History of the Ruhr 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 Dortmund and beyond as far as
Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a district in the center of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca. 324,000 inhabitants (2012). The district's seat (capital city) is Schwelm; the largest of its nine towns is Witten. The name of the district describes its geographical location – it is located in the valleys of the rivers Ruhr and Ennepe. Geologically it is part of the north-eastern Rhenish Massif, a "Mittelgebirge" landscape; only small parts of Witten belong to the flat Westphalian Lowland. The district consists of nine municipalities, all entitled "Stadt" (town or city).