Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area between the cities of Essen and Dortmund.

Main sights include:

• The Town Hall
  
• Propsteikirche St. Peter und Paul, the most ancient church of the city, built in 785-800 by Charlemagne. It was rebuilt in the 11th century but had to be reconstructed starting from 1547, after a fire in 1517, in late-Gothic style. The 68 m-high bell tower is one of the landmarks of Bochum. the interior include a 1175 baptismal font, the relic shrine of St. Perpetua and her slave Felicitas, and a hig altar with a 1352 Crucifix.
  
• Pauluskirche, the main Protestant church of the city. It was built in the 1650 with donations from Northern Europe.
  
• Christuskirche.
  
• the neo-Gothic Marienkirche (1868-1872).
  
• Church of St. Vincent (c. 1000). Originally an example of Ottonian architecture, it was rebuilt in Romanesque style, and later turned into a Gothic edifice. In 1905 a neo-Gothic section was added. It houses a precious Baroque altar (1699) and a 16th century organ.
  
• Blankenstein Castle, built in the 13th century by Count Adolf I of Mark. Today the gate and a tower remain.
  
• Zeiss Planetary

Two castles from the Middle Ages survive on the northern banks of the Ruhr river. Other points of interest include the German Mining Museum, the musical Starlight Express (opening show in 1988) and the nostalgic Train Museum in the borough of Dahlhausen.
Bochum has its own brewery, Moritz Fiege which produces pilsner, a low alcohol pilsner & hell style beers.