The Ruhr, also referred to as Ruhr area, Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017), it is the largest urban area in Germany. 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 among the largest in Europe.
Bochum is the sixth largest city of the most populous German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg, and its 364,920 (2016) inhabitants make it the 16th largest city of Germany. On the Ruhr Heights (Ruhrhöhen) hill chain, between the rivers Ruhr to the south and Emscher to the north, it is the second largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, and the fourth largest city of the Ruhr after Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg. It lies at the centre of the Ruhr, Germany's largest urban area, in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, and belongs to the region of Arnsberg. It is surrounded by the cities of Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten, Hattingen, Essen and Gelsenkirchen. Bochum is the sixth largest and one of the southernmost cities in the Low German dialect area. There are nine institutions of higher education in the city, most notably the Ruhr University Bochum, one of the ten largest universities in Germany, and the Bochum University of Applied Sciences.
The Ruhr-University Bochum is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in 1965.
Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the largest metropolitan region in Germany with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers an area of 7,268 square kilometres (2,806 sq mi), entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region spreads from the Ruhr area (Dortmund-Essen-Duisburg-Bochum) in the north, to the urban areas of the cities of Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Leverkusen, Cologne, and Bonn in the south. The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
Fritz Hermann Michael Bayerlein was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He initially served as a staff officer, including with Erwin Rommel in the Afrika Korps. He then commanded the 3rd Panzer Division, the Panzer Lehr Division and LIII Army Corps in the European theatre. Bayerlein was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Norbert Lammert is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 12th President of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2017.
The University of Duisburg-Essen is a public research university in Duisburg and Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a member of the newly founded University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr. It was founded in 1654 and re-established on 1 January 2003, as a merger of the Gerhard Mercator University of Duisburg and the University of Essen.
TU Dortmund University is a technical university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 35,000 students, and over 6,000 staff including 300 professors, offering around 80 Bachelor's and master's degree programs. It is situated in the Ruhr area, the fourth largest urban area in Europe. The university is highly ranked in terms of its research performance in the areas of physics, electrical engineering, chemistry and economics. The university pinoeered the Internet in Germany, and contributed to machine learning.
Frank Goosen is a German cabaret artist and author.
Jamiri is one of the most recognized comics artists in Germany.
Bernhard Siegert is a German media theorist and media historian.
The Bochum Stadtbahn is a light rail line in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, linking the cities of Bochum and Herne. It is operated by BOGESTRA, and is integrated into the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn network. It consists of a single Stadtbahn line, which includes a tunnel section between the city centers of Bochum and Herne.
Ralf Brauksiepe is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 1998 and 2018, he served as a member of the Bundestag.
Bochum Observatory, often known in Bochum as Cape Kaminski is a research institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The institution came into being through a private initiative. Its main areas of interest are in radio astronomy and environmental research.
Stefan Berger is the Director of the Institute for Social Movements, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, and Chairman of the committee of the Library of the Ruhr Foundation. He is Professor of Social History at the Ruhr University. He specializes in nationalism and national identity studies, historiography and historical theory, comparative labour studies, and the history of industrial heritage.
The University hospitals of the Ruhr University of Bochum, German Universitätsklinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, abbreviated UK RUB is a syndicate of six university hospitals and associated facilities of the Ruhr University of Bochum. Founded in 2008 by the merger of formally independent hospitals the UK RUB is now a major provider of health in the Ruhr Metropolitan Region treating over 400,000 patients per year with a strong commitment to research and teaching.
The Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) is a leading German think tank and the largest European think tank with an exclusive focus on China. The non-profit organization was founded in 2013 by Stiftung Mercator, one of Germany’s largest private foundations. MERICS conducts research and fosters dialogue on the ascent of China as a key global player. The institute’s focus is on political, economic, social, technological and ecological developments in China and their global impacts.
Hans-Peter Hasenfratz was a Swiss religious scholar who was Professor of Religious Studies at the Ruhr University Bochum. He was a leading authority on the phenomenology of religion and Germanic paganism.
Helmut Martin was a German sinologist best known for his work on modern Chinese literature.
