Understand
Bochum is part of the Ruhr Area Ruhrgebiet, the centre of heavy industry in Germany. Its history is linked closely to the one of the region. In 1850, Bochum was a small town of about 4500 Inhabitants, its population increased, being 1900 to 100 000 inhabitants and in 1935 had 300 000 inhabitants. During World War II, its center was nearly completely destroyed, which provided the opportunity to rebuild the city after the war in a metropolitan way with wide streets and modern buildings. With the end of the coal boom in the 1960s, a structural transformation began. Bochum got the first university of the Ruhr Area, which was opened in 1965. Today it is one of the largest universities of the country with about 35 000 students and excellent reputation. Also in the 1960s, the Opel car production plant became productive and offered jobs for miners who had lost their jobs in mining. Mining and steel production came to an end in the 1980s.
Today Bochum is a modern city with a job focus in service sector.
Bochum is situated at the borderline between the flat Münsterland in the north and the highlands of Bergisches Land in the south. Therefore, the northern part of Bochum is quite flat, the highest hill is the Tippelsberg. The southern limits of Bochum touch the Ruhr valley with lake Kemnade.
In the 19th century, industrialization began in the valley of Ruhr and moved in the following years northwards. Left was an environment in nearly good order. The valley of Ruhr is a recreation area for the population. The Ruhr is water reservoir for the region, therefore the rules for keeping the water clean are quite restrict. Swimming is forbidden in the Kemnade, swimming in the Ruhr is permitted but not recommended because of strong flow. Pleasure boats are allowed everywhere.
Like most cities in the Ruhr Area the southern quarters are of high standard and are quite expansive while factories will be found mainly in the northern quarters.
