Bochum, in the heart of the Ruhr, between the rivers Emscher and Ruhr, offers a textbook example of the structural change which is taking place in the economy of this region. This town which owed its rise to coal and steel no longer has any mines and has acquired new industrial and commercial interests. In addition to its traditional steel industry it now manufactures cars (Opel) and radio and television sets. In the scientific and cultural field it has the Ruhr University (opened 1965), the Institute of Environmental Research and Futurology and its Schauspielhaus (Theater). It is also the home of the German Shakespeare Society.
The German Mining Museum in Bochum has a demonstration pit, a winding-tower and a geological collection.
Address: German Mining Museum, Am Bergbaumuseum, D-44791 Bochum, Germany
Hours:
January 1 to December 31: 8:30am-5pm; Sun:10am-5pm; Sat:10am-5pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), New Year's Eve (December 31), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26), Christmas Eve - Christian (December 24)
Tips: Reduced prices on weekends and bank holidays.
Groups larger than 10 are required to book 2-3 weeks in advance.
On the left bank of the Ruhr in Stiepel stands Haus Kemnade, a moated house of 1664 which now contains the Bochum Museum's collection of material on the history of the town, a Farmhouse Museum and a collection of musical instruments.
Helfs Hof, in Bochum's southwestern Sevinghausen district, is a farmhouse dating from about 1560 which is now the Wattenscheider Heimatmuseum (furniture, craft tools, documents).
Address: Heimatmuseum, In den Höfen 37, D-44867 Bochum, Germany
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