Rhine-Ruhr

The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (German: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants.[1] 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 (the state capital), Wuppertal, Leverkusen, Cologne (the region's largest and Germany's fourth largest city), 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 such as the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.

Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region
Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region according to the LEP NRW, 1995
Coordinates: 51°27′N 6°53′E
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Largest citiesCologne
Düsseldorf
Dortmund
Essen
Duisburg
Bochum
Wuppertal
Bonn
Area
 • Metro
7,268 km2 (2,806 sq mi)
Highest elevation
494 m (1,621 ft)
Lowest elevation
20 m (70 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • Metro
10,680,783
 • Metro density1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
Aerial view of Cologne
Aerial view of Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia
Aerial view of Dortmund
Aerial view of Essen

The metropolitan area is named after the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, which are the region's defining geographical features and historically its economic backbone.

Subdivisions

The largest cities in the Rhine-Ruhr area are Cologne, with over one million inhabitants, followed by Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen, each of which has slightly more than 575,250.

Many unofficial compositions of the Rhine-Ruhr area differ from one another, while the officially defined border of the metropolitan area itself comprises Hamm in the east, Mönchengladbach in the west, Bonn in the south, with the small city of Wesel as its northernmost point. The northern border is similar to that of the Ruhr Area.

This first unofficial table here characterizes the Rhine-Ruhr area as comprising three regions, which together constitute an area much larger than officially defined.

Region Major cities Population Area
Ruhr Metropolitan Region[2] 5,172,745 4,435 km2
Dortmund 581,308 280 km2
Essen 576,259 210 km2
Duisburg 491,931 233 km2
Bochum 385,626 145 km2
Gelsenkirchen 268,102 233 km2
Oberhausen 212,568 77 km2
Düsseldorf Metropolitan Region 2,944,700 2,404 km2
Düsseldorf 586,217 217 km2
Neuss 151,280 99 km2
Mönchengladbach 258,251 170 km2
Wuppertal 351,050 168 km2
Cologne Bonn Region[3] 2,818,178 2,920 km2
Cologne 1,000,298 405 km2
Bonn 319,841 141 km2
Leverkusen 160,819 79 km2
Rhine-Ruhr 10,935,623 9,759 km2

Eurostat's Urban Audit splits the Rhine-Ruhr region into six Larger Urban Zones (LUZ). Not one of these six Urban Zones comprises the cities of Remscheid and Solingen or the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss.

Larger Urban Zone Major cities Population Area
Ruhr Larger Urban Zone[4][5] 5,172,745 4,434 km2
Dortmund 581,308 280 km2
Essen 576,259 210 km2
Duisburg 491,931 233 km2
Düsseldorf Larger Urban Zone[6][7] 1,525,774 1,200 km2
Düsseldorf 586,217 217 km2
Neuss 151,280 99 km2
Ratingen 91,306 67 km2
Mönchengladbach Larger Urban Zone[8][9] 258,251 170 km2
Mönchengladbach 258,251 170 km2
Wuppertal Larger Urban Zone[10][11] 351,050 168 km2
Wuppertal 351,050 168 km2
Cologne Larger Urban Zone[12][13] 1,899,930 1,627 km2
Cologne 1,000,298 405 km2
Bonn Larger Urban Zone[14][15] 918,248 1,295 km2
Bonn 319,841 141 km2
Rhine-Ruhr 10,125,998 8,894 km2

Economy
Deutsche Telekom headquarters in Bonn

Historically, most of the Ruhr area was for the most part characterized by heavy industry since the age of industrialisation in the late 19th and early 20th century. Since the Middle Ages, Cologne, Dortmund, and other cities were important regional trading cities, but during the 19th century the city of Düsseldorf grew to become the administrative center of the region and since 1945, its political capital.

Today, the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region accounts for roughly 15% of the GDP of the German economy, which would place it as the 2nd largest metropolitan area GDP in the European Union. Despite this size, the Rhine-Ruhr region as a whole often lacks international competitiveness because it lacks a unified presentation. Cities and urban areas within it often pursue separate investment policies against each other.[16]

From within, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Cologne are by far the largest economic centers,[17] with specialisation in financial/high tech and insurance/multi media services respectively. Other major economic centers are Bonn and Dortmund. The region is home to twelve Fortune Global 500 companies,[18] among them E.ON AG (Essen), Deutsche Post AG (Bonn), Metro AG (Düsseldorf), Deutsche Telekom AG (Bonn), ThyssenKrupp AG, (Essen), RWE AG (Essen), Bayer AG (Leverkusen), Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH (Duisburg), Evonik Industries (Essen), Hochtief AG, (Essen), and the Henkel Group, (Düsseldorf).

