Essen is seat to several of the region's authorities, as well as to eight of the 100 largest publicly held German corporations by revenue, including threeDAX-listed corporations. Essen is often considered the energy capital of Germany withE.ON andRWE, Germany's largest energy providers, both headquartered in the city.
Essen is also known for its impact on the arts through the respectedFolkwang University of the Arts, itsZollverein School of Management and Design, and theRed Dot industrial product design award. In early 2003, the universities of Essen and the nearby city ofDuisburg were merged into theUniversity of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and auniversity hospital in Essen. In 1958, Essen was chosen as the seat to theRoman Catholic Diocese of Essen, often referred to as the diocese of the Ruhr (Ruhrbistum).
Founded around 845, Essen remained a small town within the sphere of influence of an importantecclesiastical principality,Essen Abbey, until the onset of industrialization. The city then—especially through theKrupp family's iron works—became one of Germany's most important coal and steel centres. Essen, until the 1970s, attracted workers from all over the country; it was the fifth-largest city in Germany between 1929 and 1988, peaking at over 730,000 inhabitants in 1962. Following the region-wide decline of heavy industries in the last decades of the 20th century, the city has seen the development of a strongtertiary sector of the economy. The most notable witness of this structural change (Strukturwandel) is theZollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, which had once been the largest of its kind in Europe. Ultimately closed in 1993, both thecoking plant and themine have been listed byUNESCO as aWorld Heritage Site since 2001.
Essen is located in the centre of theRuhr area, one of the largesturban areas in Europe comprising elevenindependent cities and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants into amegalopolis. The city limits of Essen itself are 87 kilometres (54 mi) long, and border ten cities – five belonging to a district (kreisangehörig) and five independent – with a total population of approximately 1.4 million. The city extends over 21 kilometres (13 mi) from north to south and 17 kilometres (11 mi) from west to east, mainly north of theRiver Ruhr.
The Ruhr forms theLake Baldeney [de]reservoir in the boroughs of Fischlaken, Kupferdreh, Heisingen andWerden. The lake, a popular recreational area, dates from 1931 to 1933, when some thousands of unemployedcoal miners dredged it with primitive tools. Generally, large areas south of the River Ruhr (including the suburbs of Schuir andKettwig) are quite green and are often quoted as examples of rural structures in the otherwise relatively densely populated central Ruhr area. According to theFederal Statistical Office of Germany, Essen with 9.2% of its area covered by recreational green is the greenest city inNorth Rhine-Westphalia[5] and the third-greenest city in Germany.[6] The city has been shortlisted for the title ofEuropean Green Capital two consecutive times, for 2016 and 2017, winning for 2017.[7] The city was singled out for its exemplary practices in protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity and efforts to reduce water consumption. Essen participates in a variety of networks and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the city's resilience in the face of climate change.
The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Karnap at 26.5 metres (86.9 ft), the highest point in the borough of Heidhausen at 202.5 metres (664 ft). The average elevation is 116 metres (381 ft).
Essen comprises fifty boroughs which in turn are grouped into nine suburban districts (calledStadtbezirke) often named after the most important boroughs. Each Stadtbezirk is assigned aRoman numeral and has a local body of nineteen members with limited authority. Most of the boroughs were originally independent municipalities but were gradually annexed from 1901 to 1975. This long-lasting process of annexation has led to a strong identification of the population with "their" boroughs or districts and to a rare peculiarity: the borough ofKettwig, located south of the Ruhr River, and which was not annexed until 1975, has its ownarea code and remains part of theArchdiocese of Cologne, whereas all other boroughs of Essen and some neighbouring cities constitute theDiocese of Essen.
Essen has a typicaloceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb;Trewartha:Dobk) with cool winters and warm summers (different fromBerlin orStuttgart). Without large mountains and the presence of inland seas, it ends up extending a predominantlymarine climate is found in Essen, usually a little more extreme and drier in other continents in suchgeographical location.[8] Its average annual temperature is 10 °C (50 °F): 13.3 °C (56 °F) during the day and 6.7 °C (44 °F) at night. The average annual precipitation is 934 millimetres (37 in). The coldest month of the year is January, when the average temperature is 2.4 °C (36 °F). The warmest months are July and August, with an average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F).[9]
The Essen weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[10]
Highest Temperature 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) on25 July 2019.
Warmest Minimum 24.4 °C (75.9 °F) on 1 August 1943.
Coldest Maximum −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 1 February 1956.
Lowest Temperature −24.0 °C (−11.2 °F) on 27 January 1942.[11][12]
Highest Daily Precipitation 109.8 mm (4.32 in) on 14 August 1954.
Wettest Month 235.0 mm (9.25 in) in August 1938.
Wettest Year 1,372.1 mm (54.02 in) in 2023.
Driest Year 573.0 mm (22.56 in) in 1959.
Earliest Snowfall: 4 November 1966.
Latest Snowfall: 28 April 1985.
Longest annual sunshine: 2,058.8 hours in 2022.
Shortest annual sunshine: 1,192.5 hours in 1962.
