Ruhr

The Ruhr is a densely populated industrial region in western Germany, centered on the Ruhr River. Coal mining and steelmaking shaped its cities, economy, and landscape.

Ruhr coalfield: A major coal-bearing geological formation beneath the Ruhr region. Its coal seams supplied the fuel that drove the region’s industrial growth.
Coal mining: The extraction of coal from underground or surface deposits for fuel and industrial use. Deep mining supplied the Ruhr’s principal energy source and employed generations of workers.
Coal phase-out in Germany: The planned closure of Germany’s coal mines and coal-fired power stations. The end of mining and coal power reshaped the Ruhr’s employment and energy landscape.
Essen: A city in the central Ruhr region and a former center of coal and steel production. Essen’s industrial history is closely tied to the Krupp works and the Zollverein mine.
Industrial Revolution in Germany: The transformation of German economies and societies through mechanized industry during the nineteenth century. The Ruhr became a principal center of Germany’s industrialization.
Coking: The heating of coal without oxygen to produce coke, a carbon-rich fuel. Ruhr coke powered blast furnaces that converted iron ore into iron.
Structural change: A long-term shift in an economy’s dominant industries, jobs, and institutions. The Ruhr’s transition from heavy industry to services and technology is a major case of structural change.
Dortmund: A major city in the eastern Ruhr region, historically associated with coal, steel, and brewing. Dortmund illustrates the region’s industrial past and subsequent economic diversification.
Emscher: A river flowing west through the northern Ruhr region to the Rhine. Its course became an industrial drainage corridor, later the focus of ecological restoration.
Blast furnace: A tall industrial furnace that smelts iron ore using coke and hot air. Blast furnaces joined the region’s coal supply to its steel production.

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