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Image: S. Koerber/blickwinkel/IMAGOImage: S. Koerber/blickwinkel/IMAGO

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is the most populous federal state in Germany. The biggest metropolitan area of the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr, is located within the state.

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All Content on this topic

German police vehciles, a bike and car, parked

Germany: Man dies after standoff with police in Bochum

Officials were responding to a situation with a man throwing things out of his window. But the situation escalated.
Rule of LawOctober 12, 2024
Cocaine bricks among a crate of bananas in Mönchengladbach, Germany

German supermarket finds €7M of cocaine in crates of bananas

Police did not identify the discount supermarket chain in question.
CrimeSeptember 23, 2024
makeshift memorial of flowers and candles at the site of a knife attack in Solingen

Solingen knife attack heats up German election campaign

A suspected Islamist stabbed three people to death. This has reignited the debate on migration and security.
PoliticsAugust 27, 2024
Ambulances and police vans on the scene in Solingen following Friday's deadly stabbing attack

Germany: Several killed in stabbing at Solingen street party

Police have launched a manhunt after a man killed three people and seriously injured five more with a knife.
CrimeAugust 24, 2024
The official mascot of UEFA EURO 2024 stands by the trophy

Euro 2024: The west continues to dominate German sports

Of the 10 cities hosting matches for the European Football Championship, only one is located in former East Germany.
SportsJune 6, 2024
An ambulance and emergency doctor drive through a Düsseldorf street with blue lights flashing to an operation on Dec 16, 2023.

Germany: Girl falls to her death from hotel window

A teenage girl fell from the sixth floor of a hotel near the center of Düsseldorf, in North Rhine Westphalia.
Law and JusticeApril 22, 2024
Firefighters battling a blaze in a city-center house in Solingen, western Germany, in the early hours of March 25, 2024.

Solingen house fire was arson, prosecutors say

A fatal house fire in the German city earlier this week appears to have been set intentionally, prosecutors said.
CrimeMarch 27, 2024
DW Dokumentationen | Pulverfass Vulkaneifel

Germany’s Volcanic Eifel region - A powderkeg?

The Volcanic Eifel is a peaceful region in western Germany.
ScienceJanuary 23, 202442:36 min
Police vehicles in a wooded area on a separate case

Germany: Police find missing woman's body in woods

Police found her body Tuesday and arrested her husband, who will appear before a magistrate on Wednesday.
CrimeJanuary 10, 2024
ThyssenKrupp Steel, Schwelgern coking plant on the Rhine in Duisburg Marxloh, coal-fired power station Walsum at the back

German metalworkers union secures 5.5% wage hike

IG Metall struck an agreement guaranteeing compensation payouts, shorter work-weeks and job guarantees.
BusinessDecember 16, 2023
A close up shot of a North Rhine-Westphalia police officer's arm patch and handcuffs

Germany: Teens allegedly planned Christmas market attack

Two teenagers arrested this week allegedly planned to set off an explosion at a Christmas market in Leverkusen.
CrimeNovember 30, 2023
A file photo of three men at the Chorweiler Mosque in Cologne in 2015

Outrage after Taliban member speaks at German mosque

Abdul Bari Omar was previously in the Netherlands where he attended a WHO event.
PoliticsNovember 18, 2023
Die 16 deutschen Bundesländer als Navigation-Pins auf der Deutschlandkarte

Meet Germany's 16 state leaders

Germany's 16 federal states range from 600,000 to 18 million in population size, and have diverse coalition governments.
PoliticsNovember 14, 202316 images
View of Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge at sunset

10 reasons to love North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, boasts a wide variety of architectural gems and attractions.
TravelNovember 14, 202310 images
Armed and masked police escort a man in front of a building in Berlin's Neukoelln district during raids against organized clan criminality on February 18, 2021 in the German capital.

80,000 German emergency workers attacked on duty — survey

A German newspaper group found that North Rhine-Westphalia saw the most violence against first responders.
CrimeSeptember 16, 2023
bird's eye view of woman sitting on the floor with a laptop and a cup of coffee

Can working from home and coworking help German rural areas?

