Local Information

About Bochum

Bochum is a medium-sized city in the northwest of Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia). The university takes its name from the nearby Ruhr river (this area is sometimes called “Ruhrgebiet,” which means “Ruhr area” in German).

In the 1800s, Bochum became an important city for coal mining and steel production (check out the headframe in the conference logo). This industrialization made Bochum a prime target for bombings in the first half of the 1900s, which is why you might not see the typical German city center in Bochum. Since the 1960s, however, Bochum has emerged as a regional cultural hub with a number of nice restaurants, theaters, and art galleries.

An interactive map of campus can be found here.

Table of Contents

1. Arrival by Train
2. Arrival by Plane
3. Accommodation During the Conference
4. Visa Regulations
5. Fun Things to do near Bochum

Arrival by Train

The conference venue is easily-accessible via light rail from the main train station in Bochum (Bochum Hbf). You can book train tickets through the Deutsche Bahn website bahn.de.

The fast trains are called “Inter-City Express” (ICE) or “Inter-City” (IC), while the (slower) regional trains often have a name like “Regional Bahn.”

For more information about local and regional transport, check out “How to Get to the RUB”.

Arrival by Plane

You cannot fly directly to Bochum, but there are a number of nearby airports.

• The closest airport is Düsseldorf.
• If you fly to Frankfurt, please note that the train from Frankfurt Flughafen to Bochum is twice as long as usual (~ 4hrs instead of ~ 2hrs).

Visa Regulations

EU and US citizens typically will not need a special visa to enter Germany for the conference. If you aren’t sure if you need a visa, please visit the Official Website of the German Federal Foreign Office, and especially their Visa Navigator page.

If you need a visa to attend the conference, you may use the following as a professional contact at the university:

Christian Stump
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Fakultät für Mathematik
Raum IB 3/141
Universitätsstrasse 150
D-44801 Bochum

If you are asked for a telephone and email, please use:

Tel.: +49 (0)234/32-22291
alg-kombinatorik@rub.de

If you need an official invitation for your visa application, please contact fpsac2024@rub.de. This visa contact may only be used by professional scientists related to the scope of the conference. We provide invitation letters for everyone

• whose extended abstract has been accepted to be presented at the conference, or
• who has provided us with the necessary information and in addition has paid the conference fee.

Accommodation During the Conference

The relevant information may be found at Registration.

Fun Things to do near Bochum

There are many fun things to do in and around Bochum that didn’t make the excursion list. Here are a few things to do in Bochum:

• Go to a Soccer game
• Go to the Schlosspark and Situation Kunst
• Visit the Fiege Brewery
• Go to the Planetarium
• Take in a play at the Schauspielhaus
• Visit one of the many small coal mines in area, such as Zeche Nachtigall or Henrichshütte (both reachable by local bus transport!)

If you’d like to travel outside of Bochum, consider:

• going to the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom, ~ 2hrs away by train)
• visiting Berlin (~ 4hrs away by train)
• taking a trip to Amsterdam (~ 4hrs away by train)