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
Ruhr Museum Zollverein World Heritage Site was ceremoniously opened in the presence of the Federal President Horst Köhler in the course of the Ruhrgebiet becoming a "Cultural Capital" during the Ruhr.2010 campaign. Ruhr Museum The Ruhr Museum, formerly the Ruhrland Museum, is a diverse natural history and cultural history museum for the Ruhrgebiet in Essen, Germany. The sponsor is the "Stiftung Ruhr Museum" ("Ruhr Museum Foundation"). Director since 2012 is the historian Heinrich Theodor Grütter. The museum, which understands itself as a memory and showcase of the Ruhr area, documents in its permanent exhibition nature, culture and history of the Ruhr area