Brand story
The Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum.
The European Capital of Culture event has united – in a previously unknown manner – the 53 cities, towns and parishes in the Ruhr and their 5.300.000 inhabitants into a new metropolitan area.
The Ruhr area is a miniature version of Europe. It has been defined by immigration from countries all over Europe. For centuries the region was dominated by the coal and steel industries, and its inhabitants laboured under the harshest conditions to transform an insignificant strip of land into the powerhouse of German industry.
Despite language barriers and cultural differences the workers in the pits and blast furnaces were forced to rely upon each other blindly. This sense of togetherness has left a strong mark on the identity of its inhabitants, and this is the basis for the pride they feel in being a part of the Ruhr mythology. The decline of the coal and steel industries has been an enormous challenge for the people in the Ruhr: a challenge of change and structural transformation. The people have reacted to this challenge to redefine their identity, in a vigorous, courageous and pragmatic manner. The metropolitan area is now a centre of services and innovations, encompassed by cultural activities that have united a range of hugely different interests and fuelled a fresh sense of optimism in the Ruhr. The new brand mark of the third largest urban conurbation in Europe is its exciting variety of cultural activities. These form the basis for the future development of the region to an inspiring and unconventional "metropolis in the making".
In this process, the European capital of culture offers us all a unique opportunity.