The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine.

Description and history

The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet (670 m). It flows into the lower Rhine river at an elevation of only 56 feet (17 m) in the municipal area of Duisburg. Its total length is 218 km (135 mi), its average discharge is 79 m³/s (cubic metres per second) at Mülheim near its mouth. Thus, its discharge is, for example, comparable to that of the Ems river in Northern Germany or the Thames river in the United Kingdom.

The Ruhr first passes the towns of Meschede, Arnsberg, Wickede, Fröndenberg, Holzwickede, Iserlohn and Schwerte. Then the river marks the southern limit of the Ruhr area, passing Hagen, Dortmund, Herdecke, Wetter, Witten, Bochum, Hattingen, Essen, Mülheim and Duisburg.

The Ruhr Area was Germany's primary industrial area during the early- to mid-20th century. Most factories were located there. The Occupation of the Ruhr from 1923-24 by French forces, due to the Weimar Republic's failure to contionue paying reparations from World War I provoked passive resistance, which saw production in the factories grind to a halt. As a result, the German hyperinflation crisis grew even worse.

The Ruhr (German pronunciation: [ˈʁuːɐ̯], German: Ruhrgebiet), or the Ruhr district, Ruhr region or Ruhr valley, is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km² and a population of eight and a half million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people, which is among the largest in Europe.

From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts of Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The most populous cities are Dortmund (approx. 572,000), Essen (approx. 566,000) and Duisburg (approx. 486,000). The Ruhr area doesn't have an administrative center; each city in the area has its own administration, although there exists the supracommunal "Regionalverband Ruhr" institution in Essen. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal).

Ruhr may refer to

See also

Ruhr is the name of a département of the Grand Duchy of Berg, a satellite state of the First French Empire, in present day Germany. It was named after the river Ruhr, which flows through the département.

The capital was Dortmund.

References

Further reading