Of course we know the Ruhrgebiet from the book "The Dambusters" and a lot of smoke and stench from the past. Before, during and after the Second World War
Bocholt, too, had a hard time at the end of the Second World War.
In the meantime, the Ruhr area has been upgraded to a park landscape with many museums that are interesting enough for men and women.
And that despite their generally industrial background.
For example, we recently visited the Textil Museum in Bocholt, a considerable stone's throw across the border.
In the current museum, more than 20.000 reels were once played in the Herding spinning mill in Bocholt.
Today, the impressive four-storey brick building is a Forum for Textile Culture. In this carefully restored industrial monument, past and present of textile come to life
Special exhibitions provide insight into historical and modern engineering, showcase fashion design and international textile art. And there is a glass roof cafe.
Nearby is the next part of the textile factory, the weaving mill. Here it smells of oil and labor and the looms rattle so hard that you involuntarily shield your ears with your hands. What you are experiencing today during a visit, 100 years ago was daily fare for thousands of men and women. The museum shows you how the rhythm of the machines dictated their pace of work.
The large weaving hall forms the heart of the museum factory. Under the shed roofs, timing belts and long drive shafts move more than 30 historic machines. The museum staff produce fabrics for the towels and tablecloths from the museum's historical collection on a daily basis.
Away from the factory noise you will visit a fully equipped workers' house with accompanying vegetable garden that provides insight into the austere life of the families.
If you start the journey by driving there via the secondary roads and decide to shred Friday, you can celebrate a fantastic long weekend there.
LWL Industrial Museum
Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Industriekultur
TextilWerk Bocholt
Weberei / weaving mill
Uhlandstrasse 50, 46397 Bocholt
Spinning egg / spinning mill
Industriestraße 5, 46395 Bocholt
Tel. 0049-2871216110
On the site http://www.lwl.org you can find more about the museums in the region