More features:

• The Cannon Kings

  Essen’s industrial success couldn’t have happened without the Krupp family’s steel-making empire. Like many other German companies, Krupp has a long history — with a few not-so-secret skeletons in its closet....

• Industrial tourism in the Ruhrgebiet

  The area between the Ruhr, Lippe and Rhine rivers consisted mainly of rural villages until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution turned it into one of Europe’s largest centres for coal mining and steel production (which soon earned it the nickname Ruhrpott, or Coal Pot)....