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The Ruhr area ('Ruhrgebiet') is named after the river that borders it to the south and is the largest urban area in Germany with over five million people. It is mostly known as a densely-populated industrial area. By 1850 there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke, used in blast furnaces, producing iron and steel. Because of the industrial significance, it had been a target from the start of the war, yet "the organized defences and the large amount of industrial pollutants produced a semi-permanent smog or industrial haze that hampered accurate bombing". During World War II, the industry and cities in the Ruhr area were heavily bombed. The combination of the lack of historic city centres, which were burned to ashes, and (air) pollution has given the area and the cities a bad reputation. Especially because it is so close to the Netherlands, I thought it would be an interesting area to visit for a little trip. I have spent three nights at a campsite on the Ruhr and visited six cities.

Bochum dates from the 9th century and was granted a town charter in 1321, yet it remained a small town until the 19th century. The establishment of the mining and the steel industry resulted in steep population rise. Coals refined as coke needed for the steel production led to the emergence of coking plants. Bochum's growth at the end of the 19th century took place without any overarching planning, and so no organized infrastructure could develop at first. Industrial settlements and company apartments were built at the colliery sites, while the established farms around the industrial sites continued to farm. In 1894 the first tram line went into operation. During the Second World War, more than 30,000 people were used as slave labor in Bochum and Wattenscheid as part of the Nazi forced labor, while 38 percent of the city was destroyed by bombings. With a population of 365,000 inhabitans, Bochum is the fourth largest city in the Ruhr area and the 16th largest city in Germany.