Travelling back to the beginnings of the Ruhr region means heading to Balve-Wocklum in the Sauerland region. The Luisenhütte in Balve-Wocklum - a completely preserved iron smelting plant operated with charcoal from 1758 – must have looked like the St. Antony Ironworks in Oberhausen, which is considered the cradle of the Ruhr region today. Both places symbolise the historically close ties between the Ruhr industry and South Westphalia.
There is something for everyone here! Start your voyage of discovery into the steel age right here.
You can experience over a hundred destinations by train, bike or hiking!
Come along on a spectacular journey into the past! Take a seat on a steaming train, on a bicycle or in the saddle of a proud horse!
You can also go on foot or in mountain boots across the Ruhr area and through South Westphalia, to the lofty heights of winding towers and blast furnaces, into the dark abysses of mines or along bubbling rivers and streams with impressive dams ...
On this Google map you will find all the highlights and other destinations of the steel time travel sorted by color according to the categories.
So you can navigate and plan easily. Alternatively, you can also download our overview map with all the info as a PDF file.
Closure of the A45:
Attention! The A45 freeway is fully closed to all traffic between the Lüdenscheid-Nord and Lüdenscheid junctions. A wide detour route has been set up for long-distance traffic.
Please inform yourself about current changes under:
www.strassen.nrw.de/de/luedenscheid-verkehr-infolge-a45-sperrung.html