The Occupation of the Ruhr was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium from 11 January 1923 to 25 August 1925.
French soldiers and a German civilian in the Ruhr in 1923
French Chasseurs Alpins in Buer
French troops in Dortmund
Protests by gymnasts from the Ruhr at the 1923 Munich Gymnastics Festival (The sign on the left reads "German the Ruhr remains" [unusual word order in the original, for emphasis]; the sign on the right reads "We never ever want to be servants!" )
The Ruhr, also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017), it is the largest urban area in Germany. It consists of several large cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 10 million people, which is the third largest in Western Europe, behind only London and Paris.
Old market square in Dortmund with St. Reinold's Church
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001
Zeche Zollern in Dortmund
Tetrahedron in Bottrop
