Urban art or ancient splendour, winding or dead straight, a sporting challenge or a place to linger: There are stairs in NRW that are far more than just a means to an end, i.e. a way to the top. We have compiled a list of steps that are far too spectacular to simply walk over, for example because they are walkable works of art, offer marvellous views along the way or look and even sound so wonderful that they even serve as concert venues.
On the road in the city with the most stairs in GermanyWuppertal, Star of the Steps
With over 500 staircases in the city centre, it holds the title of the city with the most stairs in Germany. The Tippen-Tappen-Tönchen with 103 steps, for example, connects the Ölberg with the Luisenviertel in the Elberfeld district. Galleries, small shops and cosy restaurants invite you up and down. The Luisenviertel in particular is enchanting with its small side streets, chic old buildings, cosy cafés and pubs. The Hosteiner Treppe with its colourful steps is not only a real eye-catcher and a popular photo motif, but also one of the most visited places in the city. Different colours also adorn the Elberstreppe, whose 73 steps are decorated with colourful mosaic stones. The longest continuous straight staircase is the Jakobstreppe with 155 steps, which connects Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in Elberfeld-West with Nützenberg.
An even greater difference in height is overcome by a staircase outside the city: down the Wupper, the Müngsten Bridge spans a deep valley between Solingen and Remscheid. As Germany's highest railway bridge, it not only impresses with its height of 107 metres, but also with its stairs: a total of 777 steps lead upwards. Climbing fans with a head for heights can take a guided tour to the top, and you can find impressions of such a daring hike in our report here.
Grand staircase of Augustusburg CastleSplendour in marble
Columns and figures made of white marble shine alongside intricate frescoes, framed by magnificent wall and ceiling paintings. The grand staircase in Augustusburg Castle takes your breath away - even when you are at rest. For twenty years, a team of artists worked on this magnificent piece of architecture according to the plans of the great baroque and rococo master builder Balthasar Neumann.
At the Brühl Palace Concerts, music from the Baroque and Romantic periods is performed to match the surroundings. Every year, works by the composer Joseph Haydn take centre stage and can be experienced here as part of an artistic synthesis of the arts.
www.schlosskonzerte.de
Works of art surrounded by exhibitsStairs in the museum
Sometimes steps steal the show from the actual exhibits. Visitors to the Ruhr Museum in the former coal washing plant at the Zollverein colliery, for example, will come across their first photo opportunity on the way into the building itself: Germany's longest free-standing escalator leads into the interior of the industrial monument. The journey up to the entrance area takes around one and a half minutes; alternatively, the 24 metre difference in height can also be overcome on foot. In the museum, various exhibition levels are also connected by a photogenic staircase: The stairs, designed by star architect Rem Koolhaas, glow in yellow and orange tones and are reminiscent of hot, molten steel.
The staircase of the Küppersmühle Museum of Modern Art (MKM) in Duisburg is simpler, but no less impressive. The spectacular staircase towers by Herzog & de Meuron attract many architecture-loving visitors every year to the brick building, which served as a grain store until the 1970s. Today, the Küppersmühle Museum forms the end of Duisburg's inner harbour, which is a place to relax with restaurants, cafés, modern and historical architecture and plenty of seating by the water.
www.museum-kueppersmuehle.de
Close to heavenStairs with a view
Climbing these steps, which lead to beautiful viewpoints, is rewarded with plenty of fresh air and marvellous panoramic views, but are sometimes also extremely worth seeing and a work of art in their own right. A prominent example is the Tiger & Turtle staircase sculpture in Duisburg: the approximately 20 metre high work of art resembles a walk-on rollercoaster, but visitors have to do without the loop.
Corners instead of curves characterise the tetrahedron on the Beckstraße spoil tip in Bottrop: the landmark, which is visible from afar, can be reached on foot via a serpentine path or an almost 400-step staircase. The geometric work of art itself also consists of swinging steps and steel pipes connected by steel cables. The "Tetrahedron Stair Race", which takes place once a year, is a special challenge that involves conquering the Tetrahedron in races with different levels of difficulty.
Things are more leisurely on the Norddeutschland spoil tip in Neukirchen-Vlyun, which can be climbed either via various hiking trails or via a staircase: there are 359 steps to climb up to the Hallenhaus landmark. Incidentally, the aforementioned summit art is illuminated in the dark, making it a photogenic gem even after sunset. This also applies to many other slagheap artworks in the Ruhr region.
www.ruhr-tourismus.de
In other corners of North Rhine-Westphalia, too, steps lead to beautiful views: the Himmelstreppe at the Hennedamm dam in Meschede, for example, offers a panoramic view of the Sauerland and the Hennesee lake. 333 steps lead up the dam and connect the lake and Henne Park, which offers viewing platforms and small footbridges over the Henne as well as various play options for children.
www.sauerland.com/de/outdooractive-pois/hennesee
Metabolon is a leisure centre with activities for the whole family. The site in Lindlar in the Berg region was once part of a landfill site and has not only been converted into a place of learning and innovation for material conversion and environmental technology, but is now also a place for sport, fun, action and beautiful views. Anyone who has climbed the 360 steps to the viewing platform at the top of the former landfill site will be rewarded with a panoramic view over the Bergisches Land region. The way back down is not only via the stairs, but also via a double slide over 100 metres long in the summer season. Paragliding, cross golfing and mountain biking are also possible on the site.
www.lindlar-touristik.de
