Oberhausen's most compelling attractions are products of the industrial-heritage-to-culture transformation that swept the Ruhr in the 1990s. The Gasometer is the headline act — but the LVR Industrial Museum, the Schloss Oberhausen, and the short film festival all make a serious claim on your time.
The Neue Mitte development on the former ARBED steelworks site has reshaped the city's northern end: Westfield CentrO, the Gasometer, and the Rudolf Weber-Arena now occupy what were once blast furnaces and coal yards. Walking through this district gives you an immediate sense of what the Ruhr's industrial reinvention actually looks like.