochum ====
* Bochum University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Bochum, formerly ''Fachhochschule Bochum'')
* Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences (TH Georg Agricola)
* Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Rheinland-Westphalia-Lippe (Evangelische FH Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe)
* [[Schauspielschule Bochum]] (Bochum drama school)
* College of the Federal Social Security, Department of Social Insurance for Miners, Railway Employees and Seafarers (Fachhochschule des Bundes der Sozialversicherung, Abteilung Knappschaft-Bahn-See)
* University of Health Sciences (Hochschule für Gesundheit)
==== Bottrop ====
* Hochschule Ruhr West
==== Dortmund ====
[[File:FH-Design-Dortmu 2190.JPG|thumb|250px|Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts]]
* [[Fachhochschule Dortmund]]
* FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management, Standort Dortmund (Academy for management)
* Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Academy for public administration)
* International School of Management (Private academy focussing on management and economics)
* IT-Center Dortmund (Private college)
==== Duisburg ====
* FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie und Management (Academy for management)
* Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung (Academy for public administration)
==== Essen ====
[[File:Essen Kloster Werden Innenhof 2 2005.jpg|thumb|250px|Main building of the Folkwang University in Essen-Werden]]
* FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie und Management
* Hochschule für bildende Künste
* Orchesterzentrum NRW
==== Gelsenkirchen ====
* Westfälische Hochschule
* Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW (Academy for public administration)
==== Hagen ====
* [[University of Hagen]]
* FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie und Management
* Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung (Academy for public administration)
* [[South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences]]
==== Hamm ====
* SRH Hochschule für Logistik und Wirtschaft
* Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt
==== Kamp-Lintfort ====
* [[Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences]]
==== Mülheim an der Ruhr ====
* Hochschule Ruhr West
* Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW (Academy for public administration)
==== Recklinghausen ====
* Westfälische Hochschule
==== Unna ====
* Hochschule Campus Unna
==Transport==
===Public transport===
With the exception of public transport companies serving [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] and [[Kreis Unna]], all such companies in the Ruhr region are run under the umbrella of the [[Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr]], which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the entire area. The Ruhr region is well-integrated into the national rail system, the [[Deutsche Bahn]], for both passenger and goods services, each city in the region has at least one train stations. The bigger central stations have hourly direct connections to the bigger European cities as [[Amsterdam]], [[Brussels]], [[Paris]], [[Vienna]] or [[Zürich]].
The Ruhr area also contains the longest [[tram]] system in the world, with tram and [[Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn|Stadtbahn]] services from [[Witten]] to [[Krefeld]] as well as the [[Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn]] network.
Originally the system was even bigger, it was possible to travel from [[Unna]] to [[Bad Honnef]] without using railway or bus services.
===Road transport===
The Ruhr has one of the densest motorway networks in all of Europe, with dozens of [[Autobahn]]s and similar Schnellstraßen (expressways) crossing the region. The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with four east–west ([[Bundesautobahn 2|A2]], [[Bundesautobahn 40|A40]], [[Bundesautobahn 42|A42]], [[Bundesautobahn 44|A44]]) and seven north–south ([[Bundesautobahn 1|A1]], [[Bundesautobahn 3|A3]], [[Bundesautobahn 43|A43]], [[Bundesautobahn 45|A45]], [[Bundesautobahn 52|A52]], [[Bundesautobahn 57|A57]], [[Bundesautobahn 59|A59]]) routes. The A1, A2 and A3 are mostly used by through traffic, while the other autobahns have a more regional function.
Both the A44 and the A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing sections are currently in construction or planned to be constructed in the near future.
Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, [[Bundesstraße]]n 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 alternative routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less so than in the [[Randstad]] in the Netherlands, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns have six lanes, but there are no eight-lane Autobahns in the Ruhr.
===Air transport===
[[Düsseldorf Airport]] is the intercontinental airport for [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] and is within 20&nbsp;km of most of the Western Ruhr area.
It is served by the [[Düsseldorf Flughafen railway station|Düsseldorf Flughafen]] and [[Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal railway station]]s, with its several parking lots, terminals and stations being connected by the ''[[H-Bahn|Skytrain]]''.
[[Dortmund Airport]] in the Eastern Ruhr is a mid-sized airport, offering scheduled flights to domestic and European destinations and its approximately 3 million passengers in 2023. Dortmund Airport is served by an express bus to [[Dortmund Hauptbahnhof|Dortmund main station]], a shuttle bus to the nearby railway station ''[[Holzwickede station|Holzwickede]]/Dortmund Flughafen'', a bus connecting to Stadtbahn line U47, as well as a bus to the city of [[Unna]].
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Straßenbahn Essen 106 1614 Hauptbahnhof 1910040732.jpg|A tram of the [[Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn]]
File:VRR Linien-Netz 2014.svg|Public transport map Rhein-Ruhr
File:Ruhrtalbruecke-Sonnenuntergang.jpg|[[Bundesautobahn 52]] in [[Mülheim]]
File:Schnettkerbruecke West.jpg|[[A40 motorway (Germany)|A40]] motorway in [[Dortmund]]
File:Flughafen Dortmund.jpg|[[Dortmund Airport]] in the East of the Ruhr
</gallery>
==See also==
{{Portal|North Rhine-Westphalia|Germany|Energy}}
* [[Metropolitan regions in Germany]]
* [[Occupation of the Ruhr]] (1923–1924)
* [[Rhine-Ruhr|Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region]]
* [[Ruhr pocket]]
* [[Ruhrpolen]]
* [[Katowice urban area]]
* [[Metropolis GZM]]
* [[Upper Silesian Coal Basin]]
==Explanatory notes==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha|refs=
<ref name=alternative-names>Other colloquial names that are used include ''Ruhrpott'', ''Revier'' or ''Kohlenpott''.
