The Ruhrgebiet
The former coal-wash plant at the Unesco-listed Zeche Zollverein provides a suitably atmospheric setting for accessible and engaging exhibits on the…
Must-see attractions in The Ruhrgebiet
The Ruhrgebiet
A key site along the Ruhr area's Industrial Heritage Trail, the former Zollverein coal mine was a marvel of efficiency while in operation from 1932 until…
The Ruhrgebiet
A grand dame among Germany’s art repositories, the Museum Folkwang has sparkling digs designed by top British architect David Chipperfield. Galleries…
The Ruhrgebiet
Molten iron used to flow 24/7 from the fiery furnaces of this decommissioned ironworks that is now an urban oasis, performance space and all-ages…
Dortmund
This vast shrine to the nation's passion and obsession is a place of pilgrimage not only for German football fans. Inside a futuristic building next to…
Dortmund
The 4th and 5th floors of the Dortmunder U creative complex are home to the Museum am Ostwall, an art-world star thanks to its far-reaching collection of…
The Ruhrgebiet
The Tetraeder is one of the most striking stops on the Ruhr Valley's Industrial Heritage Trail. The airy 60m-high installation by Wolfgang Christ is a…
Dortmund
You can see it from afar – the golden ‘U’ atop the tower once used for beer storage by the now defunct Union Brauerei. Once one of Dortmund’s largest and…
The Ruhrgebiet
Fans of historical trains have plenty to admire at this vast museum, which displays around 120 steam locomotives (many puffing away), coaches and wagons…
The Ruhrgebiet
Part of the Zeche Zollverein colliery-turned-cultural centre, this museum showcases the best in contemporary design in the former stoker's hall,…
The Ruhrgebiet
Bottrop-born Josef Albers (1888–1976) was a painter of abstract works that combine bold use of colour with geometric forms. A member of the Bauhaus school…
The Ruhrgebiet
This museum is famous for its vast collection of modern international sculpture by artists including Archipenko, Giacometti, Kollwitz, Ernst and Chillida…
The Ruhrgebiet
Essen’s medieval Dom is an island of quiet engulfed by the commercialism of pedestrianised Kettwiger Strasse, the main shopping strip. It has a priceless…
MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst
The Ruhrgebiet
One of the biggest collections of German art created after 1945 is on display at this humongous historical mill and grain storage silo in the Inner…
Dortmund
Dating to 1280, the Reinoldi church is named after the city’s patron saint. As the story goes, after Reinold was martyred in Cologne, the carriage…
The Ruhrgebiet
This barrel-shaped tower – spectacularly lit at night – stored gas to power blast furnaces from the 1920s until 1988. Six years later, the Gasometer…
Dortmund
Marienkirche is the oldest of Dortmund’s churches, and its Romanesque origins are still visible in the round-arched nave. The star exhibit here is the…
The Ruhrgebiet
This hugely popular museum will remain closed until 2020 while getting a much needed refurb and completely updated permanent exhibition. It's still worth…
The Ruhrgebiet
Werden’s main sight is the solid stone St Ludgerus (1175), a beautiful late-Romanesque church named for the Frisian missionary buried here. It has an…
Dortmund
The 14th-century Petrikirche's showstopper is the massive Antwerp altar (1520), featuring 633 individually carved and gilded figurines in scenes depicting…
Dortmund
The Zollern II/IV Coal Mine was considered a 'model mine' when operation began in 1902. It boasted state-of-the-art technology and fantastic architecture,…
The Ruhrgebiet
The grand Alte Synagoge served as the hub of Essen's Jewish community between 1913 and 1938 and miraculously survived WWII largely intact. A memorial site…
Dortmund
Dortmund is not only famous for its football team but also has a long tradition of beer-making. This museum is in the machine and production halls of the…
Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Steinwache
Dortmund
This municipal memorial uses the original rooms and cells of a Nazi prison as a backdrop for a grim exhibit about Dortmund during the Third Reich. Over 66…
