Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

represented all 53 towns in the region in the application. Other cultural capitals were in the same year the Hungarian Pécs (Pécs2010) and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in Turkey, where similar campaigns were held.

Participating cities

The Ruhr.2010 campaign included the participation of all cities in the Ruhr area. Apart from Essen, which presented itself all year long, each of the other cities had one week to themselves in 2010, in which they became the reigning "Local Hero". The participating towns and cities were: :Alpen, Bergkamen,

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

, Bönen, Bottrop, Breckerfeld, Castrop-Rauxel, Datteln, Dinslaken,

Dorsten Dorsten (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000. Dorsten is situated on the western rim of ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, Ennepetal, Erkenschwick,

, Fröndenberg,

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

, Gevelsberg, Gladbeck,

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

, Haltern am See, Hamm, Hattingen, Heiligenhaus, Herdecke, Herne, Herten, Holzwickede, Hünxe, Kamen, Kamp-Lintfort, Lünen, Marl, Moers,

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

, Neukirchen-Vluyn,

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

, Rheinberg, Schermbeck, Schwelm, Schwerte, Selm, Sonsbeck, Sprockhövel,

Unna Unna is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district. The newly refurbished Unna station has trains to all major cities in North Rhine Westphalia including Dortmund, Cologne, Münster, Hamm, D ...

, Voerde, Waltrop, Werne, Wesel, Wetter, Witten, Xanten

Team

The campaign team consisted of well-known personalities in the arts and political world: * Administrative directors of the Ruhr.2010 GmbH: **

Fritz Pleitgen Fritz Ferdinand Pleitgen (21 March 1938 – 15 September 2022) was a German television journalist and author. He was correspondent in Moscow, East Berlin and Washington. Pleitgen was a supporter of Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. In 1988, Pleitgen b ...

: First administrative director **

Oliver Scheytt Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * '' Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

: Administrative director * Artistic directors: **

Karl-Heinz Petzinka Karl-Heinz Petzinka (born 7 January 1956) is a German architect, and Rector of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He is known for office buildings in Düsseldorf and Berlin. He converted historic industrial buildings, and was responsible for the sect ...

: director for the theme "City of possibilities" ** Steven Sloane: director of "City of the Arts" ** Aslı Sevindim: director of "City of Cultures" ** Dieter Gorny: director "City of Creativity"

Literature

* Wolfgang Sykorra: ''Borbecker Halblang. Ein Schulprojekt der Kulturhauptstadt Europas Ruhr.2010.'' Essen: Edition Rainruhr 2011. * RUHR.2010 GmbH (Hrsg.): ''Kulturhauptstadt Europas RUHR.2010: Buch zwei''. Klartext Verlag, 2010, * Achim Nöllenheidt: ''RuhrKompakt: Der Kulturhauptstadt-Erlebnisführer''. Klartext Verlag, 2009, *Gudrun Norbisrath, Achim Nöllenheidt: ''Kultur an der Ruhr. Entdeckungsreise in die Kulturhauptstadt''. Klartext, Essen 2010, * Regionalverband Ruhr (Hrsg.): ''Unter freiem Himmel / Under the Open Sky''. Birkhäuser Verlag, 2010, * Regionalverband Ruhr (Hrsg.): ''Feldstudien/ Field studies''. Birkhäuser Verlag, 2010, * Gregor Gumpert, Ewald Tucai (Hrsg.): ''Ruhr.Buch: das Ruhrgebiet literarisch''. Dt. Taschenbuch-Verl., 2009,

External links

Official website (English)
Ruhr 2010 in Germany 21st century in North Rhine-Westphalia Cultural policies of the European Union {{Germany-stub