The headframe of Shaft XII at Zollverein, with its red steel lattice and double wheels, is the Eiffel Tower of the Ruhr, and it is easy to see why. Designed by the architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer and opened in 1932, the shaft and its surrounding buildings were built in a clean, functional style influenced by the Bauhaus, and it was hailed as the most beautiful coal mine in the world. At its peak, Zollverein was one of the largest and most productive mines in Europe, and the adjacent coking plant processed coal into coke for the steel industry. The mine closed in 1986, the coking plant in 1993, and UNESCO listed the complex in 2001.
Today, Zollverein is a cultural hub. The former coal-washing plant houses the Ruhr Museum, which tells the story of the region from prehistory to the present day, and the old boiler house is home to the Red Dot Design Museum. The vast site has walking trails, an ice rink in winter, a swimming pool made from shipping containers in summer and events throughout the year. At night, the buildings are lit up in red and blue, a spectacular sight.
The Ruhr was once the industrial heartland of Germany, and it has reinvented itself as a region of culture, parks and lakes. Riding here is mostly urban: busy roads, traffic lights, roundabouts and motorways. The Autobahns are crowded, especially at rush hour, and the cities blend into one another without clear boundaries. For more enjoyable riding, head south to the Ruhr valley, where the river winds through green hills, with the Baldeneysee lake and villages, or north into the Münsterland, with its flat farmland and moated castles.
Essen and Gelsenkirchen, both a few kilometres away, are big cities with all services. The local food is hearty and unpretentious: currywurst with fries, the Ruhr's favourite snack, or Pfefferpotthast, a peppery beef stew. A cold Pils from a local brewery is the classic drink. If you are a football fan, Gelsenkirchen's Schalke stadium is close by, and the derby with Borussia Dortmund is one of the fiercest in Germany.