When does the lecture take place?

The lecture takes place on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM.

Where is the event taking place?

The venue is the Education Center at Ebertstraße 19 in Gelsenkirchen, Room 207.

How much does admission cost?

Admission to the event is free.

Is registration required?

Yes, prior registration through the Gelsenkirchen Adult Education Center under course number 1004 is required or recommended.

Who is giving the lecture?

The lecture is delivered by Prof. Dr. Nicolai Hannig, Professor of Modern History at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

Is there an opportunity for questions after the lecture?

Yes, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion after the lecture.

When Gelsenkirchen became wild: A journey back to the Ruhr area in 1875

Name: Prussia's Wild West – what was it like in 1875 in the Ruhr area?
Start: 2026-10-06T19:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-06T20:30:00+02:00
Location: Bildungszentrum

When Gelsenkirchen became the Wild West of industrialization

What was life like in the Ruhr area 150 years ago? On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Prof. Dr. Nicolai Hannig will take the audience at the Education Center Gelsenkirchen back to a time when the Ruhr area was hardly mentioned. His lecture highlights the Rhine-Westphalian industrial district in 1875 – a region between rapid industrialization, social upheaval, and newly emerging living environments.

A region in dramatic transformation

In just a few decades, a densely populated heavy industrial conurbation arose on previously sparsely populated, agriculturally dominated land. Coal and steel transformed landscapes, working worlds, and social interactions. The event illustrates how contradictory and dynamic this change was for the people living there.

Work, leisure, and daily life in 1875

The focus is not only on economic developments. The lecture also looks at work and leisure, personal experiences, culture, and religion. This creates a multifaceted picture of Gelsenkirchen at that time and its inhabitants. Historical facts are connected with insights into the everyday life of a society that stood between tradition and modernity.

Historical expertise from first-hand

Prof. Dr. Nicolai Hannig is a professor of Modern History at the Technical University of Darmstadt. The historian, who was born in Bochum, researches, among other things, the German and European history of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as environmental and urban history. Together with Ute Schneider, he published the first volume of the history of the Ruhr area in 2025, which examines the development of the Rhine-Westphalian industrial district until 1914.

Lecture with room for exchange

After the lecture, the floor will be open for questions and discussions. This combination of scientific context and personal exchange makes the event an exciting educational experience for history enthusiasts, Ruhr area fans, and anyone who wants to see their region from a new perspective. The event is offered by the Gelsenkirchen Adult Education Center in cooperation with the Institute for Urban History.

Admission is free, but prior registration is required or recommended. It starts at 7:00 PM in Room 207 of the Education Center at Ebertstraße 19.

Conclusion: History that makes everyday life visible

Those who want to understand how a sparsely populated landscape became an industrial conurbation will experience an insightful look at the roots of the Ruhr area that evening. Secure your participation and experience the audience atmosphere of a lecture that conveys history in a vivid, tangible, and locally rooted way.