Travel Guide to Bochum, Germany

Within several years Bochum will celebrate its 700th birthday. This is a large industrial center and so its main sights and places of interest are connected with the theme of industrialization. The silent life of this place suddenly changed when rich coal beds were discovered near Bochum. This was a serious move forward for all spheres of life of the city and so Bochum started quickly developing in economic, scientific and cultural spheres.

If you want to learn more about this city and the history of region in general, the best place to do this is to attend the Industrial Museum of Westphalia. The museum will tell you more about the development of the city as 8 large plants are located on its territory. One of these plants is completely changed into a museum that provides visitors with information concerning the 200 year history of development of industry here. At a glance the excursion of industrial zones can seem to be boring and specific, however, even kids will not get bored during such walk. One of largest mines has also been turned into a museum especially for small visitors. A guide will tell kids about the process of coal output and then little visitors will be able to participate in merry games and try to use real mining instruments.

One more widely known cultural center is called “Century Hall”. Here annually takes place a popular festival Ruhr Triennale devoted to the modern art. The building was finished in 1092. However, regardless of its old history, it looks modern and very impressive. The large spaces of this hall are often used as a place to conduct concerts and sports competitions.

The symbol of the city is the church of St. Peter and Paul that was built in the beginning of the 9th century by order of Karl the Great. This is a magnificent gothic building with its highest tower reaching 68 meters in height. Today one of the halls of this church is used for exhibition purposes, where guests of the city can view ancient relics referring to various epochs.