Published: 10.07.2022
There is a very popular 'mountain' in Duisburg, on which even a summit cross sits. The mountain is called Monte Thysso and is an impressive 38 m above sea level! Sounds not spectacular now, but it takes about 2 hours to reach it, because it belongs to the via ferrata Monte Thysso. Among other things, mountaineers prepare for their tours in the mountains here.
What a transformation of the area, considering that raw iron was produced here until 1985 for the steel industry. In fact, the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park is an industrial monument and as such is interesting enough.
But through an architectural competition, the 180-hectare area became a real park, which also includes Germany's largest climbing garden. And the aforementioned via ferrata Monte Thysso is even the longest of its kind outside the Alps. Hence, there is a base camp of the German Alpine Club (DAV) here.
But even more dramatic for us as spectators was watching the climbers scrambling around the former blast furnace and casting hall. For the 3-hour experience, you should definitely bring stamina and have no fear of heights.
We stayed on the less strenuous high promenades.
But there is another highlight here, this time for diving enthusiasts: the former gasometer, which is now filled with 20,000 cubic meters of water. Here, there is now a training center and a versatile underwater landscape. Whoever wants to dives here in an artificial reef or investigates a sunken motor yacht. Incidentally, the diving gasometer is the largest indoor diving center in Europe.
So where chimneys used to smoke, today awaits you an all-year-round attraction that is open around the clock!