Map of Bochum, Germany

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 385,729. It lies at 51.4817°N, 7.2165°E. Bochum is about 439 km (273 mi) west of Berlin, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Herne, 6 km to the north.

Bochum at a glance

Where is Bochum?

• The 16th largest city in Germany by recorded population.
• The 6th largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia on this site.
• Located in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 7 h 50 min on the shortest day to 16 h 38 min on the longest day (around 21 December and 21 June).

Cities near Bochum

• Herne — 6 km north
• Gelsenkirchen — 9 km west
• Hattingen — 9 km south
• Witten — 10 km southeast
• Castrop-Rauxel — 11 km northeast
• Herten — 14 km north
• Essen — 14 km west
• Recklinghausen — 15 km north
• Dortmund — 18 km east
• Gladbeck — 19 km northwest

Largest cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

• Cologne — 1,024,621
• Düsseldorf — 618,685
• Essen — 593,085
• Dortmund — 588,462
• Duisburg — 504,358
• Wuppertal — 360,797
• Bielefeld — 331,906
• Bonn — 330,579
• Münster — 308,258
• Gelsenkirchen — 270,028

Largest cities in Germany

• Berlin — 3,426,354
• Hamburg — 1,973,896
• Munich — 1,505,005
• Cologne — 1,024,621
• Frankfurt am Main — 650,000
• Düsseldorf — 618,685
• Stuttgart — 612,663
• Essen — 593,085
• Dortmund — 588,462
• Dresden — 564,904

Map of Germany and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.