* "The Heavy Industrial Belt' is commonly, though inaccurately, referred to as the Ruhr. This is a belt of low and level land on the northern edge of the uplands, known as the Sauerland through which flows the Ruhr from east to west" {{harv|Dickinson|1945|p=70}}.
* "Few foreigners know that in fact 'the Ruhr' is the name of a 150-mile-long Rhine right-bank tributary which, after meandering through the industrial basin now named after it, enters its parent near Europe's greatest inland port, Duisburg" {{harv|GI staff|1966|p=30}}.
* "The territory through which the Ruhr flows is called the Ruhr district" {{harv|Osmańczyk|Mango|2003|p=1970}}.
* "Many industries were built in the Ruhr region, where both iron ore and coal were found" {{harv|Lane|2001|p=24}}.
</ref>
}}
== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}
== General and cited sources ==
* {{citation |last=Botting |first=Douglas |year=1985 |title=From the Ruins of the Reich: Germany 1945–1949 |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishing |isbn=978-0-517-55865-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fromruinsofreich00bott }}
* {{Citation |last=Dickinson |first=Robert E. |title=The Regions of Germany |volume=7 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1945 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3rtRzH_cGUMC&pg=PA70 70] }}
* {{Citation|author=French Directorate for Economic Affairs |url=http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=6584 |title=Memorandum on the separation of the German industrial regions |date=8 September 1945}}
* {{Citation |last=Gareau |first=Frederick H. |title=Morgenthau's Plan for Industrial Disarmament in Germany |journal=Western Political Quarterly |volume=14 |number=2 |date=June 1961 |pages=517–53 |doi=10.2307/443604 |jstor=443604}}
* {{Citation |author=GI staff |title=German International |volume=10 |year=1966 |page=30}}
* {{Citation |last1=Osmańczyk |first1=Edmund Jan |last2=Mango |first2=Anthony |title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: A to F |year=2003 |page=1970}}
* {{Citation |last=Lane |first=Kathryn |title=Germany: The Land |year=2001 |page=24}}
* {{Citation |last=Levine |first=Alan J |year=1992 |chapter=Second Battle of the Ruhr |title=The Strategic Bombing of Germany: 1940–1945 |edition=illustrated |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780275943196 |pages=172–174 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdioX_F5OIwC&pg=PA172}}
* {{Citation |last=Yoder |first=Amos |title=The Ruhr Authority and the German Problem |journal=Review of Politics |volume=17 |number=3 |date=July 1955 |pages=345–358 |jstor=1404797 |doi=10.1017/s0034670500014261|s2cid=145465919 }}
==Further reading==
* Kift, Roy, ''[http://www.roy-kift.com Tour the Ruhr: The English language guide]'' (3rd ed., 2008) ({{ISBN|3-88474-815-7}}) Klartext Verlag, Essen
* 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.&nbsp;637–653 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3787414 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 Area: A Problem in Definition," ''Geography'' 36#3 (1951), pp.&nbsp;165–178. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40563164 online]
* Pounds, Norman J. G. ''The Ruhr: A Study in Historical and Economic Geography'' [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3055785 (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.&nbsp;65–78 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3114687 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.&nbsp;397–412 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1878745 in JSTOR]
* Spencer, Elaine Glovka. ''Management and Labor in Imperial Germany: Ruhr Industrialists as Employers, 1896–1914.'' Rutgers University Press. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=22954873 (1984) online]
* Todd, Edmund N. "Industry, State, and Electrical Technology in the Ruhr Circa 1900", ''Osiris'' 2nd Series, Vol. 5, (1989), pp.&nbsp;242–259 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/301799 in JSTOR]
==External links==
{{Commons category|Ruhr area|Ruhrgebiet}}
{{wikivoyage|Ruhr}}
{{Wiktionary|Ruhrgebiet}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317043709/http://www.ruhr-tourismus.de/no_cache/en.html Ruhr Tourism]
* [https://www.ruhr-tourismus.de/en/ Mein Ruhrgebiet Ruhr Tourism]
* [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/psf/box31/t297a01.html Post-Surrender Program for Germany (September 1944)]
* [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1947-03-24&documentid=37&studycollectionid=mp&nav=ok Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, March 24, 1947] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310221850/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1947-03-24&documentid=37&studycollectionid=mp&nav=ok |date=10 March 2007 }}
* [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=8&documentid=22&documentdate=1947-03-24&studycollectionid=mp&nav=ok Draft, The President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Report 3, March, 1947; OF 950B: Economic Mission as to Food…; Truman Papers.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606231212/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=8&documentid=22&documentdate=1947-03-24&studycollectionid=mp&nav=ok |date=6 June 2011 }}
* [http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/saar.htm 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.
* [http://www.ruhrgebietsbilder.de/ruhr_root_eng.html Ruhrgebietsbilder: Photos about the Ruhr]
{{Metropolregion Germany}}
{{World's most populated urban areas}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ruhr| ]]
[[Category:Coal mining regions in Germany]]
[[Category:Cultural landscapes of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Metropolitan areas of Germany]]
[[Category:Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia]]