Climate data for Essen-Bredeney: 161m, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1935–present
In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it has the same form as the Germaninfinitive of theverb for "eating" (written as lowercaseessen), and/or the Germannoun forfood (which is alwayscapitalized asEssen, adding to the confusion). Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of the name,[15] there remain a few noteworthy interpretations. The oldest known form of the city's name isAstnide, which changed to Essen by way of forms such as Astnidum, Assinde, Essendia and Esnede. The name Astnide may have referred either to a region where manyash trees were found or to a region in the east (of theFrankish Empire).[16] In the dialects of the Limburgish language spoken in the city's southern boroughs Essen is called Äßße.
The oldest archaeological find, theVogelheimer Klinge, dates back to 280,000 – 250,000 BCE. It is ablade found in the borough ofVogelheim [de] in the northern part of the city during the construction of theRhine–Herne Canal in 1926.[17] Other artifacts from theStone Age have also been found, although these are not overly numerous. Land utilization was very high—especially due to mining activities during the Industrial Age—and any more major finds, especially from theMesolithic era, are not expected. Finds from 3,000 BCE and onwards are far more common, the most important one being aMegalithic tomb found in 1937. Simply calledChest of Stone (Steinkiste), it is referred to as "Essen's earliest preserved example of architecture".[18]
Essen was part of the settlement areas of several Germanic peoples (Chatti,Bructeri,Marsi), although a clear distinction among these groupings is difficult.
TheAlteburg [de] castle in the south of Essen dates back to the eighth century, the nearbyHerrenburg [de] to the ninth century.
Around 845, SaintAltfrid (around 800–874), the laterBishop of Hildesheim, founded an abbey for women (coenobium Astnide) in the centre of present-day Essen. The first abbess was Altfrid's relative Gerswit (see also:Essen Abbey). In 799,Saint Liudger had already foundedBenedictineWerden Abbey on its own grounds a few kilometres south. The region was sparsely populated with only a fewsmallholdings and an old and probably abandoned castle. Whereas Werden Abbey sought to support Liudger's missionary work in theHarz region (Helmstedt/Halberstadt), Essen Abbey was meant to care for women of the higherSaxon nobility. This abbey was not an abbey in the ordinary sense, but rather intended as a residence and educational institution for the daughters and widows of the higher nobility; led by an abbess, the members other than the abbess herself were not obliged to take vows ofchastity.
Around 852, construction of the collegiate church of the abbey began, to be completed in 870. A major fire in 946 heavily damaged both the church and the settlement. The church was rebuilt, expanded considerably, and is the foundation of the present Essen Cathedral.
The first documented mention of Essen dates back to 898, whenZwentibold, King ofLotharingia, willed territory on the western bank of theRiver Rhine to the abbey. Another document, describing the foundation of the abbey and allegedly dating back to 870, is now considered an 11th-century forgery.
In 971,Mathilde II, granddaughter of EmperorOtto I, took charge of the abbey. She was to become the most important of all abbesses in the history of Essen. She reigned for over 40 years, and endowed the abbey's treasury with invaluable objects such as the oldest preserved seven branched candelabrum, and theGolden Madonna of Essen, the oldest knownsculpture of the Virgin Mary in the western world. Mathilde was succeeded by other women related to theOttonian emperors: Sophia, daughter ofOtto II and sister ofOtto III, and Teophanu, granddaughter of Otto II. It was under the reign of Teophanu that Essen, which had been called a city since 1003, received the right to hold markets in 1041. Ten years later, Teophanu had the eastern part of Essen Abbey constructed. Itscrypt contains the tombs of St. Altfrid, Mathilde II, and Teophanu herself.
Old Church (Alte Kirche) in Altenessen, built 1887
In 1216, the abbey, which had only been an important landowner until then, gained the status of a princely residence when EmperorFrederick II called abbess Elisabeth I "Princess of the Empire" (Reichsfürstin) in an official letter. In 1244, 28 years later, Essen received its town charter and seal whenKonrad von Hochstaden, theArchbishop of Cologne, marched into the city and erected a city wall together with the population. This proved a temporary emancipation of the population of the city from the princess-abbesses, but this lasted only until 1290. That year, KingRudolph I restored the princess-abbesses to full sovereignty over the city, much to the dismay of the population of the growing city, who called for self-administration andimperial immediacy. The titlefree imperial city was finally granted by EmperorCharles IV in 1377. However, in 1372, Charles had paradoxically endorsed Rudolph I's 1290 decision and hence left both the abbey and the city in imperial favour. Disputes between the city and the abbey about supremacy over the region remained common until the abbey's dissolution in 1803. Many lawsuits were filed at theReichskammergericht, one of them lasting almost 200 years. The final decision of the court in 1670 was that the city had to be "duly obedient in dos and don'ts" to the abbesses but could maintain its old rights—a decision that did not really solve any of the problems.
In 1563, the city council, with its self-conception as the only legitimate ruler of Essen, introduced theProtestant Reformation. The Catholic abbey had no troops to counter this development.
