Emscher Glücksradtour 7: Wandelwege (Bottrop)

Here in the triangle between the Emscher, Lippe, and Rhine rivers, iron smelting began in the region in 1758, and the last hard coal was mined in 2018. And even after these 260 years, change continues, as demonstrated on this tour by the renaturation of Hahnenbach and Boye, for example, which paint a lot of green and blue between the high slag heaps. There are few more beautiful examples of the beneficial effects of water than the lakes of the Kirchheller Heide. If you like, you can branch off directly onto the Rotbach route from here and cycle to the Rhine. Incidentally, the reason why Bottrop was called Borthorpe, the "village on the hill," in the Middle Ages is particularly evident on the route through the city, even if you leave the imposing slag heaps to your left and right. But it's worth the effort.