It is indeed an industrial wasteland that was transformed into a multifunctional park of a new style during the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park from 1989 to 1999. Once, a steelworks operated here, a large-scale facility for smelting iron from ore. One of the necessary blast furnaces has not been dismantled after the plant was shut down in 1985, but has been preserved and is accessible to visitors – at a height of 70 meters, there is a wonderful view over the entire area, which is over 200 hectares. A lot of greenery has grown and been planted there, paths have been laid out, and attractions have been created.
For instance, a former gas holder (gas tank) functions as a huge diving pool, the ore bunkers have been converted into climbing gardens for climbers, and the old blower hall (from where air was blown into the blast furnaces) as well as the huge power plant serve as venues for concerts and theatre, for example at the Ruhrtriennale. At night, the remaining industrial installations are dramatically illuminated by the colored lighting of Jonathan Park. The Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord is the second most visited attraction in North Rhine-Westphalia after the Cologne Cathedral.
