German Inland Waterways Museum as spurring redevelopment in the harbor area. The building conversion was designed by Architektur Fabrik Aachen (afa) and an American artist, Ron Bernstein, and made very little change to the building exterior while expanding the inner spaces to accommodate the exhibits. For example, a full-size sailing ship now occupies the former men's pool, while the second-story women's pool now houses a reconstructed barge. German Inland Waterways Museum The German Inland Waterways Museum (Museum der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt) is located in Ruhrort, Duisburg at the nucleus of Duisburg-Ruhrorter ports which today make up the largest European inland harbour complex. The museum was
History of the Ruhr the rivers Weser and Elbe. The most important towns of the region were concentrated along the Hellweg. As a result of the Congress of Vienna the entire area came under the control of Prussia (the state had already gained possessions there). This event was almost concomitant with developments which would eventually make the region one of the most important industrial areas in the world. In 1946 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia came into being, centred on the Ruhr. Nowadays, its hitherto important coal and steel industries have drastically declined and the region is in a state of re-adjustment. During the