"The city seems so tidy. As if its population had erased all traces of past life before collectively committing suicide. Like Bremen in the early 1970s. This cleaning up with a view towards the end seems to be something deeply social democratic". Heinz Emigholz

Geography:

The city of Oberhausen, with an area of 19,000 acres, is one of the mid-size major cities in the Ruhr Region and is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. At present 220,598 people live in Oberhausen. The city is located at a latitude of 51° north and longitude of 6° east. The highest point in the city is 77 m above sea level, while the deepest point is 24 m above sea level.

The Ruhr Region, which includes the cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Wuppertal, is the largest industrial area in Germany. Around 4.88 million inhabitants live in the 3,865 square kilometres that make up the so-called "Ruhrpott".

History:

1758 The first modern iron ore processing site in the Ruhr Region is founded in Oberhausen: the "St. Antony" Iron Works.

1862 The parish of Oberhausen is formed.

1874 Civic rights are granted - thus one can look back today on over 125 years of city history.

The development of the Ruhr Region was dependent on the coal-mining business. Since the early 1960's, however, coal sales have continually declined and an unprecedented structural transformation has swept through the Ruhr Basin, which also changed the city of Oberhausen.

Presence:

Old industrial sites are often used today to hold events or house museums and recreational facilities. The 230-km-long Emscher Park bicycle path connects several impressive landmarks of former industrial times, including the Gasometer in Oberhausen and the Zeche Zollverein mine (named a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO).

Oberhausen is known internationally primarily as the home of the Short Film Festival, established in 1954. Many other worthwhile sights, such as the Ludwig Galerie, Schloss Oberhausen, the Gasometer, the St. Antony Iron Works and the CentrO shopping mall, now also attract plenty of visitors to the city.