Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in Germany is a prime example of how to turn an old, mothballed industrial site into a beautiful public space.
Most major cities have an area or neighborhood that they consider an eyesore. It’s one of those aesthetically unappealing districts that no one really wants to see – especially tourists. Often, that eyesore comes in the form of an industrial area – factories, pulp mills, power plants, scrap metal yards, steel mills, chemical plants, and so on. Yet industrial areas are a necessary evil in order to support and nurture the local economy.
But then, what happens when a factory or industrial area closes down?
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In the case of Germany, they’ve turned many of their former, and even current, industrial areas into another economic draw – in the form of industrial tourism.
The German approach was something that I found particularly intriguing. Edmonton itself has a few large industrial buildings, such as the Rossdale Power Plant, that have been sitting virtually abandoned, waiting for restoration and a new lease on life. Not only do we struggle with how to re-use these buildings, but often the cost of remediation, restoration and retro-fitting quickly become cost prohibitive.
We visited a few of these industrial sites on our travels through Germany, but Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord was the one that I wanted to see the most. Any time I researched ideas on what we could do with our own industrial sites, Landschaftspark came up again and again in my Internet searches as a similar example.
Something about the concept of it fascinated me – a once-abandoned industrial site on a huge scale, that, instead of being demolished and turned into condos or a parking lot, was re-purposed into what can only be described as a post-apocalyptic amusement park.
Background
The area now known as Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord (or “Landscape Park” in English), was originally a coal and ironworks production plant in the early 1900s. Eventually the steel market in Europe hit a point of overcapacity, and the works closed in 1985. The more than 200-hectare brownfield site was left abandoned and polluted. But a group of concerned citizens took action and protested the proposed demolition of the site.
Professor Peter Latz and Partner eventually came up with the current design of the park. It allowed for preservation of as much of the original site as possible. This even included leaving contaminated soil in place. Instead they opted for a natural solution using plants to break down pollutants, known as phytoremediation.
But enough about history, let’s explore the park!
Visiting Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord
We were staying in Duisburg. So we hopped the 903 tram (direction Dinslaken) and got off at the ‘Landschaftspark-Nord’ stop. From there is was about a ten minute walk to the park. Unfortunately we chose a miserable day to be touring an outdoor site. It was cool, cloudy and rainy.
We popped into the tourist information center upon our arrival. It was under the guise of wanting to pick up a site map, but really we just wanted a few minutes to dry off and warm up! There were about 30 other people who had the same idea. Beyond that, there didn’t seem to be much going on in the park. It was surprisingly quiet.
We started our self-guided tour at Blast Furnace #5. This was one of the largest buildings to explore. You could even climb to the very top of the tower if you wanted. Ores were melted together here to produce pig iron. The facility could be used continuously for ten years at temperatures of 2000 degrees Celsius before the internal brickwork had to be replaced.
It all looks quite dangerous though, doesn’t it? Well, the park is designed in such a way that there are barriers, both natural and manmade (in the form of metal gates or locked doors), to keep you within the safe zones. It’s well done and you don’t feel restricted or limited at all. In fact, most of the time we weren’t even aware of the restricted areas.
The park is also purposely allowing nature to take over some areas. Such as the trees breaking through some of the metal catwalks here and there.
As most of us don’t know much about the ironworks process, there were helpful signs placed in some of the buildings. These interpretive plaques helped us have a better understanding of what each building was used for back in the day.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from Landschaftspark. Aesthetically, I’m not a fan of industrial sites, especially when Europe has so many architecturally spectacular buildings. But this place is different.
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord is so visually striking and fascinating. And if you’re a photographer, consider this your playground.
Let’s just point out that Mark and I aren’t the greatest photographers by any means. But we really enjoyed running around trying out different camera angles and artistic modes. So much so, that we both used up our camera batteries. That’s something we have never experienced before in our travels. But we couldn’t get enough of this place!
And the storm that we complained about earlier, actually contributed to some pretty dramatic and spectacular shots:
Admittedly, “dramatic” is my favourite camera mode. It works wonders on storm clouds, adding depth and dynamism:
The amazing thing about this site is how many different views and angles you can get. You can choose to take photos from the ground, from a staircase, a platform, or a tower….the options are infinite.
You don’t even need a photographer’s eye to get cool photos here; everything is interesting in colour, shape and texture.
But you can do so much more here than just walk through abandoned shells of buildings and across catwalks. (Although I did enjoy the catwalks!)
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord now features several activity areas for visitors. Gardens, for example:
There are also climbing walls and a high rope to tackle:
There’s a restaurant on site, a concert hall, and more walking/biking trails than you can shake a stick at. They even found another use for the old gasometer, built in 1920:
If those shapes on the doors look like scuba divers, you’d be right. The gasometer is now a 13-meter deep diving tank!
The park is lit up at night, thanks to some really cool light installations from British artist Jonathan Park. Unfortunately we didn’t stick around to wait for it to get dark, since our camera batteries were all used up. But we easily spent three hours here, maybe more. It was a very eye-opening and unique experience, and one that I would recommend. (Even for people who aren’t into industrial tourism. This particular site could possibly change your mind on that!) Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord is a great example of re-purposing a site that most people wouldn’t think twice about demolishing.
Information
Opening times
Monday to Friday: 9 am to 6 pm
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays: 11 am to 6 pm
(Bank Holidays of North Rhine-Westphalia)
Contact
Tour de Ruhr GmbH
at the Landscape Park Duisburg Nord
Emscherstraße 71
47137 Duisburg
Telephone: +49 (0) 203 42 919 19
Fax: +49 (0) 203 42 919 45
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.tour-de-ruhr.de
Getting There
By train: From Duisburg Hbf (the main railway station) take tram 903 in the direction Dinslaken to the stop ‘Landschaftspark-Nord’, then from there onto Emscherstrasse. The park is approximately 10 minutes on foot from the tram stop. Directions to the park are at the tram stop.
Please note: At Duisburg Hbf, the tram station is located at the lower level underneath the Main Railway Station. Follow the blue and white U-signs (Underground).
By bus: Take the 906 or 910 to the ‘Landschaftspark-Nord’ stop, then go onto Emscherstrasse. The park is approximately a 10 minute walk from the bus stop. Directions to the park are at the bus stop.
For tickets and timetables, check here: Transit Tickets
Where to Stay
Looking for accommodation near Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord? Start your search here:
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I agree – the gardens and greenery really played well against the hard lines of the buildings.
We could have definitely spent a full day there, it was a lot to take in. They did a great job cleaning up the industrial site while still keeping the historical aspects intact.
Hi Lannie, yes the weather actually made the photos really “pop”. Much more than if it had been clear and sunny!
Fascinating bit of urban exploration. The hedges are a nice surprise.
Very interesting place to explore. I agree the weather added to the mystery of the place.
Wow! So cool! I never knew abandoned industrial sites were being used for anything actually. But it’s nice for them to repurpose it into a park (of sorts). Despite it being a cold and cloudy day, the photos fit the site better 🙂