Bergisches Land, Märkisches Sauerland, Siegerland

The slate hillsides of the Rhineland do not resemble an industrial area in the slightest. That said, it is indeed an industrial area whose economic roots can be traced back into the distant past. This was one of the first regions to make charcoal from timber, manufacture iron from ore and harness water for power. As a result of the ambition, industriousness, inventive powers and craft skills of the local population water wheels were soon turning, blast furnaces glowing, hammer works pounding, spindles rotating and weaving looms clattering. This route leads through one of the oldest industrial regions in Germany.
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