CentrO Oberhausen (Oberhausen)

CentrO is part of a large commercial development in Oberhausen, Germany called the "Neue Mitte" or new middle. A large factory used to occupy the site until the late 1980s. It features a large shopping mall called CentrO plus other attractions such as a children's theme park and a water-lined boulevard lined with restaurants and pubs. Planet Hollywood briefly occupied a space in the mall before the company went bankrupt and abruptly closed many stores, including the one in CentrO. The shopping centre was based on Meadowhall, a large shopping centre in Sheffield, England (both malls had the same developer). It is often claimed that CentrO is the largest shopping mall on the continent, but at approximately 70,000 m2, it is not even the largest in the region. CentrO is however notable because it signifies the transformation of Oberhausen from an industry-based to a services-based economy and becoming a role model for other German cities.