Ruhr
Ruhrgebiet | |
|---|---|
| Ruhr Metropolis Metropole Ruhr | |
 Logo | |
 Map of the Ruhr within Germany | |
| Coordinates: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.500°N 7.500°E | |
| Country |  Germany |
| State |  North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Largest cities | |
| Government | |
| • Body | Regionalverband Ruhr |
| Area | |
| • Metro | 4,435 km2 (1,712 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 441 m (1,447 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 13 m (43 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
| • Urban | 5,147,820 |
| • Urban density | 1,160/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 10,680,783 |
| GDP | |
| • Urban | €180.467 billion (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| Website | www |
The Ruhr (/ˈrʊər/ ROOR; German: Ruhrgebiet [ˈʁuːɐ̯ɡəˌbiːt] , also Ruhrpott German pronunciation: [ˈʁuːɐ̯pɔt] ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[a] With a population density of 2,800/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017),[3] it is the largest urban area in Germany and the third of the European Union. It consists of several large 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 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 an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, Hamm and the districts of Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The most populous cities are Dortmund (with a population of approximately 612,065),[4] 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 Ruhr Regional Association institution in Essen.[5] For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture.[6][7]
- ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
- ^ highest: Wengeberg in Breckerfeld, lowest: Xanten
- ^ Ruhr, Regionalverband (9 January 2018). "Zensus 2011" (in German). www.metropoleruhr.de. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Bevölkerung in Zahlen 2023". dortmund.de. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- ^ "Ruhr Regional Association". www.rvr.ruhr. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 52011DC0921 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ "Home: RUHR.2010". Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
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