Migration, transition and change are determining factors for people, for life in general, for development in every society and in every culture. There have always been migratory movements, migration, and travelling people in every social stratum. European history in general and the history of today’s Ruhr Region in particular have been fundamentally shaped by migration and integration. The Ruhr Region is connected with almost all of the German regions and countries in Europe: Westphalia – Rhineland – Hesse – Lorraine – Belgium – Netherlands – France – Ireland – England – Austria – Poland – Italy – Portugal – Spain – Turkey – Greece – Russia – and many others. Even today, people from all over the world come to the Ruhr Region in order to live, work, or study. They all bring foreign influences with them.

The monuments, chosen according to the theme “Foreign Impulses”, document the historical depth of the region. These include the Roman Harbor Temple in Xanten as well as Flemish carved altars from the 16th Century, which were delivered from Antwerp. Also of note are Werden Abbey in Essen, founded around 800, and significant for the structural development of this Region and beyond, as well as the Cappenberg Monastery, built in 1122, the first Premonstratensian Monastery east of the Rhein. Also found in the collection are the former Pilgrim church in Breckerfeld from the 13th or 14th Century, and the remains of the mediaeval city walls in Duisburg, where merchants from all over the world have stockpiled goods since the 9th Century. The Roman Fort in Haltern and the remains of the Spanish canal construction project, Fossa Eugeniana, begun in 1626 near Rheinberg, stand as relics for changing territorial control in the region. The epitaph in the Savior’s Church in Duisburg, of Gerhard Mercator, the inventor of the conformal map projection who died in 1594, refers to the scientist from the Netherlands and his influences in the area of technology.

With the aid of the historic monuments selected, and their own history, the historical superimpositions in the Ruhr Region are made transparent, point by point, and the “complexity” of this urban landscape's town planning is explained. Without a claim to completeness, these pages should illustrate the fascinating diversity of the Ruhr 2010 Region and present these architectural monuments in all their richness and their specific authenticity. A few of the buildings presented here are not found among registered historic buildings, as they were built in the last few decades and have not yet been considered for historic preservation. A certain amount of time must pass before the historical value of a building can be assessed. It is therefore left to future generations of curators to assess the most recent developments. Nevertheless, these objects were incorporated into this collection because significant aspects of the topic could be demonstrated by using them.

The monuments tell the story of foreign influences in the far-reaching history of the Ruhr Region on Art and architecture, on faith and governance, on the population, on capital, and technology. The monuments showcase the inter-relations between today’s Ruhr Region and other European regions, and demonstrate traces and evidence of migration, exchange, and communication. It is particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries that such inter-relationships had a formative influence, and since that time, these can be seen as the area’s most significant attribute. The buildings chosen are divided into five subject areas: Art and Architecture, Faith, People, Governance, Technology and Capital. They illustrate the complexity of past foreign influences in today’s Ruhr Region.

Selected examples from the monument stock depict exchange and migration that is, immigration and emigration, as the “normal case” in societal and cultural change. They make it clear - each in its own way - that much of what is perceived today as trusted and well known came into the region throughout the course of history as outside influence: as something which was, initially, foreign and new. Likewise, much of what today seems foreign will not remain so, but will instead develop into something trusted and well known. The title “Foreign Impulses” is to be playfully understood, the ambiguity of the combination of the terms is intentional. The attribution of “foreign” is always subjectively defined; it cannot be objective.