Climate
See also: Ruhr § Climate, and Cologne Lowland

The Rhine-Ruhr area's climate is characterized by having the warmest winters in Germany, especially its western part at the Lower Rhine area. Classified by Köppen-Geiger climate classification to be oceanic (Cfb).

Düsseldorf
Climate chart (explanation)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Climate-Data[19]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.7
 
 
40
31
 
 
1.9
 
 
42
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2.6
 
 
50
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2.1
 
 
58
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2.8
 
 
66
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2.5
 
 
68
51
 
 
2.6
 
 
58
44
 
 
2.5
 
 
48
38
 
 
2.9
 
 
42
33
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Essen
Climate chart (explanation)
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71
 
 
8
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5
1
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Climate-Data[20]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.8
 
 
40
31
 
 
2
 
 
41
31
 
 
2.6
 
 
49
36
 
 
2.2
 
 
57
40
 
 
2.8
 
 
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47
 
 
3.3
 
 
70
52
 
 
3.2
 
 
73
56
 
 
3
 
 
72
55
 
 
2.6
 
 
67
51
 
 
2.6
 
 
58
44
 
 
2.8
 
 
47
38
 
 
3.2
 
 
42
33
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Cologne
Climate chart (explanation)
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55
 
 
15
7
 
 
66
 
 
9
3
 
 
65
 
 
5
1
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Climate-Data[21]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.3
 
 
40
31
 
 
2
 
 
42
31
 
 
2
 
 
50
35
 
 
2.1
 
 
58
40
 
 
2.6
 
 
66
47
 
 
3.3
 
 
72
52
 
 
3.1
 
 
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56
 
 
3.3
 
 
74
55
 
 
2.5
 
 
68
50
 
 
2.2
 
 
58
44
 
 
2.6
 
 
48
38
 
 
2.6
 
 
42
33
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Dortmund
Climate chart (explanation)
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5
0
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Climate-Data[22]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.8
 
 
39
30
 
 
2
 
 
41
31
 
 
2.5
 
 
48
35
 
 
2.2
 
 
56
40
 
 
2.7
 
 
64
46
 
 
3.2
 
 
70
52
 
 
3.2
 
 
72
55
 
 
2.9
 
 
71
54
 
 
2.6
 
 
66
49
 
 
2.4
 
 
57
44
 
 
2.8
 
 
46
37
 
 
3.1
 
 
41
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches

Transportation
Map of DB 2650 connecting Cologne with Hamm

Air

The area has four international commercial airports, and several smaller aerodromes for general aviation.

Airport IATA code ICAO code annual passenger traffic
Düsseldorf Airport DUS EDDL 25.51 Mio. (2019)
Cologne Bonn Airport CGN EDDK 12.39 Mio. (2019)
Dortmund Airport DTM EDLW 2.72 Mio. (2019)
Weeze Airport NRN EDLV 1.23 Mio. (2019)

Road

The network of Autobahns in North Rhine-Westphalia is the most dense in all of Germany.

Public transport

The rail, S-Bahn, U-Bahn and bus companies are administered through a consortium of local and regional transport lines, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr. It offers a rapid transit system which interconnects all cities and their respective local buses, trams, U- and S-Bahn systems, partly under the umbrella of Deutsche Bahn. Their systems are highly integrated where even some subway lines continue from one city to the next (for example between Düsseldorf and Duisburg or Bochum and Herne, which is unique in Germany, as the city border is crossed underground). The region is divided into several urban zones and fares are paid according to the amount of urban areas (or zones) passed through. Tickets include door to door transportation with all forms covered in one ticket with the exception of high speed rail (which only stops in the major cities). Some excursions, theatre and opera tickets as well as museums offer free transportation from any point in the Rhine Ruhr area to the venue and return.

Waterways

Duisburg Inner Harbour (Duisport) and Dortmund Port are large industrial inland ports and serve as hubs along the Rhine and the German inland water transport system.

