This is industrial culture: hardly any other former industrial site is used in such a variety of creative, sporting and cultural ways as the grounds of the Landscape Park.
The Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park is not just an ordinary park, as its 180-hectare site combines industrial culture with nature and a fascinating light installation that illuminates the park in colorful lights at night.
The park is laid out on the site of the disused Duisburg-Meiderich steelworks. Like so many other places in the Ruhr metropolis, it is a showcase of industrial culture: the old production halls, blast furnaces and gasometers have not been demolished, but have been repurposed in a creative, practical and extremely aesthetic way.
Diverse use
The current use of the site and the many preserved industrial buildings is extremely varied: climbing enthusiasts can abseil on the high ropes course in the old casting hall or climb in the former ore storage bunker. Water sports enthusiasts can dive into Europe's largest indoor diving pool, the flooded gasometer of the former smelting works.
The defunct blast furnace has been converted into a viewing tower from which visitors can enjoy a fantastic panoramic view of the vast green parkland. At night in particular, there is a special view of the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park from above. The light installations by Jonathan Park then create a very special atmosphere on the park grounds and skillfully set the scene for the old ironworks.
Nature meets culture
During the day, the outdoor area surrounding the old industrial buildings offers a variety of opportunities for walking and cycling in the countryside. Admission to the park is free, so visitors can explore it on foot or by bike at any time. Guided tours also provide the opportunity to learn more about the history of the ironworks, its workers and their living conditions.
The Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park is also the venue for top-class cultural events several times a year. Fans of high culture can experience Ruhrtriennale productions in the Gebläsehalle. The Ruhr Piano Festival also uses this venue for several concerts. The three-day music festival Traumzeit even takes place entirely on the grounds of the Landschaftspark and uses its special industrial buildings and open spaces to create a very special stage atmosphere. In summer, the open-air cinema regularly shows movies. And in winter, the light market gets visitors in the mood for the Advent season.
The Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage and can easily be combined with other industrial heritage sites worth seeing on a tour by bike or car.
