A Novel Set in Bottrop: What Der Himmel zwischen den Streben Is About

Der Himmel zwischen den Streben is a complete novel set in Bottrop, available in German, English and Spanish. It follows Mara, who comes back to the town after fourteen years away to deal with her father's copy shop, and the German original runs to 51,228 words in 57 chapters. You buy Der Himmel zwischen den Streben as a digital download in PDF, EPUB, HTML and Markdown. There is no printed edition and nothing is shipped.

This page covers what the book is about (without spoilers), who it suits, how to read it on the move, and which real parts of Bottrop it points you towards.

What the novel is about

After fourteen years somewhere else, Mara returns to Bottrop because her father's copy shop needs someone to deal with it. There is her brother, there are keys being handed over and there are old machines, and in the middle of all that she has to decide what should stay and what she actually wants for herself. That is the premise, and it is as far as we go here.

It is a quiet contemporary novel rather than a thriller or a historical saga. The locations are real, but the characters, the private businesses and the events are invented. So the copy shop is fictional, and there is no point looking for it or for any character's house. That matters on a visit: Bottrop's residential streets are where people live, and they are best seen from public space.

Length, formats and reading it on a trip

• Length: 57 chapters; the German original has 51,228 words of narrative text.
• PDF: 173 pages in A4 in the German edition, with a clickable table of contents. You can print it, but it is laid out mainly for reading on screen.
• EPUB: checked with EPUBCheck, for e-readers and reading apps. On a Kindle, use Send to Kindle.
• HTML and Markdown: a reading version for any browser, plus an editable text file.

The chapters are short. With 57 of them across 173 pages, most take up only a few pages, so the book works in short sessions on a train or in the evening at your accommodation. German is the original language, and you can also choose an English or Spanish edition on the product page before you pay. It suits readers of quiet contemporary fiction, and people who know Bottrop or are about to go.

Where in Bottrop the book takes you

We only go by what the table of contents shows. Among the chapter titles are Die Frau in Kirchhellen (The woman in Kirchhellen), Am Rand der Heide (At the edge of the heath), Über der Stadt (Above the town), Die Tochter am Bahnhof (The daughter at the station) and Auf zwei Rädern (On two wheels). What happens in those chapters is for you to read. If you want to see the real surroundings of the first two, this is what our Bottrop guide says about them:

• Kirchhellen. The northern part of today's Bottrop, with village-like centres, fields and forest. It is much more than the name printed next to a theme park. Walk through the centre first: the shops, the places people meet, the main street and its quieter side streets. The local history separates the site of the former village church, destroyed by fire in 1917, from today's church, St. Johannes. Look at the Alter Kirchplatz and the present church as two different places.
• Kirchheller Heide. A varied woodland rather than one uniform forest. The regional association RVR describes wetter areas along streams, drier ground and changes caused by mining subsidence. Heidhofsee and Heidesee are two separate lakes, both created by sand extraction, and the Heidesee is kept for quiet recreation. Stay on the paths and plan a day with few other appointments.

Kirchhellen, Grafenwald and Feldhausen are separate starting points, so check the exact address and connection before you go. The Bottrop Travel Guide covers all of them, along with the rest of the town.

Reading it before or during a visit

If you have time before the trip, read the first few chapters at home. You get to know the characters without trying to match every scene to a street. Keep the rest for the evenings in Bottrop, when the names of districts mean something. Plan the north as its own day: a morning in Kirchhellen's centre and an afternoon in the Heide fit together, but not as a quick add-on to a day at the Tetraeder or Halde Haniel. If you only have one day, choose between the town's culture and heritage sites and the green north rather than trying both.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Bottrop novel available in English?

Yes. Der Himmel zwischen den Streben was written in German and is also available in English and Spanish editions. You pick the language on the product page before you pay.

Can I read Der Himmel zwischen den Streben on a Kindle?

Yes. Use the EPUB file and send it with Send to Kindle. Other e-readers and reading apps open the EPUB directly, and the HTML version works in any browser.

Is it a travel guide?

No. It is a standalone novel with invented characters and real settings in Bottrop. For planning, use the travel guides, which are separate products.

How long is the novel?

57 chapters. The German original has 51,228 words of narrative text, which is 173 pages in the A4 PDF. The chapters are short enough to read one in a single sitting.

The novel and the Bottrop guides

Start with Der Himmel zwischen den Streben, the Bottrop novel. If the book makes you want to go, the Bottrop Travel Guide has 100 topic pages on the town, including Kirchhellen and the Kirchheller Heide, and Bottrop Day Routes turns them into ten planned days. Hennef has a novel of its own: Was die Sieg weiterträgt. Like the novels, the Tabiara guides for Bottrop are available in German, English and Spanish. You will find everything in Bottrop Travel Guides.

Book and place details reflect our research in September 2026. Opening times, access and connections change, so check official sources for your travel dates.