Tourism

Events
Westfalenstadion, the stadium of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, is the largest stadium in Germany

The region is host to numerous large events, comprising fun fairs and cultural events like the Cologne and Düsseldorf carnivals (carnival is however a public event in almost all cities and towns of the area), the Cologne Comedy Festival, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, and the RuhrTriennale, as well as Gamescom and other trade fairs at Koelnmesse—Cologne Trade Fair and Messe Düsseldorf; and Essen Motor Show in Essen. With a capacity of up to 20,000 people, the Lanxess Arena and Westfalenhallen are amongst the largest indoor arenas in Germany.

The region is home to a total of 13 Bundesliga football clubs, of which five are active in the season of 2017–18. The most successful among them are Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Köln, FC Schalke 04 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The Revierderby is the rivalry between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, one of the most significant in German football. Westfalenstadion, the stadium of Borussia Dortmund, is the biggest stadium in Germany. The area had plans to bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, before the IOC declared Brisbane to be the host.[23]

Landmarks
The Zeche Zollverein coal mine

Several tourist destinations within the region attract over 12 million tourists per year. Cologne Cathedral, Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces at Brühl and the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex at Essen are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Other sights include Schloss Benrath in Düsseldorf and several anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

Museums

NRW Forum, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Museum Koenig, Museum Ludwig, Romano-Germanic Museum, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Neanderthal Museum, Museum Folkwang, Museum Ostwall, Lehmbruck Museum, German Mining Museum and Deutsches Museum Bonn are some of the most famous examples.

Education

The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is home to nine universities and over 30 partly postgraduate colleges, with a total of over 300.000 students. The largest and oldest university is the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln), founded in 1388 AD. Other universities include:

  • the Ruhr University Bochum,
  • the University of Bonn,
  • the German Sport University Cologne,
  • the Dortmund University of Technology,
  • the University of Duisburg-Essen,
  • the University of Düsseldorf,
  • the FernUniversität Hagen and
  • the University of Wuppertal.

Municipalities
This map of the Rhine-Ruhr Area spans approximately 130 kilometers (81 mi) from north to south.
Cologne Cathedral at night
A view of Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia
The skyline of Dortmund
The skyline of Essen
The skyline of Duisburg
The skyline of Bochum
The skyline of Wuppertal
View of Bonn

The following register lists all municipalities that officially belong to Rhine-Ruhr area. Demographically, these municipalities include 20 cities (German: Kreisfreie Städte) each with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and 11 districts (German: Kreis), each with a population of more than 250,000 inhabitants. Some districts only belong partly to Rhine-Ruhr area. In such a case only the municipalities that belong to the metro area are listed.

