Things to do in Bochum

Bochum is a city in western Germany's Ruhr Area. The city developed in the last century around its coal mines, which were all shut down by 1980. One of them has now become the German Mining Museum, one of the most visited museums of the country. After WWII the city also began developing as the cultural centre of the area and offers today to visitors a choice between several museums, like the Bochum Art Museum, the Planetarium and a Zoo with a Fossilium, displaying an interesting fossil collection. The city is also well renown for its natural pearls, like the Lake of Kemnade and the Botanical Garden, one of the biggest in Germany, which comprises a reconstruction of a classical Chinese garden.