Pic: Thomas Berns

In the region

<p>Not only the Rock Hard Festival is worth a trip, but also the Ruhrpott! Munich, Hamburg, Berlin... okay, okay, but what should I do in the Ruhrpott? Well, meeting real people at the Trinkhalle (kiosk), going crazy at a soccer match or experiencing industrial culture, for example. The Ruhrpott is not (always) beautiful, but it is emotional. In a conurbation of five million inhabitants, there's nothing that doesn't exist.</p>

Weitersagen

Or as the locals say: “Elsewhere sucks too.” Although this epochal wisdom actually comes from the author/cabaret artist Frank Goosen. Yes, in a bizarre way, the “Ruhris” are even close to home.

The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia. A quarter of Germans live in NRW. As a state in its own right, NRW could easily rival its neighbors Belgium and the Netherlands as an economic powerhouse.

You can fly in from abroad landing most likely in Düsseldorf or Cologne. Both airports are connected by rail to cities such as Gelsenkirchen, Essen, Herne or Dortmund, whose names you will recognize from Sodom, Kreator, Rage or the Idiots. Although Deutsche Bahn is no longer as reliable as it used to be, you can use the DB app (“DB Navigator”) to work your way through the region's dense network if you have a bit of patience and a sense of humor. If a train is late, you just take the next one!

Destinations such as Cologne or Düsseldorf are attractive in their own right. An Altbier in Düsseldorf's old town is actually a must and a classic of German tourism, a river trip along the Loreley rock and numerous knight's castles, is not only relaxing for Japanese.

Westfalenstadion - 2024 - Holger Stratmann

With numerous first and second division clubs (almost only traditional clubs), the Ruhr region is an Eldorado for football groundhoppers, with Dortmund offering two monuments to soccer culture with the “most beautiful stadium in the world” and the German Football Museum. The hometown of the Rock Hard editorial team can also boast six (!) independent record stores, while Essen is the hotspot of the Ruhr metal scene with its rock mile on Viehofer Platz and, fittingly, every city has its own brand of beer, if not several. And German beer is known to be the best in the world!

Landschaftspark Duisburg - 2024 - Thomas Berns

The number of industrial heritage monuments is no less confusing. Wherever a lot of beer is drunk, hard work is/was also done. Among the most monumental and beautiful accessible industrial sites in Europe are the Landschaftspark Nord in Duisburg, the Zeche Zollverein in Essen and the Gasometer in Oberhausen, today a presentation area for lighting design, exhibitions and art. The Nordsternpark in Gelsenkirchen, where our festival takes place, is also part of the “Route of Industrial Heritage”. The Ruhr region is not a tourist hotspot, which is why it is not as crowded and overpriced as other European metropolises. Neither in the shopping streets of Dortmund, Essen or Oberhausen's Centro nor in the hotels or at the beer bar do you pay top prices - and the best music is at the Rock Hard Festival!

Places of interest Rock Hard recommends:

More infos & inspiration:

https://www.ruhr-tourismus.de/
https://www.route-industriekultur.ruhr/

In the region

Places of interest Rock Hard recommends:

DÜSSELDORF

DUISBURG/OBERHAUSEN

GELSENKIRCHEN

ESSEN/MÜLHEIM

BOCHUM

DORTMUND