In the final part of the series "Our Country", WDR and BROADVIEW TV take a look at NRW at the beginning of the 21st century. Past meets future! The structural change that the people of the Ruhr region have long dreamed of - it is bearing fruit. The land of coal and steel is changing, becoming global and green. Renewable energies are slowly replacing mine gold. The SPD is voted out of office for the first time in 39 years. NRW is a media centre, hosts the world at major events and focuses on integration. But the newly created togetherness is put to the test again and again.
RUHR 2010 - representing the 53 cities of the Ruhr Regional Association, Essen is awarded the title "European Capital of Culture". For one year, NRW is the cultural centre of the entire continent. Cultural events, structural support and marketing campaigns bring new momentum to North Rhine-Westphalia. The RUHR 2010 motto "Change through Culture - Culture through Change" stands for the whole decade.
Not only culture but also technology is blossoming in "our land": the world's largest wind power test field is opened in the former open-cast lignite mine near Grevenbroich. The German Aerospace Centre is developing the technology for solar power plants that could soon supply NRW with solar power from the Sahara. With the promotion of renewable energies, NRW becomes a pioneer throughout Europe. Even the farewell to coal is sealed by law.
"Our Country" is also progressive in integration issues: Germany's largest mosque is being built in Marxloh within only four years. German and Turkish buddies, who have worked together for years, support each other here. The mosque becomes a milestone, the city a model of lived integration.
A capital that will be continued at the 2006 World Cup. The summer fairy tale will become reality especially here in NRW. With Dortmund, Cologne and Gelsenkirchen, NRW provides more venues than any other federal state. Under the motto "The World Visiting Friends", "Our State" presents itself from its best side. A boundless wave of euphoria sweeps through the state, all of NRW is up in arms.
The most inconspicuous symbol of this unbroken sense of community in North Rhine-Westphalia is and remains the "Büdchen". That rustic meeting place where people buy their bread in the morning or get together after work. Nowhere in Germany is there such a high density of Büdchen as in the Revier - 15,000 are counted. Here people stand together and reminisce about old times underground - or make plans for the future together.
Great stories and little anecdotes unfold between kiosk culture and technical awakening - an exciting journey through time and at the same time the crowning finale of the series "Our Land", which brings the diverse history of North Rhine-Westphalia to life.
First broadcast: Friday, 23 September 2016, 20:15 on WDR
OUR LAND - In the new millennium
In the final part of the series "Our Country", WDR and BROADVIEW TV take a look at NRW at the beginning of the 21st century. Past meets future! The structural change that the people of the Ruhr region have long dreamed of - it is bearing fruit. The land of coal and steel is changing, becoming global and green. Renewable energies are slowly replacing mine gold. The SPD is voted out of office for the first time in 39 years. NRW is a media centre, hosts the world at major events and focuses on integration. But the newly created togetherness is put to the test again and again.
