Steel works, head frame structures and mine shafts – relicts of times long since past still define our image of the Ruhr Area: testimonials to an industrial heritage that continues to characterize the third-largest metropolitan area in Europe to this day. Yet this historic metropolitan region, which is constantly reinventing and redefining itself, succeeded in restructuring and opening itself to modern possibilities long ago. Today, research, education and culture determine the character of the area. Its impetus for innovation and creativity is its thriving art scene, which also reflects the cultural diversity of North Rhine-Westphalia as a whole. The greatest highlight so far: in 2010, the city of Essen will become the official “European Capital of Culture” on behalf of the entire Ruhr Area.

Everywhere in the Ruhr Area – from Dortmund to Duisburg, from Recklinghausen to Hagen – visitors have the opportunity to dive into the world of the mining and steel-producing industries. The most exciting, interesting and significant of these opportunities can be found along the “Industrial Heritage Trail”: more than 50 stations, including coal mines, factories and workers' colonies, represent the region's 150-year industrial history, of which its inhabitants are extremely proud. The steadily increasing number of visitors attests to the success of this concept of dealing with the region's industrial history in a self-confident and offensive way.

The city of Essen has been nominated the 2010 European Capital of Culture. This is where one of the area's most renowned figureheads, which has become the epitome of the Ruhr region's utterly unique industrial charm, is located: the “Zollverein colliery”. This former coal mine has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 – one of the four listed sites in North Rhine-Westphalia along with the Aachen cathedral, the castles Augustusburg and Falkenlust in Brühl and the Cologne cathedral, the state's most famous landmark.

About 20 years ago, the former coal mine and neighboring coking plant of the Zollverein colliery were closed down for good. Following reconstruction works conducted by the star architect Norman Foster, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia Design Center) and the red dot museum moved into the former boiler house, which now houses more than 1000 exhibits of contemporary design. For some years, this historic industrial complex has become one of the most internationally renowned creative institutes for design and architecture. “It is precisely this polarization between the old industrial culture and the modern design scene,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, Director of the Design Center, “which gives this location a particularly charming character.”

Out with the old, in with the new

With courage and creativity, some of the former industrial complexes have even been transformed into spectacular locations for sports and entertainment. In the metallurgical plant in Duisburg-Meiderich, for example, what was once used as a gas tank – Europe's largest indoor basin with a depth of 13 meters – now offers scuba divers a unique environment to practice in. And rock climbing enthusiasts now have the opportunity to train in a former ore deposit bunker, which has since been converted into an alpine climbing center.

Experiencing art

North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the densest cultural regions in Europe. Countless works from old and new artistic masters are displayed in the exhibition halls between the Rhine and the Ruhr. Moreover, in addition to art and theatre, the cities from Bielefeld to Aachen also offer an array of musical and literary highlights, such as the Bonn Beethoven Festival or the international literature festival “LitCologne.”

With their numerous exhibits, the region's more than 680 museums attract nearly 15 million visitors each year. And many of these museums are known far beyond the federal state's borders, such as the Kunstsammlung NRW, the Museum Ludwig and the Museum Folkwang – the domains of many famous artists. Hundreds of galleries, open-air museums and major art fairs, such as the annual Art Cologne, accentuate North Rhine-Westphalia's polycentric cultural structure.

Promoting creativity

North Rhine-Westphalia serves as home to more than 30,000 artists and offers them a hub for their creative activities. Famous names like Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys and Jörg Immendorff have set the standard. Beuys and Immendorff additionally count among the most prestigious professors of the renowned Düsseldorf Art Academy, which has bred numerous distinguished painters, including August Macke and Sigmar Polke.

Art and culture have a long tradition in North Rhine-Westphalia. Here, art connoisseurs have the opportunity to view a virtually overwhelming amount of exhibited works from all periods. Modern art enthusiasts will particularly enjoy the possibilities offered to them in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The art museum Kunstsammlung NRW with its K20 and K21 collections is located in Düsseldorf. It offers an exclusive selection of exhibited works from the 20th and 21st centuries and has thus acquired a firm position in the international exhibition world. Here you can find everything from works by the artistic group “Der Blaue Reiter” to pieces by Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol.

Ardent collectors

The Museum Ludwig in Cologne invites visitors to embark on a journey into the world of 20th century and contemporary art. Works from the expressionist and modern classical periods form the basis of its extensive collection. Meanwhile, the Museum Ludwig has become one of the most internationally significant museums for 20th century art.

Each year, numerous visitors are drawn to the Museum Folkwang in Essen, one of the leading modern art museums in Germany. After incurring painful and irreplaceable losses in the Second World War, the museum directors decided to extend the collection to include contemporary art. Today, the museum is able to present a larger and more comprehensive collection than it ever had before.

The Ruhr Area's international festival of the arts (the “RuhrTriennale”), the Museum Folkwang and the Zollverein colliery are only three of the many highlights that this region has to offer – yet they were enough to convince the jury to name the city of Essen the “European Capital of Culture 2010” on behalf of the Ruhr Area. The way in which Essen has progressed from industrial history to a thriving cultural environment serves as an example for all of Europe.