Unit 8: Economic core regions and their characteristics: regional examples

(Alfred Pletsch)

One of the stereotypes of Germany is that it is a densely industrialized country. The image could not be more wrong. The spatial distribution of the economic core regions shows a very polarized structure, with only a handful of highly industrialized areas. In fact, almost 85 % of Germany's land use [1] is agriculture and forestry. Even within the core industrial regions activities are highly concentrated only within or immediately adjacent to larger cities.

The region that has contributed most to the image of an industrialized Germany is the Ruhr. Industrial firms such as ThyssenKrupp [2] and some others in the region have fostered this image for more than one hundred years. Their main products were steel and heavy machines. Surprisingly, the Ruhr region had a late start to industrialize, at least in comparison to British steel centres. Although there already was some coal mining going on in the area at the start of the 19th century, only after 1850 did large iron and steel production take off. While annual coal production had risen sevenfold between 1800 and 1850, it increased 33 fold in the second half of the 19th century. The population of the city of Essen [4] increased from a mere 10,000 in 1850 to more than 200,000 50 years later. Other towns like Bochum, Oberhausen or Duisburg experienced similar increases. It is during this time that the Rhine river became Europe's major transport route, linking the Ruhr to the rest of the world. Workers were being drawn from all over Germany, as well as from other European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and very many from the East-European countries, especially from Poland. The Ruhr region became a real (and probably the only) ethnic melting pot of Germany, and it has admittedly kept much of this human characteristic until today.

The years since 1900 have seen eventful changes. During WWI and WWII the steel mills were called upon to supply arms for the German military. It subsequently caused military occupation of the region by the French after WWI for a number of years and almost a complete dismantlement of the production facilities at the end of WWII. With the help of the USA Marshall Plan, the industry of the Ruhr was rebuilt in the 1950s, and the so-called 'German miracle' helped make the region the most efficient economic region of the Federal Republic of Germany within a very short time. For some 20 years the boom went on, but with the steel and oil crisis in the early 1970s new problems arose. Governmental subsidies were used to help the mines survive, but without success. Though steel production was maintained over the years at 20 million tons per year, coal mining went down from 140 million tons in 1958 to less than 40 million tons today. Thus, only a fraction of its mining industry has survived. Instead, the formerly "black country" [5] turned towards the service sector for jobs. As can be seen from the example of Essen, where 75 % of the active labour is employed in tertiary jobs this switch has been successful. But only future can say, whether or not the ongoing transformation process will be sustainable in all communities.

A very special case is Berlin [6], the old and new capital of Germany [7]. During the second half of the 19^th century the city became, in addition to its political and cultural core functions, also one of the most important industrial centres of the German Empire. Sectors such as electronics (Siemens, AEG), pharmaceutics (Schering [8]) and steel transformation (Borsig) were particularly prospering. The devastative destruction during WWII destroyed much of this heritage. After WWII Berlin's biggest problem was its isolation from West Germany and its subdivision into two halves as a consequence of the political restructuring of Germany under the occupation of the Allies. For political reasons, the West German government subsidized heavily West Berlin's economy until reunification. But with the fall of the wall in 1989 this policy changed. East Berlin's industry, though prosperous by Eastern bloc standards, once exposed to western competition was no match for western technology nor its environmental standard requirements. Consequently, the united city of Berlin lost thousands of industrial jobs after unification. It is nevertheless now the fastest growing city of Germany, due mainly to the fact that it became the new capital of the reunited nation by decision of the federal government. With the collapse of the socialist bloc and its open borders to the West, Berlin looks at itself as a possible crossroad center connecting eastern and western Europe.

Frankfurt-am-Main [9] and the Rhine-Main-Lowland is another core region of Germany with very specific characteristics. Frankfurt was Germany's capital for several hundred years, for it was here where the German kings were coronated [10] since the Middle Ages. Until 1866 Frankfurt had the privilege of being an independent city state (Freie Stadt), before it was annexed to Prussia. Trade fairs made Frankfurt one of the most prosperous centres since the Middle Ages. An important Jewish community has always been a stimulating factor for the city's economy, especially in the banking sector. It became one of the strongest pillars of the local economy, especially during the 19th century. Even today Frankfurt is considered as one of Europe's most important banking and finance centres, with almost 400 national or foreign banks and other money institutions located in the downtown core. This is the reason why the city at times is referred to as 'bankfurt' in jest. The city at times is also referred to as 'Mainhattan' [11] because of its location on the river Main and the many skycrapers it has. It is the only German city were such a skyline has developed. Frankfurt has also one of Europe's busiest airports: Flughafen Frankfurt am Main [12], second only to London Heathrow. Most international airlines use Frankfurt for their German destinations.

