Rhine-Ruhr
Primary City: Cologne
Mayor of Cologne: Torsten Burmester (Social Democratic Party of Germany) (since 2025)
Primary State/Province: North Rhine-Westphalia
Primary Language: German
Population: 11.1M
GDP: $681B • GDP per capita: $61,359
GAWC Class: 4
Largest City
Largest metro area in Germany
Rhine-Ruhr metro area
50.94, 6.96Top Team
The single sporting franchise this metro is identified with.
From The Team That Wins the City. One pick per metro across 312 metros worldwide.
Walkable Elite Quarters
Neighborhoods that clear the dense, historic, walkable, elite residential test.
From The Last of the Marylebones. A small qualifying set out of the full corpus.
Dimension Breakdown
Value and global rank across all 16 dimensionsStands out for Metro Stations, Top Universities, Hospitals, & Research, Major League Teams/Venues.
Most similar metros
Closest profiles across all 16 dimensionsSports
Major League Teams/Venues
Football/Soccer • Germany🥇👑
Dortmund • Level: 1
Football/Soccer • Germany🥇
Gelsenkirchen • Level: 1
Football/Soccer • Germany🥇
Mönchengladbach • Level: 1
Football/Soccer • Germany🥇
Leverkusen • Level: 1
Notable Venues8 venues
Football/Soccer
BayArena
Leverkusen
Football/Soccer
Borussia-Park
Mönchengladbach
Football/Soccer
Merkur Spiel-Arena
Düsseldorf
Football/Soccer
RheinEnergieStadion
Cologne
Football/Soccer
Signal Iduna Park
Dortmund
Football/Soccer
Veltins-Arena
Gelsenkirchen
Football/Soccer
Vonovia Ruhrstadion
Bochum
Hockey • Handball
Lanxess Arena
Cologne
Other Teams
Football/Soccer Teams8 teams
Football/Soccer • Germany
Düsseldorf • Level: 3
W Football/Soccer • Frauen-Bundesliga
1. FC Köln (women)
Cologne
W Football/Soccer • Frauen-Bundesliga
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (women)
Leverkusen
Other Men’s Teams4 teams
American Football • American Football League Europe
Rhein Fire
Dusseldorf
Basketball • Int'l Basketball
Phoenix Hagen
Hagen
Basketball • Int'l Basketball
Telekom Baskets Bonn
Bonn
Hockey • Minor/Jr/Int'l Hockey
Kölner Haie
Cologne
Major Sporting Events
Championship Finals1 event
2004 Champions League Final
Football Final
2004 • Gelsenkirchen
Complete Event Timeline1 event
2004 Champions League Final
Championship Finals
2004 • Gelsenkirchen
Championship History
Every major championship won by a team while it represented Rhine-Ruhr, across all sports, newest first. 37in total. Each links to the team and the competition's full honour roll.
Top Companies
Total Market Cap: $1.3T across 21 companies
Source data as of August 1, 2026 (companiesmarketcap.com)
Cultural Assets
Cultural Events
Annual Events
Cologne Karneval
Cologne • Parade
Gamescom
Cologne • Trade Show
Notable One-off Events
2017 COP 23 Conference
Bonn • International Summit
2011 Eurovision Song Contest
Merkur Spiel-Arena • Music Event
2005 World Youth Day
Cologne • Religious Celebrations
Notable Museums & Landmarks
Museums & Galleries2 items
House of the History
Bonn • History
Deutsches Museum Bonn
Bonn • Science
Performing Arts Venues1 item
Cologne Philharmonie
Cologne • Concert Hall
Parks, Zoos & Theme Parks3 items
Phantasialand
Brühl • Theme Park
Cologne Zoo
Cologne • Zoo
Zoologischer Garten Wuppertal
Wuppertal • Zoo
Landmarks & Civic2 items
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne • Religious site
CentrO
Oberhausen • Shopping
Sound of Rhine-Ruhr
#153 by artist origin · combined 9.2 (US 0.8 / UK 2.7) · signature decade 2020s · Full sound profile →
Top artists: Kraftwerk, Kim Petras, Sash!, Can
Number-one singles by Rhine-Ruhr artists2
Unholy
Kim Petras
The Model
Kraftwerk
| Single | Artist | Chart | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unholy | Kim Petras | UK / US | 2022 |
| The Model | Kraftwerk | UK | 1982 |
Screen of Rhine-Ruhr
#74 by film pedigree · score 54.7 · 10 people in a century of top-grossing films and Oscar nominations · Full screen profile →
Leading figures: Luise Rainer, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Wim Wenders, Frances H. Flaherty, Frederick Stephani
Education & Research
Top 2000 Universities8 entries
University of Bonn
Bonn, Germany
University of Cologne
Cologne, Germany
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany
Ruhr University Bochum
Bochum, Germany
University of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf, Germany
Technical University of Dortmund
Dortmund, Germany
University of Wuppertal
Wuppertal, Germany
Witten/Herdecke University
Witten, Germany
Top 250 Hospitals4 entries
Uniklinik Köln
Cologne • Hospital
Universitätsklinikum Bonn
Bonn • Hospital
Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf • Hospital
Universitätsklinikum Essen
Essen • Hospital
Notable Infrastructure
Airport4 entries
Düsseldorf Airport
Düsseldorf • 2 - Major International
Cologne/Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn • 3 - International
Weeze Airport
Weeze • 4 - Regional
Dortmund Airport
Dortmund • 4 - Regional
Notable Train Hubs5 entries
Köln Hauptbahnhof
Cologne • Intercity Rail Hub
Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
Düsseldorf • Intercity Rail Hub
Essen Hbf
Essen • Intercity Rail Hub
Duisburg Hbf
Duisburg • Intercity Rail Hub
Dortmund Hbf
Dortmund • Intercity Rail Hub
Metro System (606 stations)6 entries
Bochum Stadtbahn
Bochum • 21 stations
Bonn Stadtbahn
Bonn • 81 stations
Cologne Stadtbahn
Cologne • 235 stations
Dortmund Stadtbahn
Dortmund • 125 stations
Düsseldorf Stadtbahn
Düsseldorf • 99 stations
Essen Stadtbahn
Essen • 45 stations
Suburban Rail (246 stations)2 entries
Cologne S-Bahn
Ruhr/Cologne/Dusseldorf • 65 stations
Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn
Ruhr/Cologne/Dusseldorf • 181 stations
Trade Venue3 entries
Koelnmesse
Cologne • Trade Venue
Messe Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf • Trade Venue
Messe Essen
Essen • Trade Venue
Luxury Hospitality
2-Star Michelin2 entries
Hansa-Stube
Cologne
Ox & Klee
Cologne