Donald Duck becomes a local reporter and visits Villa Hügel at Baldeneysee

Essen, Germany, July 29, 2026. The Ruhr region, on the southern edge of which Essen is located, is getting a new, very special main character: Donald Duck takes on the role of a racing reporter in the current Mickey Mouse magazine and explores the multifaceted region. In the special issue „An Alien Sensation,“ the cult comic combines the charming fictional world of Duckburg with the special atmosphere of the Ruhr area – between industrial culture, kiosk culture, and fiction. Baldeneysee.Ruhr has read the work and provides a first insight here. One thing in advance: the comic is worth reading – not just for people from the Ruhr area.

Donald Duck, equipped with his reporter's gear for the „Duckburg Courier,“ cycles through the region. On his route are iconic sites such as the German Mining Museum and the Planetarium (both in Bochum), the magnificent Villa Hügel, which looms imposingly over the Baldeneysee Thront, as well as the Zollverein colliery in the north of Essen, the imposing gasometer in Oberhausen on the Rhine-Herne Canal, and the walkable steel sculpture Tiger & Turtle in Duisburg. These places symbolize the unmistakable character of the Ruhr region – a region in transition that preserves its industrial roots while simultaneously offering green oases and modern cultural sites, as well as extensive cycle paths on disused railway tracks, making it ideal for cycling excursions.

„With his chaotically lovable nature, Donald Duck fits perfectly into the Ruhr region, where things don't always run smoothly, but always remain surprising,“ says Garrelt Duin, Regional Director of the Ruhr Regional Association (RVR). Axel Biermann, Managing Director of Ruhr Tourismus GmbH (RTG), emphasizes that the story humorously reflects the region's successful structural change: „From its former coal and steel center, the Ruhr region has developed into a vibrant cultural and tourism center.“ Not to forget the renatured industrial wasteland, which has transformed the Ruhr region's color from gray to green. The edition is thus a compliment to the region and a tribute to the area, which has not only preserved its history but is creatively utilizing it and developing it further with a promising future.

The Mickey Mouse Magazine #17/2026, featuring Donald Duck as a curious Ruhrpott reporter, will be available in stores starting July 31st. For those who wish to purchase it online: the Ruhrpott edition is also available at [Egmont-Shop](https://www.egmont-shop.de/magazine/micky-maus/). Baldeneysee.Ruhr says: A must-have for fans of Duckburg and anyone who wants to discover the Ruhrgebiet from a new perspective.

For the Egmont Ehapa Media publishing house, it was an exciting task, according to their own statements, to place Donald Duck in the unique setting of the Ruhr region. Publishing director Jörg Risken emphasizes: „The mix of impressive industrial architecture, urban flair, and warm openness makes the Ruhr region the perfect stage for our story.“ The result is a combination of adventure, local color, and a wink that, as is well known, delights not only children.