Working from home has become established practice in Germany. The concept of coworking could be a boon for rural areas.
SocietyAugust 29, 2023
Close-up of a German prisoner operating a circular saw, with sparks coming off the metal as he works. Shot taken from behind the subject, whose face is not visible.

German top court tells two states to pay prisoners better

Germany's constitutional court rules that the going rate of less than €3 per hour in two German states is inadequate.
PoliticsJune 20, 2023
Emergency crews, some with specialist breathing equipment, gather on a street near the site of the explosion. Ratingen, western Germany, May 11, 2023.

Germany: Suspect arrested after blast at high-rise building

Over 20 police officers and several firefighters were injured in a blast at an apartment tower in Ratingen.
CatastropheMay 11, 2023
Four police officers outside a gym in Duisburg, Germany, after a man stabbed four people in the building. April 18, 2023

Germany: Suspect still on loose after Duisburg gym stabbings

Police are seeking a fairly tall man aged about 30 still on the loose after stabbing four people in a fitness center.
CrimeApril 19, 2023
German police cordoning off crime scene in wooded area near Freudenberg

Girl found dead in woods was killed, German police say

The girl's body was found on Sunday in a stretch of forest near her home town of Freudenberg.
CrimeMarch 13, 2023
The electricy pylon at the Garzweiler coal mine

RWE suspects sabotage of Garzweiler coal mine power pylon

The Garzweiler coal mine has been a flashpoint for climate action in Germany.
ClimateMarch 12, 2023
Passengers stand near the departures board on January 17, 2023 at Düsseldorf International Airport amid a strike affecting flights.

Germany: Public sector strikes in NRW to hit major airports

It's the latest chapter in a series of strikes locally and nationwide in recent weeks.
PoliticsFebruary 26, 2023
Police experts wear hazmat suits while conducting investigations in Castrop-Rauxel into a potential planned chemical attack

Germany: No toxins found in anti-terror garage searches

German police have searched two garages in connection with a suspected planned bioweapon attack.
TerrorismJanuary 9, 2023
Athletes cheer during Artistic Gymnastics competition during Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi

The Special Olympics and the right to participate

The Special Olympics may not be as well-known as the Olympic Games, but they are no less important.
SportsSeptember 23, 2022
Pawnbroker Nikolaus Bode standing in his shop next to cases filled with jewelry and other items

Pawnbrokers win out amid growing crisis

Prices are rising in Germany. And as they do, more Germans are turning to their local pawnbroker to make ends meet.
BusinessSeptember 17, 2022
Policemen holding guns

Killing of youth sparks debate about German police brutality

Four police operations, four deaths, one week. Germany is once again discussing police violence and racism.
SocietyAugust 12, 2022
Deutsche Welle Strack Christoph Portrait

Germany's flood disaster management is the next tragedy

Christoph Strack
Those affected by last year's floods are still struggling with the trauma and the consequences of political failure.
PoliticsJuly 14, 2022
Elderly woman casting her ballot

What's behind the low voter turnout in Germany?

Are Germans fed up with politics in general? A dramatic drop in voter turnout has set off alarm bells.
PoliticsMay 25, 2022
Olaf Scholz looking serious

Olaf Scholz reeling after NRW election defeat

The German chancellor has suffered a blow: Despite his support, the SPD saw a historic defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia.
PoliticsMay 16, 2022
Hendrik Wüst has been serving as North Rhine-Westphalia premier

Germany: Scholz's party defeated in key NRW election

Germany's Christian Democratic Union won the largest share of the vote in the North Rhine-Westphalia state election.
PoliticsMay 15, 2022
German emergency crews stand outside a passenger train in the western German municipality of Herzogenrath following a knife attack on board

Germany: Knife attack on train leaves several wounded

At least six people were wounded after a man attacked them on a passenger train near the city of Aachen.
CrimeMay 13, 2022
Olaf Scholz giving a fiery speech in Essen on May first

Germany's largest state holds pivotal election

Amidst the twin crises of war in Ukraine and an energy crunch, North Rhine-Westphalia is heading to the polls in Sunday.
PoliticsMay 13, 2022
04.2016 Check-in (Sendungslogo)

