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
Urbanization in the German Empire did and while only one-fifth of the population in both the Rhineland and Westphalia (in the western part of Germany) did. Overall, the most robust urbanization in Germany during this time period occurred in the Rhineland, Westphalia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. Similarly, industrial development in Germany during this time focused on the Ruhr, Saxony, and Silesia. Out of the total population in these provinces, 47% of Brandenburg's population, 40% of Westphalia's population, and 50% of the Rhineland's population lived in communities of 20,000 people or more in 1910. Between 1875 and 1910, German cities experienced a huge increase in their population.