With its massive Industrial Revolution-era machines and science fiction movie set atmosphere, you would think that Voelklinger Huette was the birthplace of the steampunk trend.
Classified as a World Cultural Heritage Site, the ironworks was the first monument from the era to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. 
When I asked my 9-year-old daughter if she wanted to come along, she said sure, even though I had no idea what we would see.
The site has just reopened after closing due to coronavirus measures. They require visitors to make reservations online and have either a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination before entering. 
We arrived at the enormous plant after just over an hour drive west of Kaiserslautern. 
The first room visitors enter is the Blower Hall, where huge generators made compressed air for the blast furnaces. Artifacts and images depicting life in the ironworks adorn the hall. 
From there, we explored the almost 15-acre complex that dominates the city of Voelklingen. Walkways and bridges lead you through a maze of corridors and rooms, each more interesting than the next. It becomes easy to imagine the immense heat generated by the ore and machines, and how workers must have felt in that environment. 
If you want to brave the site without a map, like we did, good luck. We got lost at least three times. I would suggest one of the English maps available at the entrance. 
There are seven distinct regions in the factory. Next time I’ll use the map because we missed the science center, which my daughter would have enjoyed. 
The site is also open to the arts and is currently featuring an exhibit called Mon Tresor, or My Treasure, with items from around Europe. 
The ironworks combines industry with technology, art and culture; there are regular theater and concert performances there. It’s the most entertaining museum I have ever visited, my daughter loved it and this place would make a great location for the ultimate game of hide and seek. 
Location: Rathausstrasse 75-79, 66333 Voelklingen, Saarland. Google maps leads you to the parking area.
 Cost: 17 euros per adult; free for 18 and under, or 27 and under with student ID. Tickets available online.
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An art installation inside the former&nbsp;Voelklingen ironworks in Germany
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Three German cities place e-bus orders with VDL. 7, 6 and 3 VDL units of the Citea Electric will make it to Plön, Völklingen and Neuss respectively. Since the first 5 VDL Citeas SLF-120 Electric for Münster in 2015, VDL says that more than 100 fully electric vehicles have been delivered in Germany to date, representing more than [&hellip;]
Three German cities place e-bus orders with VDL. 7, 6 and 3 VDL units of the Citea Electric will make it to Plön, Völklingen and Neuss respectively.
Since the first 5 VDL Citeas SLF-120 Electric for Münster in 2015, VDL says that more than 100 fully electric vehicles have been delivered in Germany to date, representing more than 4 million experiences of electric public transport.
Until October 2022, VDL Bus &amp; Coach announces it will be supplying electric buses to Plön, a town in the north- German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The order is for 7 Citeas SLF-120 Electric, which are recharged at night in the depot. The batteries have a capacity of 350 kWh.
Over the next 3 years, 6 Citeas will also take to the road in Völklingen. This town in Saarland will have 5 Citeas SLF-120 Electric and 1 Citea SLFA-180 Electric at its disposal. These buses, too, are charged not on the route but in the depot.
VDL Bus &amp; Coach is supplying 2 Citeas SLF-120 Electric and 1 Citea SLFA-180 Electric to Stadtwerke Neuss, near Düsseldorf. Although these buses are also charged in the depot, the vehicles are also equipped with a pantograph. Opportunity charging is one of the possibilities in the long run.
Plön, Völklingen and Neuss join the cities of Münster, Cologne, Osnabrück, Oberhausen-Bottrop, Leipzig and Kiel, which are already making a daily contribution to VDL Bus &amp; Coach&#8217;s objective in Germany: &#8216;Aiming for Zero&#8217;. Since the first 5 VDL Citeas SLF-120 Electric for Münster in 2015, more than 100 fully electric vehicles have been delivered in Germany to date, representing more than 4 million experiences of electric public transport.
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A related decree awaits an update by the government.Reporting by Vera Eckert