Germany · Nordrhein-Westfalen · Wattenscheid
Laer, Wattenscheid — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Car work defined Laer. The district lies east of Altenbochum in Bochum, where Opel's Werk I stood.
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Where to stay in Laer
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Laer's own lodging amounts to very little. The former Opel ground, where MARK 51°7 has been taking shape since 2014, defines the quarter, and most visitors take a room in the central business district, then come east past Altenbochum. The small Lahariplatz is the local market square.
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MARK 51°7
Redevelopment of the old Opel ground is under way here. Few places to stay nearby — book ahead.Find hotels in MARK 51°7walking in toward the centreAltenbochum side
The Altenbochum edge puts the central business district within a short run west. Rooms are few around here — worth securing early.Find hotels in Altenbochum sidehotel choice and evenings outBochum central business district
The business district holds the rooms that Laer lacks.Find hotels in Bochum central business districtHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
About Laer
What are the main landmarks in Laer?
Industry made Laer's name. Opel's Werk I, built on the ground of the Zeche Dannenbaum colliery, was in its heyday the main employer of the district and of Bochum. Haus Laer, a moated castle from 940, can be visited and hired for events.
Altenbochum and the central business district lie to the west. Anyone after churches or galleries looks toward the rest of Bochum and the wider Ruhr area.
What is the history of Laer?
First recorded around 900 as lahari, a name meaning pasture, Laer was by the late Middle Ages a farming community in the parish of Uemmingen, in the County of Mark; the county's treasury book of 1486 lists 15 taxpaying farm holders. Coal came next. Mining at the Zeche Dannenbaum shaped the district until 1958, and in 1960 the city of Bochum sold the colliery ground to Adam Opel AG, which built its Werk I there.
The plant closed in 2014 after a long fight to keep it. The quarter keeps its place east of Altenbochum, on the far side of the central business district.
Where is Laer?
Altenbochum lies to the west. Laer takes the ground east of Altenbochum and the central business district, within the Ruhr area.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Laer?
MARK 51°7: visits tied to the redevelopment of the old Opel ground. Altenbochum side: walking in toward the centre. Bochum central business district: hotel choice and evenings out.
More areas in Wattenscheid
Updated October 2026