Cities independent of a Kreis
MunicipalityInhabitants
31 December 2009[24]		Surface
km2		Inhabitants per/
km2
Bochum (BO)376,319145.442,587.45
Bonn (BN)319,841141.222,264.84
Bottrop (BOT)117,241100.611,165.3
Dortmund (DO)581,308280.392,073.21
Duisburg (DU)491,931232.812,113.01
Düsseldorf (D)586,217217.012,701.34
Essen (E)576,259210.382,739.13
Gelsenkirchen (GE)259,744104.862,477.06
Hagen (HA)190,121160.361,185.59
Hamm (HAM)181,741226.26803.24
Herne (HER)165,63251.413,221.79
Cologne (K)998,105405.152,463.54
Krefeld (KR)235,414137.761,708.87
Leverkusen (LEV)160,59378.852,036.69
Mönchengladbach (MG)258,251170.451,515.11
Mülheim an der Ruhr (MH)167,47191.291,834.49
Oberhausen (OB)214,02477.042,778.09
Remscheid (RS)111,42274.601,493.59
Solingen (SG)160,99289.461,799.6
Wuppertal (W)351,050168.392,084.74
total/average6,503,6763,163.742,055.69
Kreise (districts)
Municipality/Kreis (district)Inhabitants
31 December 2009[24]		Surface per
km2
Kreis Mettmann (ME)
Erkrath46,08426.89
Haan29,15624.22
Heiligenhaus26,81827.47
Hilden55,55125.96
Langenfeld (Rheinland)59,03841.10
Mettmann39,37442.52
Monheim am Rhein43,06523.10
Ratingen91,30688.72
Velbert84,63374.90
Wülfrath21,42032.23
Kreis Unna (UN)
Bergkamen51,14944.80
Bönen18,63038.02
Fröndenberg/Ruhr22,13556.21
Holzwickede17,26422.36
Kamen44,80340.93
Lünen87,78359.18
Schwerte48,52356.20
Selm27,12360.34
Unna66,65288.52
Werne29,99476.08
Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (EN)
Ennepetal30,77857.42
Gevelsberg31,65126.29
Hattingen55,81771.39
Herdecke24,79422.40
Schwelm29,01220.50
Sprockhövel25,51247.79
Wetter28,22131.47
Witten98,60172.37
Kreise (districts)
Municipality/Kreis (district)Inhabitants
31 December 2009[24]		Surface per
km2
Märkischer Kreis (MK)
Hemer37,45967.56
Iserlohn95,232125.50
Menden56,07886.06
Kreis Recklinghausen (RE)
Castrop-Rauxel75,75251.66
Datteln35,75766.08
Dorsten77,308171.19
Gladbeck75,52035.91
Herten62,63937.32
Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia88,20287.63
Oer-Erkenschwick30,49938.69
Recklinghausen119,05066.43
Waltrop29,83746.99
Rhein-Erft-Kreis (BM)
Brühl44,25936.12
Frechen49,75245.11
Hürth57,50151.17
Wesseling35,14423.37
Rhein-Kreis Neuss (NE)
Dormagen62,92485.41
Grevenbroich64,039102.46
Kaarst41,84137.40
Korschenbroich33,11655.26
Meerbusch54,19064.38
Neuss151,28099.48
Kreise (districts)
Municipality/Kreis (district)Inhabitants
31 December 2009[24]		Surface per
km2
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (SU)
Alfter22,89534.77
Bornheim48,54482.71
Niederkassel37,40235.79
Sankt Augustin55,52434.23
Siegburg39,65423.46
Troisdorf75,15062.17
Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (GL)
Bergisch Gladbach105,69983.12
Burscheid18,77127.38
Leichlingen27,47637.33
Kreis Viersen (VIE)
Kempen36,04068.81
Tönisvorst30,08444.33
Viersen75,47591.07
Willich51,96267.77
Kreis Wesel (WES)
Dinslaken69,68747.67
Kamp-Lintfort38,72463.16
Moers105,92967.69
Neukirchen-Vluyn27,62743.48
Rheinberg31,64875.15
Voerde37,66853.48
Wesel60,958122.53
total3,609,2123,946.69

[24]

See also
  • History of the Ruhr
  • List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population
  • List of metropolitan areas in Germany
  • Ruhr Valley

References
  1. Öffentlichkeitsarbeit", IT.NRW - Zentralbereich 14 "Marketing und. "Information und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen (IT.NRW) - Bevölkerungszahlen auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011". www.it.nrw.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  2. "metropoleruhr.de - Metropole Ruhr - Portal für das Ruhrgebiet". Metropleruhr.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  3. "Home: Region Köln Bonn". Region-koeln-bonn.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  4. Archived April 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Essen - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  6. Archived April 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Düsseldorf, LH - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Mönchengladbach - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  10. Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Wuppertal - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  12. Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Köln - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  14. Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Bonn - Städtestatistik im Internet". Staedtestatistik.de. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  16. "Comparative Analysis of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region" (PDF). Düsseldorf Regional Government. August 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  17. "Metropolitane Funktionen der Städte in der Metropolregion : Rhein-Ruhr" (PDF). Raumplanung.uni-dortmund.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  18. "Fortune Global 500 listing - Europe". CNN. Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  19. "Temperature, Climate graph, Climate table for Düsseldorf". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  20. "Temperature, Climate graph, Climate table for Essen". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  21. "Temperature, Climate graph, Climate table for Cologne". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  22. "Temperature, Climate graph, Climate table for Dortmund". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  23. Press, Australian Associated (2021-02-26). "German officials bemoan 'non-transparency' of 2032 Olympics bid selection". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  24. "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen von Information und Statistik Nordrhein-Westfalen (German)". It.nrw.de. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2014.

Further reading
  • Knapp, Wolfgang (1998). The Rhine-Ruhr area in transformation: Towards a European metropolitan region?. European Planning Studies.
  • Dieleman, Frans M. (1998). Randstad, Rhine-Ruhr and Flemish diamond as one polynucleated macro-region?. Blackwell Publishing.
  • Blotevogel, Hans H. (1998). The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region: Reality and discourse. European Planning Studies.
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