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Roaming Round the Ruhr AIA Autumn trip 10th - 15th September 2012 An exploration of the Industrial Heartland of North Germany Click here to Register Interest |
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| The Ruhr was the home of North Germany’s iron and steel industry. Based on local coal the whole valley from Duisberg to Dortmund became a conurbation of coal mines, coking plants, blast furnaces and steel works. To support this there was an extensive transport network including railways and canals. Although most of this industry has now gone many of the sites are now part of the Ruhr Industrial Heritage Trail. | |
Zollverein Schacht 12 |
Among the sites we
plan to include are the Zollverein Colliery (a World Heritage
Site) which, together with the coking plant, were the largest of
their kind in Europe.
Shaft 12, built in 1932 in Bauhaus style, is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece. We will also include the old and new boat lifts at Henrichenburg. The old lift, opened in 1899 by no less than Kaiser Wilhelm II, was the biggest and most spectacular structure on the old Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. At Solingen we will visit the Hendrichs forge which, with its 33 drop-hammers, once produced millions of scissors, knives and weapons; at Essen we shouldn't miss the Villa Hügel with its 269 rooms and 28 ha of park, the former residence of the Krupp family. |
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Also on the list are the railway museum at
Bochum-Dalhausen; the Westphalian Open Air Museum which
offers a
hands-on approach to skilled trades from the 18th century
through to the 20th; Duisberg Landscape Park once
the site of the Thyssen ironworks which is an interesting example of
adaptive re-use and in Wuppertal we plan to see the workshops
of, and ride
on, the overhead railway. It may be possible to include a visit to the Möhne Dam, the site where the bouncing bombs were used, we could see the 24 metre high under-gate and control platform on the Rhein-Herne canal and not forgetting a visit to a brewery for much needed refreshment! Accommodation will be in Essen, a lively town with plenty of restaurants and bars. Transport will be by coach from London. |
Wuppertal Schwebebahn
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| Non-AIA members most welcome. Click here to Register Interest | |
