Germany – Duisburg (En)

Duisburg is a city in western Germany, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. It is known for its large port, inner harbour, waterfront restaurant, and nightlife district. This city west of the Ruhr is mainly focused on the steel industry, but still has very nice museums for lovers of contemporary art and history.

What to see

Jurgen drove us and parked in the car park opposite the inner harbour where the first thing you see are the remains of the tower of the fortified wall. The shell-shaped tower is the last visible vestige of the fortified wall of the Calais square. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the tower was used to supervise port operations. Originally, this was the entrance to the Rhine port.

We then went to Castle Square in front of City Hall, which is the central square of the city. In the Middle Ages, the square provided a view of the Rhine and the vibrant activity in the harbour and the market. The square also houses the Church of Our Saviour which dates back to 1181, though it is older. The church was extended in the 12th century with the addition of the west tower and a crypt. It burned down in 1283 and today, this Gothic church dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries, although it was badly damaged in the Second World War.

Then we walked along the river bank and came across the Museum of Local and Cultural History of Contemporary and Modern Art until we reached the central avenue full of shops, restaurants and bars where Ben tried the König Pilsener since Duisburg is the birthplace of this beer.

Duisburg is known for having the largest inland harbour in the world and no visit to Duisburg would be complete without a boat tour, and that’s what we did! Big thanks to Jurgen who invited us on this amazing cruise down the Rhine!

We went back to our camper and had some ribs that Ben made for lunch!

The next day we went to the campsite where Jurgen lives, and we enjoyed meeting his friends, doing laundry, having a few drinks at the campsite bar and swimming in the pool!

This is how our visit to Germany ended and we went to Holland to Budel in the province of North Brabant, known for its popular attractions such as its windmills, which you can see in the next post!