A post-industrial mindscape? The popularization of industrial heritage in the Ruhr and the representation of its regional identity

Abstract

The representation of regional identity in Germany's Ruhr region is predominantly based on industrial heritage. Since the 1960s, in the course of its ongoing transition from heavy industry to a postindustrial landscape, the Ruhr has experienced a movement to preserve the historical objects associated with its coal and steel industry. While this had initially been a movement from below, industrial heritage has become a mainstream phenomenom in the Ruhr. This concise overview of the most important developments in the history of industrial heritage in the Ruhr covers 1) the origins of industrial heritage in the Ruhr, 2) the mainstreaming of industrial heritage during the Ruhr's deindustrialization, and 3) the recent developments and controversies in the region.