xThe Ruhrgebiet is called, "Ein Starker Stueck Deutschlands" since it was the heart of the German industrial revolution. History books will show you images of the same region with hundreds of such smokestacks one hundred years ago. Even as late as he 1960's, working class families in the region had to cover up the butter dishes at the kitchen table or it would accumulate a thin layer of soot by the end of the day.
I visited one 40's-era steel mill which produced heavy machinery almost continuously all through the second world war and up until the early 80's. It never stopped even in May of 1945, "the zero hour". But instead of hiding the rusty past, the mill is today open to the public and is charmingly called a "Naturpark".
