Hagen, Urban municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Hagen is a city at the southeastern edge of the Ruhr region that spreads over wooded hills and narrow valleys. Residential districts alternate with industrial zones while the center extends along the Volme river.
The area became part of the Frankish realm in 775 but developed into a settlement with civic rights only during the 18th century. Industrialization transformed the town in the 19th century into a center of steel production and metalworking.
The open-air museum hosts working demonstrations in period workshops where blacksmiths, weavers and other craftspeople practice old techniques. Visitors watch metal being shaped or cloth emerging from traditional looms.
The city is reachable by highway from several directions while rail connections link it to the rest of the Ruhr area. Forest trails on the surrounding hills offer access to viewpoints overlooking the urban area.
A former quarry near Vorhalle contains deposits from multiple geological ages with traces of early land dwellers. Paleontologists discovered fossilized remains of reptiles and small mammals from the time before the large dinosaurs.
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