Bochum

All you want to know about Bochum

Bochum
The German mining museum in Bochum.
The German mining museum in Bochum.
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Bochum
Bochum (Germany)
Bochum
Administration
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Arnsberg
District Urban district
Mayor Ottilie Scholz (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area 145.4 km² (56.1 sq mi)
Population 376,586  (31/10/2006)
 - Density 2,590 /km² (6,708 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate BO
Postal codes 44701-44894
Area codes 0234, 02327
Website www.bochum.de

Coordinates: 51°31′0″N 07°28′0″E / 51.51667, 7.46667

Bochum (IPA: [ˈboːχʊm]) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Recklinghausen, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.

Contents

History

The foundations of Bochum were started in the 9th century when Charlemagne set up a royal court at the junction of two important trade routes and it was first officially mentioned in 1041 by the name Cofbuokheim in a document of the archbishops of Cologne. Originally it may have meant "Brookhome" or "Bacheim" later it seems to have gained the notorious reputation of "Bookhorn" or "Horn" "Book". In 1321 Count Engelbert II von der Marck granted Bochum a town charter, but the town remained insignificant until the 19th century, when coal mining and steel industry emerged in the Ruhr area, leading to the growth of the entire region. The population of Bochum increased tenfold between 1850 and 1890 while part of the Prussian Province of Westphalia.

View of Bochum in 1840.
Bochum 2007

In World War II the city was heavily bombed by British and American bombers. Nearly the whole inner circle of the city was destroyed and many thousands of citizens were killed. Bochum became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia after the war.

Between 1960 and 1980, all the mines were closed. Other industries, such as car making, compensated for the loss of jobs. The Opel Astra is assembled by General Motors at their plant here. In 1965 the Ruhr University was opened, the first university in the Ruhr area and the first to be founded in Germany since World War II.

In the course of a comprehensive community reform in 1975, Wattenscheid, a formerly independent city, was integrated into the urban area of Bochum. An exerted local referendum against the integration failed. In 2008 Nokia planned on closing down its production plant. The plans met heavy opposition and 20,000 people showed up for the protests.

Main sights

 Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2008)
Propsteikirche St. Peter and Paul
Pauluskirche
City Hall

Main sights include:

  • The Town Hall
  • Propsteikirche St. Peter und Paul, the most ancient church of the city, built in 785-800 by Charlemagne. It was rebuilt in the 11th century but had to be reconstructed starting from 1547, after a fire in 1517, in late-Gothic style. The 68 m-high bell tower is one of the landmarks of Bochum. the interior include an 1175 baptismal font, the relic shrine of St. Perpetua and her slave Felicitas, and a hig altar with a 1352 Crucifix.
  • Pauluskirche, the main Protestant church of the city. It was built in the 1650 with donations from Northern Europe.
  • Christuskirche.
  • the neo-Gothic Marienkirche (1868-1872).
  • Church of St. Vincent (c. 1000). Originally an example of Ottonian architecture, it was rebuilt in Romanesque style, and later turned into a Gothic edifice. In 1905 a neo-Gothic section was added. It houses a precious Baroque altar (1699) and a 16th century organ.
  • Blankenstein Castle, built in the 13th century by Count Adolf I of Mark. Today the gate and a tower remain.
  • Zeiss Planetary

Two castles from the Middle Ages survive on the northern banks of the Ruhr river. Other points of interest include the German Mining Museum, the musical Starlight Express (opening show in 1988) and the nostalgic Train Museum in the borough of Dahlhausen.

Bochum has its own brewery, Moritz Fiege which produces pilsner, a low alcohol pilsner & hell style beers.

Sport

The football club VfL Bochum was 8th of the First Division (1. Bundesliga) in the season of 2007/08.

Transport

Bochum is connected to the Autobahn network by the A 40, A 43 and A 44 autobahns. It has a central station situated on the line from Duisburg to Dortmund, connecting the city to the long-distance network of Deutsche Bahn as well as to the S-Bahn network of Rhine-Ruhr. Local service is carried out by the BOGESTRA, a joint venture between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen. There is a single underground Stadtbahn line connecting the University of Bochum to Herne, and several tram lines connecting to Gelsenkirchen and Witten. Public transport in the city is carried out according to the fare system of the VRR transport association.

Educational institutions

Tertiary educational institutions

  • Ruhr University founded 1965
  • Hochschule Bochum - Bochum University of Applied Sciences (former Fachhochschule Bochum)

Secondary educational institutions

  • TFH Georg Agricola
  • Evangelische FH Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe
  • Schauspielschule Bochum
  • Fachhochschule des Bundes der Sozialversicherung, Abteilung Knappschaft-Bahn-See

Schools

There are 61 primary schools, 9 Hauptschule("general schools") and 14 special schools.

11 grammar schools ("Gymnasium"):

  • Albert-Einstein-Schule
  • Goethe-Schule Bochum
  • Graf-Engelbert-Schule
  • Gymnasium am Ostring
  • Heinrich-von-Kleist-Schule
  • Hellweg-Schule
  • Hildegardis-Schule
  • Lessing-Schule
  • Märkische Schule
  • Schiller-Schule
  • Theodor-Körner-Schule

5 comprehensive schools ("Gesamtschule"):

  • Erich Kästner-Gesamtschule Schule
  • Heinrich-Böll-Gesamtschule
  • Maria Sibylla Merian-Gesamtschule
  • Willy-Brandt-Gesamtschule
  • Matthias-Claudius-Schulen

8 Realschule:

  • Anne-Frank-Schule
  • Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Schule
  • Franz-Dinnendahl-Schule
  • Hans-Böckler-Schule
  • Helene-Lange-Schule
  • Hugo-Schultz-Schule
  • Pestalozzi-Schule
  • Realschule Höntrop
  • Freie-Schule Bochum (with primary grade)

Furthermore, there are two Waldorf schools(private schools):

  • Rudolf Steiner Schule Bochum
  • Widar Schule Wattenscheid

Twin towns

Bochum's twin towns are:

People affiliated with Bochum

See also

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bochum
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Members of the Hanseatic League by circle
Chief cities shown in ‹The template Smallcaps is being considered for deletion.› small caps · Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire shown in italics
Wendish and
Pomeranian		 Extent of the Hanseatic League, showing the Circles
Principle trading routes of the Hanseatic League
Saxony, Thuringia,
Brandenburg
Poland, Prussia,
Livonia, Sweden
Rhine, Westphalia,
Netherlands
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Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany
Urban districts
Rural Districts
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bochum"

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