Highlights of western Germany

From Wuppertal to the Eifel region and on to Stuttgart - Lukas Stege rides Germany´s only suspension railroad, Nicole Frölich hikes on volcanic rock, and we also visit the country´s largest automobile museum.
CultureApril 16, 202226:01 min
Anne Spiegel giving a televised statement, April 10, 2022

German minister quits over vacation amid flood recovery

After heavy floods hit Rhineland-Palatinate last year, Deputy State Premier Anne Spiegel went on vacation.
PoliticsApril 11, 2022
Italien |Fund bei archaeologischen Ausgrabungen in Park of Paestum und Velia

Revealing bird's-eye archeology

We join an aerial archeologist looking for Roman ruins from the skies above Germany.
ScienceApril 3, 202206:32 min
ballpoint pens with party logos

Germany's major election year 2022

The high-flying SPD wants to consolidate their power, the conservative CDU needs to win back lost voters.
PoliticsJanuary 4, 2022
Cologne skyline

Germany's 16 states: North Rhine-Westphalia

Cosmopolitan cities, a rich industrial heritage, and spectacular landscapes make this part of Germany worth a visit.
TravelNovember 11, 2021
Landschaft im Herbst

A trip to the Bergisches Land

Sprawling forests, countless rivers and reservoirs, castles and charming little towns make the Bergisches Land a popular tourist destination for people throughout the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
CultureNovember 6, 202101:35 min
Garzweiler lignite field

Germany: State leader backs early coal phaseout

Hendrik Wüst, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, called coal "uneconomical."
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 3, 2021
Hendrik Wüst has been serving as NRW's transport minister

Germany: Hendrik Wüst to take helm of most populous state

He'll be responsible for everyday services in a region with a population larger than that of the Netherlands.
PoliticsOctober 27, 2021
Armin Laschet addresses young members of the CDU

Germany: Armin Laschet steps down as NRW state premier

The 60-year-old has served as the head of Germany's most populous state since 2017.
PoliticsOctober 25, 2021
Armin Laschet speaking at a podium

Germany: CDU chief Laschet takes rap for election debacle

Armin Laschet, the leader of Angela Merkel's CDU, says he will quit as head of Germany's most-populous state.
PoliticsOctober 16, 2021
Climate activists protest against the Garzweiler open-cast coal mine with a sign reading "defend Luetzerath" in Luetzerath, western Germany, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

Germany: Activists' sit-in to stop coal mine expansion

Climate activists argue that Germany cannot meet its emission goals unless it stops extracting and burning coal sooner.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 1, 2021
A file photo shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani listening to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi

Germany: Man arrested over Iran nuclear program links

A German-Iranian has been arrested for allegedly supplying laboratory equipment to a blacklisted company in Iran.
CrimeSeptember 14, 2021
German police on the street, looking ahead. ULMER Pressebildagentur

Germany: Police find weapons in right-wing raid

The nine suspects, six of whom are reservists in the German army, were between 37 and 53 years old.
Rule of LawSeptember 10, 2021
Sophie M. and her child on the grass

A German family's post-flood life

Weeks after the floods, a single mother and her two children still cannot return to their home.
CatastropheSeptember 3, 202102:55 min
A group of protesters in NRW

German protesters decry new assembly law

Demonstrators have taken to the streets in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia amid worries about state surveillance.
PoliticsAugust 28, 2021
Cleanup efforts in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler

German floods: Up to €30 billion needed for recovery

North Rhine-Westphalia State Premier Laschet said at least €13 billion would be needed in his state alone.
CatastropheAugust 9, 2021
Armin Laschet and Olaf Scholz stand at a bridge railing in front of others in Stolberg, Germany

German chancellor candidates visit flood-hit region

Armin Laschet and Olaf Scholz have been touring areas devastated by floods, promising funds and reconstruction help.
PoliticsAugust 4, 2021
Armin Laschet holding his book 'Die Austeiger-Republik' in 2009

Chancellor candidate Laschet admits to plagiarism 'mistakes'

Armin Laschet is the second major chancellor candidate to be accused of copying someone else's work.
PoliticsJuly 30, 2021