BochumBochum (ˈboʊxʊm , also US-əm , ˈboːxʊm; Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the 16th largest city of Germany. On the Ruhr Heights (Ruhrhöhen) hill chain, between the rivers Ruhr to the south and Emscher to the north (tributaries of the Rhine), it is the second largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, and the fourth largest city of the Ruhr after Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg.
GelsenkirchenGelsenkirchen (UKˈɡɛlzənkɪərxən, USˌɡɛlzənˈkɪərxən, ˌɡɛlzn̩ˈkɪʁçn̩; Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies at the centre of the Ruhr, the largest urban area of Germany, of which it is the fifth largest city after Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg and Bochum. The Ruhr is located in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, one of Europe's largest urban areas.
WehrmachtThe Wehrmacht (ˈveːɐ̯maxt, defence force) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force). The designation "Wehrmacht" replaced the previously used term Reichswehr and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted.
Free imperial cityIn the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (Freie Reichsstadt, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in the Imperial Diet. An imperial city held the status of Imperial immediacy, and as such, was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor, as opposed to a territorial city or town (Landstadt) which was subordinate to a territorial prince - be it an ecclesiastical lord (prince-bishop, prince-abbot) or a secular prince (duke (Herzog), margrave, count (Graf), etc.
Düsseldorf AirportDüsseldorf Airport (Flughafen Düsseldorf, ˌfluːkhaːfn̩ ˈdʏsl̩dɔʁf; until March 2013 Düsseldorf International Airport; ) is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is about north of downtown Düsseldorf, and some south-west of Essen in the Rhine-Ruhr area, Germany's largest metropolitan area. Düsseldorf is the fourth largest airport in Germany and handled almost 8 million passengers in 2021. It is a hub for Eurowings and a focus city for several more airlines.
NijmegenNijmegen (ˈnɛiˌmeːɣə(n); Nijmeegs: Nimwèège ˈnɪmβ̞ɛːçə) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands and the first to be recognized as such in Roman times. In 2005, it celebrated 2,000 years of existence. Nijmegen became a free imperial city in 1230 and in 1402 a Hanseatic city. Since 1923 it has been a university city with the opening of a Catholic institution now known as the Radboud University Nijmegen.
KrefeldKrefeld (ˈkreɪfɛld,_-ɛlt , ˈkʁeːfɛlt; Krieëvel ˈkʀiə˦vəl), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its center lying just a few kilometers to the west of the river Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Because of its economic past, Krefeld is often referred to as the "Velvet and Silk City".
Dortmund AirportDortmund Airport is a minor international airport located east of Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It serves the eastern Rhine-Ruhr area, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany, and is mainly used for low-cost and leisure charter flights. In 2020 the airport served 1,220,624 passengers. The nearest major international airport is Düsseldorf Airport approx. to the southwest. The airport, originally located in the suburb of Brackel, was first served by commercial flights in 1925 by Aero Lloyd, which operated flights to Paris.
Bundesautobahn 1is an autobahn in Germany. It runs from Heiligenhafen in Schleswig-Holstein to Saarbrücken, a distance of , but is incomplete between Cologne and Trier. B 207 continues north from Heiligenhafen to Puttgarden, at the end of the island of Fehmarn, with a ferry to Rødby, Denmark. The part north of Hamburg is part of the Vogelfluglinie (Migratory Birds Line) and may be one day connected via a fixed link to Denmark (see below). The term Hansalinie (Hansa line) refers to the part from Lübeck (north of Hamburg, thus overlapping the Vogelfluglinie) south to the Ruhr Area (near Dortmund).
HagenHagen (ˈhaːɡn̩) is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met by the river Ennepe) meet the river Ruhr. As of 31 December 2010, the population was 188,529. The city is home to the FernUniversität Hagen (University of Hagen), which is the only state-funded distance education university in Germany.
