Bochum

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Bochum
Image:Stadtwappen der kreisfreien Stadt Bochum.png	Image:Lage der Stadt Bochum in Deutschland.png

Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region	Arnsberg
District	urban district
Population	382,087 source (2005)
Area	145.4 km²
Population density	2,658 /km²
Elevation	103 m
Coordinates	51°29′ N 7°13′ E
Postal code	44701–44894
Area code	0234, 02327
Licence plate code	BO
Mayor	Ottilie Scholz (SPD)
Website	bochum.de

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area between the cities of Essen and Dortmund.

1 History
2 Traffic
3 Twin cities
4 People affiliated with Bochum
5 External links

[edit] History

Although Bochum was founded in the 14th century, the town was 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.

In world war two the city was heavily bombed by english and american bombers. Nearly the whole inner circle of the city was destroyed and many thousend citizens were killed.

Between 1960 and 2001, all the mines were closed. Other industries, such as car making, compensated for the loss of jobs. In 1965 the Ruhr University was opened, the first university in the Ruhr area and the first new foundation after 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.

The football club VfL Bochum, relegated to the second Bundesliga in 2005, has fierce rivalries with neighbour teams Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 of Gelsenkirchen. They have been promoted to the First Division (1. Bundesliga) for the upcoming season of 2006/07.

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

[edit] Traffic

Bochum is connected to the Autobahn network by the A 40 and A 43 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.

[edit] Twin cities

Bochum is twinned with

Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg - Sheffield, England, since 1950
Image:Flag of Spain.svg - Oviedo, Spain, since 1980
Image:Flag of Ukraine.svg - Donetsk, Ukraine, since 1987

Image:Flag of Germany.svg - Nordhausen, Thuringia, since 1990
Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg - Xuzhou, China, since 1994

[edit] People affiliated with Bochum

Andrei Osterman, Russian Statesman
Wolfgang Clement, former minister of economics and work
Norbert Lammert, President (Speaker) of the German Parliament, Bundestag
Herbert Grönemeyer, singer, wrote a popular song about Bochum in 1984.
Frank Goosen, writer, wrote an epic story taking place in Bochum in the 1980's and 90's (liegen lernen)
Otto Schily, former minister of the interior
Mark Warnecke, breaststroke swimmer, won the world title at age 35

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bochum

Official City Website

Image:Flag of North Rhine-Westphalia.svg	Urban districts and Districts in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)	Image:Flag of Germany.svg
Urban districts	Aachen \| Bergisch Gladbach \| Bielefeld \| Bochum \| Bonn \| Bottrop \| Dortmund \| Duisburg \| Düsseldorf \| Essen \| Gelsenkirchen \| Hagen \| Hamm \| Herne \| Köln (Cologne) \| Krefeld \| Leverkusen \| Mönchengladbach \| Mülheim \| Münster \| Oberhausen \| Remscheid \| Solingen \| Wuppertal
Districts	Aachen \| Borken \| Kleve (Cleves) \| Coesfeld \| Düren \| Ennepe-Ruhr \| Euskirchen \| Gütersloh \| Heinsberg \| Herford \| Hochsauerland \| Höxter \| Lippe \| Märkischer Kreis \| Mettmann \| Minden-Lübbecke \| Oberbergischer Kreis \| Olpe \| Paderborn \| Recklinghausen \| Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis \| Rhein-Erft-Kreis \| Rhein-Kreis Neuss \| Rhein-Sieg-Kreis \| Siegen-Wittgenstein \| Soest \| Steinfurt \| Unna \| Viersen \| Warendorf \| Wesel