History of the Ruhr and steel industries have declined drastically History of the Ruhr The actual boundaries of the Ruhr vary slightly depending on the source, but a good working definition is to define the Lippe and Ruhr as its northern and southern boundaries respectively, the Rhine as its western boundary, and the town of Hamm as the eastern limit. In the Middle Ages, local power was vested primarily in the counts ("Grafen") of Berg, Mark and Cleves. The left bank of the Rhine was held by the Archbishop of Cologne. The Hellweg was an important trade route crossing the region from Duisburg to
Upper Ruhr Valley Railway Upper Ruhr Valley Railway The Upper Ruhr Valley Railway () is a 138-kilometre-long, non-electrified line from Schwerte (Ruhr) station) through the Hochsauerland (high Sauerland) to Warburg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most southerly of the east-west lines that run from the Ruhr to eastern Germany and it connects the rural Hochsauerlandkreis with the Ruhr. The line is included in the German railway timetable as line 435, which continues on the line from Schwerte to Hagen, which is part of the Hagen–Hamm railway. The Upper Ruhr Valley Railway is named after the Ruhr valley, which it