bundesland

Nordrhein-westfalen

The Ruhrgebiet, or Ruhr River Valley, of Nordrhein-Westfalen is the center of European industry.  The Ruhrgebiet, along with the adjacent neighbors of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg account for 40% of the European Union's industrial output.  Nordrhein-Westfalen has the largest population of all Bundesländer in Germany.  The largest city in Nordrhein-Westfalen is Köln, and is within an hour's drive of twenty million people.  

The region developed as Europe's industrial powerhouse, because the Ruhrgebiet is located upon a large supply of bituminous coal.  The coal, quite literally, fueled the region's industrial growth and allowed for steel, machinery, textile, and chemical industries to develop a strong presence.  Nordrhein-Westfalen is also the home to Europe's largest power plant, a testament to the needs of such a large industrial region.

The region is intensely inter-connected with its extensive railroad, highway, and waterway networks.  The Rhine River flows through the center of the region and leads directly to the North Sea at Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.  Near the point where the Ruhr River and the Rhine River come together is the city of Duisburg.  Duisburg is home to the largest Binnenhafen, or barge port, in the world.  

The Köln / Bonn Airport is the most important air cargo center in Europe.  There is also another large international airport in Düsseldorf that offers direct service to more than 200 cities worldwide.  The train network offers a wide range of international travel options with high speed service offered to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London.  

Before the reunification of Germany, the Bundeshauptstadt of Germany  was located in the city of Bonn.  The city continues to maintain an importance for Germany as the headquarters of the largest telecommunications corporation, Deutsche Telekom, and the Deutsche Post.  Bonn is not, however, the only city with a major presence by international corporations.

The Hauptstadt of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, is home to a large insurance industry as well as several corporations including Degussa, Thyssen Krupp, and Metro AG, the holding company for nationwide retailers Kaufhof and Media Markt.  Köln is home to the European headquarters of automaker Ford and the home of Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa.  The city of Halle is home to clothing merchant Gerry Weber, and Leverkusen is home to pharmaceutical company Bayer. 

Business in Nordrhein-Westfalen continues to become less industrial and more service-driven.  Essen provides the largest shopping district in Germany, and Köln is the origin of 30% of all German media broadcasts.  More media concerns are based in Köln than in any other German city.