Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
With its population of around eighteen million actually exceeding that of the neighbouring Netherlands, North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) is by far Germany's most populous Land, though it's by no means the biggest geographically. As the name suggests, it's an artificial construction, cobbled together by the occupying British after World War II from the Prussian provinces of the Rhineland and Westphalia. Perhaps that explains why, for all its size and economic clout, it lacks the sort of breast-beating regional patriotism found in Bavaria. Instead, loyalties tend to be more local: to the city – particularly in the Land's great metropolis, Cologne – or to the region, as in the Ruhrgebiet, which straddles the historic boundary between Rhineland and Westphalia.
Occupied at various times by the French and British and with Charlemagne's capital, Aachen, at its western tip, North Rhine-Westphalia is an outward-looking, European-minded place. Several of its cities have played a decisive role in European history: in the north, the handsome cathedral city of Münster was the scene for the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia which ended the Thirty Years' War, while in the south the university city of Bonn – birthplace of Beethoven – strutted the world stage more recently as capital of West Germany during the Cold War.
Urban attractions are to the fore, particularly in thriving, multicultural Cologne and glamorous Düsseldorf, its near-neighbour, rival and the Land's capital. The increasingly post-industrial cities of the Ruhr conurbation – such as Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund – also have their charms, not least in their inventive reworking of their rich industrial heritage.
Getting into and around the region is easy. Three major airports – at Cologne-Bonn, Düsseldorf and Dortmund – are well-connected internationally, while there's a dense web of public transport links, with the core of the region well-served by rail, U-Bahn and bus. This is also one of the easiest parts of Germany to explore by bicycle, with well-equipped Radstations at many train stations and well-signposted cycle paths along which to explore the countryside.
Highlights
1 Cologne The great metropolis of western Germany is fascinating, free spirited and enormous fun to visit.
2 Schloss Augustusburg Piety takes a back seat to pleasure at this dazzling Rococo archbishop's palace.
3 Haus der Geschichte, Bonn The remarkable story of the postwar German miracle, told in an engaging and imaginative way.
4 Aachen cathedral Charlemagne's former court chapel is unique north of the Alps.
5 Eating and drinking in the Altstadt, Düsseldorf Far more than merely "the longest bar in the world", Düsseldorf's Altstadt has an almost Mediterranean élan on fine summer nights.
6 Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord Industrial heritage meets nature and science fiction at this remarkable, recycled steelworks.
7 Folkwang collection, Essen The superstars of French and German nineteenth-century art, housed temporarily at the magnificent Krupp villa.
8 Hermannsdenkmal, Detmold A winged, bearded warrior rises romantically above the wooded ridge of the Teutoburger Wald.