Bochum

mountain bike

There is a training ground in Bochum-Weitmar at An der Holtbrügge, admission free.

lord's houses

Propsteikirche St. Peter und Paul:

the oldest church at all in Bochum. Its root is a wooden chapel probably donated by Charlemagne. In the eleventh century, the chapel was replaced by a stony church. It bured down during the big fire in the city in 1517 and rebuild afterwards as a hall church in a late Gothic style, except the Romanic chancel, which had resisted the fire. The arch was implemented in 1536, the steeple finished not before 1547. The Romanic chancel was replaced by a chancel in neo-Gothic stype between 1872 and 1874. Today, the church houses some artworks like the Romanic font, the neo-Gothic graved altar, the "Bladenhorst crux" in the high altar, the Ittenbach-Madonna, the feretory of St. Perpetua and Felicitas and, last not least, the oak crying group dated from 1420.

Pauluskirche:

the oldest Protestant church. After the Reformation, Protestants and Catholics used the same church house, not always in harmony. Therefore the protestant community built in 1655 a separate lord’s house, a Renaissance hall church with wooden roof. During the following centuries several refurbishments were executed: in 1902/1903 the church got neo-Gothic windows. After an air raid in 1943 the church burned down to ground. In 1949/1950 it was rebuilt in style of a medival viallage church. Beside the church stands the “Mourning Mother”, a memorial of sculptor Gerhard Marcks reminding on the victims of war. She is waiting for someone, obviously in vain.

Christuskirche:

this Protestent church was completed in 1879, it was considered amoung the prettiest churches in Europe. In 1931 the entry hall inside the steeple was extended to a cenotaph for those killed in action during World War I. In 1943 the church was demolished by bombs nearly completely, only the steeple survived. After the war they built a new, modern church nave and combined it with the new-Gothic steeple as a memorial. Nowadays in font of the steeple the "Place of the European Promise" is under construction. Between 2007 and 2010 they install stone plates with the names of citicens willing to give a promise to Europe's future. The plates are intended as a contrast to the cenotaph to the entrance hall, which underlines to much the hostility towards the former rivals of Germany.

Propsteikirche St. Gertrud von Brabant

also called affectionately Gertrudis-Church, is situated amidst the old center of Wattenscheid. The doday's building, a new-Gothic church, was build between 1868 and 1872. But even at the times of the "Karolinger" there was there a armed church, wich was followed by several sacral buildings. The baptistry inside the Gertrudis-Churchis dated from times about the year 1000. It is beared by four lions. They considder it as one of the oldest baptistrys in Germany. According to legends, the devil himself should have taken up a huge rock to throw it against the monastery of Werden, which was a thorn in his flesh since long. On his way he met a monk who traveled from Wattenscheid to just this monastery. Thinking quickly the monk raised his crucifix. The devil through away the rock and disapeared blaspheming. Ludgerus, the abby of monastery Werden ordered to bring the devil's rock into the monastery and form it into a baptistry, with images and 4 bearing lions. Full of gratitude for the monastery's saving he donated the baptistry to the church of Wattenscheid - and there it is still standing inside the Gertrudis-Church.

Chapel Bochum-Stiepel

(http://www.dorfkirche-boc...) A first hall-type church is dated to 1008. Between 1130 and 1170 it was replaced by a romansch basilica and extended in the 15th century. Worth seeing are the wall paintings inside and the historic graveyard. Address: Brockhauser Straße 72a, 44797 Bochum, tel: 0234 791337

Zisterzienserkloster

(http://www.kloster-stiepel.org) The Monastery in Bochum-Stiepel was built in 1988 and is under supervision of the Abot of Heiligenkreuz in Austria. An Event is the claustal christmas market where they sell artworks from Senegal. Address: Am Varenhold 9, 44797 Bochum, tel: 0234 777050

69 years after the Pogrom Night of 9 November 1938, when nearly all Jewish synagogues were destroyed in Germany. Bochum got a new Synagogue. It was realised according to plans of the cologne architect Peter Schmitz. He offered a clear and plain concept. Schmitz designed an Ensemble of three separated structures which are linked together by a common bodyshell.

cycling and jogging

The Ore-Route Erzbahntrasse is a 10 km walking, jogging and cycle trail starting at West-Park and ending at canal-harbour Grimberg in Gelsenkirchen with connection to the Emscher-Trail. It has no street-cossing except one with a small farm-track, highways, roads, rivers and railways are crossed by bridges, some of them quite impressive. It is one of the best routes within the Ruhr Area. Many sections of the route are situated on a 15 mhigh ridge, so you have a fine view onto settlements, pithead-towers, industry grounds, rock-dumps but also onto parks, fields, forrests - for short onto the typical surroundings of the Ruhr.

The Kray-Wanner-Route deverges from the Ore-Route about 6 km behind the starting point and leads westwards to world heritage site Zollverein. Unfortunately, it has 4 street crossings. It passes rock-dump Rhein-Elbe which is situated beween the district of Wattenscheid and the city of Gelsenkirchen. You should climb up, it is quite easy on well constructed pathes and the view from top is excellent.

The Ruhr-Trail Ruhrtal-Radweg (http://www.ruhrtalradweg.de/), a cycle route, leads from the river's source to its mouth iinto river Rhine at Duisburg. Its total length is 230 km.

Emscher-Trail

Emscher Radweg (http://www.rvr-online.de/...), is a cycle-route beside river Emscher or Rhein-Herne-canal. It leads across the region with most heavy industry, so you pass by factories and harbours, many of them closed down. It makes a strange but interesting ambiance.

taxi

Going by Taxi is quite expensive. Basic charge is 2,30 € and charge per kilometer is 1,25 € at daytime and 1,35 € at nighttime.

industrial heritage

Station Dahlhausen

refer item Museum also

Mine Hannover - Malakow-Tower

refer to Museum

Jahrhunderthalle

(http://www.jahrhunderthal...) Hall of the Century inside Westpark. Build 1902 built for the trade-fair in Düsseldorfer and later used as a machinery hall of the steel-plant Bochumer Vereins. Notable is the filigree construction of the bearing. The hall was reconstructed to a unusual stage for theatre and show events. There are guided tours through the building, make an appointment with the marketing office refer links. Address: Gahlensche Straße 15, 44793 Bochum

Between 1850 and 1900 the population of Bochum increased from about 4500 to 100,000 by immigration. It would be absolutely impossible to offer enough living space an infra structure by the commune. In order to avoid slums companies began to erect settlements, supermarkets and hospitals for their employees aside their grounds. Even if the companies knew to combine this with their own benefits, it was also a social act. It prevented ghettos and poverty. The living conditions in those settlements was above the standard of that times. Often build in the style of a garden city they are preferred quarters today. Within Bochum, the best known settlement is "Dahlhauser Heide".

Miners settlement Dahlhauser Heide, built in the beginning of the 20th century for the workers of mine Hannover. It was reconstructed and the outfit brought to today's standard. A walk there is recommended.

Beside settlement Am Rübenkamp (http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Ku...) there are 3 houses in original outfit. The show dayly life of miners. They are under control of industrial museum "Mine Hannover".

hint: In the district of Wattenscheid at square "Alter Markt" there are still some houses left from times before industrialisation. They give an impression how most towns at the Ruhr looked like 100 years ago.