But there is more to Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main-Lowlands. It is also one of Germany's core regions for chemical production with Hoechst [13], a leading chemical firm with almost 200,000 employed worldwidely having its major production here. The nearby city of Offenbach is Germany's first centre for fine leather production. Hanau, to the east of Frankfurt, has a long standing tradition of producing gold and silver craft items. Recently, it has become Germany's centre for the precious metal industry. Degussa AG [14] is one of the major world wide operating firms in this sector, but who has widened considerably its spectrum of activities in recent years. Nukem [15] and Alkem are two firms of international importance in the field of nuclear technology. To the south, the Rhein-Main-Lowlands stretch almost continuously into the Rhein-Neckar triangle. Here important industrial cities such as Mannheim [16] and Ludwigshafen are located. In the latter is located the chemical industry giant BASF [17].

Southern Germany is considered to be Germany's sunbelt, but only in part for its geographic location. The two cities of Munich [18] and Stuttgart [19] are leading centers in the fields of high tech and automobile production. Munich benefited from Berlin's destruction during WWII. The headquarters of some important firms, such as Siemens [20] were relocated from Berlin to the Bavarian capital. In addition, high quality automobile firms (BMW [21]); as well as firms in the computing and aerospace sector settled in Munich and Stuttgart. It was near this latter city, in Untertürkheim, that Carl Benz at the end of the 19th century built the first Mercedes automobile [22]. Today this firm is the biggest employer in the Stuttgart area. But many other famous firms are located here as well, not the least being Porsche [23].

Industrial core regions in Eastern Germany suffered very much during socialist times. Despite this, they were efficient enough to make the GDR, after the USSR, the most powerful member of the former Comecon bloc. Particularly within the Halle/Leipzig-Chemnitz-Dresden triangle, was a high concentration of internationally operating firms, such as the chemical plant at Leuna [24] near Halle. A number of other smaller industrial nodes were scattered over the former DDR, some of them with long standing traditions in manufacturing. Jena [25] was known for its optical industry with its best known firm being Zeiss [26]. Zwickau in Saxony was the centre of automobile production in GDR times, where the now famous Trabi was produced. Leipzig has always been a centre of printing and publishing. A unique production specialization occurred at Eisenhüttenstadt (Iron Mill City), a 'socialist city', which was developed by the GDR government as its major iron and steel production centre (75% of the state's total production). The city has experienced massive employment problems since reunification. A similar development occurred at Hoyerswerda [27] where coal mining and power generation were the key industries in the local economy. Major attempts have been made since 1989 to restructure and reorganize industrial plants in the new Laender, but all too often they are hindered by dated technology, environmental concerns and lack of infrastructure in their regions. Unemployment is extremely high in some of the former economic core regions of the new Laender, in some cases up to over 30%, and related social and political problems abound.

[1] http://www.destatis.de/basis/d/umw/ugrtab7.htm (28.08.2003)
[2] http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/eng/index.html
[4] http://www.essen.de/english/Leben_E/StelltSichVor_E/Geschichte_E.htm
[5] http://www.route-industriekultur.de/steuer/menue/menue_e.htm
[6] http://www.berlin.de/english/index.html
[7] http://www.deutsche-staedte.de/berlin/
[8] http://www.schering.com
[9] http://www.frankfurt.de/sis/English.html
[10] http://www.frankfurt.de/sis/sis/detail.php?id=20948
[11] http://home.comcast.net/~tour_in_germany/frankfurt.htm
[12] http://www1.frankfurt-airport.com/
[13] http://www.hoechst.com/homepage/homepage.htm
[14] http://www.degussa.de/en/home.html
[15] http://www.nukem.de/homepage_en.aspx?Pg=/homepage_en.asp
[16] http://www.mannheim.de
[17] http://www.basf.de/basf/html/rampe/home_e.htm
[18] http://www.munich-tourist.de/
[19] http://www.stuttgart.de
[20] http://www.siemens.com/
[21/28] http://www.bmw.com/
[22] http://www.mercedes-benz.com/e/mbclassic/default.htm
[23/31] http://www.porsche.com/
[24] http://www.leuna.com/deutsch/index.htm (28.08.2003)
[25] http://www.jena.de
[26] http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A100537AB9?Open
[27] http://www.hoyerswerda.de
[29] http://www.mercedes-benz.com/e/default.htm
[30] http://www.vw.com/
[32] http://www.opel.com/