During theThirty Years' War, the Protestant city and the Catholic abbey opposed each other. In 1623, princess-abbess Maria Clara von Spaur, Pflaum und Valör, managed to direct Catholic Spaniards against the city in order to initiate aCounter-Reformation. In 1624, a "re-Catholicization" law was enacted, and churchgoing was strictly controlled. In 1628, the city council filed against this at the Reichskammergericht. Maria had to flee to Cologne when the Dutch stormed the city in 1629. She returned in the summer of 1631 following theBavarians underGottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, only to leave again in September. She died 1644 in Cologne.
The war proved a severe blow to the city, with frequent arrests, kidnapping and rape. Even after thePeace of Westphalia from 1648, troops remained in the city until 9 September 1650.
The first historic evidence of the important mining tradition of Essen date back to the 14th century, when the princess-abbess was granted mining rights. The first silver mine opened in 1354, but the indisputably more important coal was not mentioned until 1371, and coal mining only began in 1450.
At the end of the 16th century, many coal mines had opened in Essen, and the city earned a name as a centre of the weapons industry. Around 1570,gunsmiths made high profits and in 1620, they produced 14,000 rifles and pistols a year. The city became increasingly important strategically.
Resident in Essen since the 16th century, the Krupp family dynasty and Essen shaped each other. In 1811,Friedrich Krupp founded Germany's first cast-steel factory in Essen and laid the cornerstone for what was to be the largest enterprise in Europe for a couple of decades. The weapon factories in Essen became so important that a sign facing themain railway station welcomed visitorsHitler andMussolini to the "Armory of theReich" (Waffenschmiede des Reiches) in 1937.[20] The Krupp Works also were the main reason for thelarge population growth beginning in the mid-19th century. Essen reached a population of 100,000 in 1896. Other industrialists, such asFriedrich Grillo, who in 1892 donated theGrillo-Theater to the city, also played a major role in the shaping of the city and theRuhr area in the late 19th and early 20th century. The main competitor of Krupp in the Ruhr area was Thyssen & Company, later theThyssen AG. In 1999 the Krupp and Thyssen steel works merged to formThyssenKrupp with a headquarter in Essen.[21]
Riots broke out in February 1917 following a breakdown in the supply of flour. There were then strikes in the Krupp factory.[22]
On 11 January 1923 theOccupation of the Ruhr was carried out by the invasion of French and Belgian troops into the Ruhr. The French Prime Minister,Raymond Poincaré, was convinced that Germany failed to comply the demands of theTreaty of Versailles. On the morning of 31 March 1923, the culmination of this French-German confrontation[23] occurred when a small French military command, occupied the Krupp car hall to seize several vehicles. This event caused 13 deaths and 28 injured. The occupation of the Ruhr ended in summer 1925.[24]
On 28 May 1936, Adolf Hitler made a speech at theKrupp steelworks in Essen, with thousands of workers in attendance.[25]
On the night ofKristallnacht on 10 November 1938, thesynagogue was sacked, but remained through the whole war in the exterior almost intact.[26] TheSteele synagogue was completely destroyed.
During the Nazi era, tens of thousands of slave labourers were forced to work in 350 Essen forced labour camps. Here, they did mining work and worked for companies like Krupp and Siemens.[27][28]Alfried Krupp was convicted in theKrupp trial atNuremberg for his role in this but was pardoned by the US in 1951.[29] There were severalsubcamps in Essen in theSecond World War, such as the subcampsHumboldtstraße [de],Gelsenberg,Schwarze Poth [de].
Devastation of Krupp factory
As a major industrial centre, Essen was a target forallied bombing, theRoyal Air Force (RAF) dropping a total of 37,014tonnes (82 millionpounds) of bombs on the city.[30] Over 270 air raids were launched against the city, destroying 90% of the centre and 60% of the suburbs.[31] On 5 March 1943 Essen was subjected to one of the heaviest air-raids of the war. 461 people were killed, 1,593 injured and a further 50,000 residents of Essen were made homeless.[32] On 13 December 1944 three Britishairmen were lynched.[33]
TheKrupp decoy site (Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage) was built inVelbert to divert Allied airstrikes from the actual production site of the arms factory in Essen.
The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Essen in April 1945. The US507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the17th Airborne Division, acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, entered the city unopposed and captured it on 10 April 1945.[34]
After the occupation of Germany by the allies, Essen was assigned to theBritish Zone of Occupation. On 8 March 1946, a German army officer and a civilian were hanged for the lynching of three British airmen in December 1944.
Although weaponry is no longer produced in Essen, old industrial enterprises such asThyssenKrupp andRWE remain large employers in the city. Foundations such as theAlfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung still promote the well-being of the city, for example by supporting a hospital and donating€55million for a new building for theMuseum Folkwang, one of the Ruhr area's major art museums.
The administration of Essen had for a long time been in the hands of theprincess-abbesses as heads of theImperial Abbey ofEssen. However, from the 14th century onwards, thecity council increasingly grew in importance. In 1335, it started choosing twoburgomasters, one of whom was placed in charge of the treasury. In 1377, Essen was grantedimperial immediacy[35][needs independent confirmation] but had to abandon this privilege later on. Between the early 15th and 20th centuries, the political system of Essen underwent several changes, most importantly the introduction of theProtestant Reformation in 1563, theannexation of 1802 byPrussia, and the subsequentsecularization of the principality in 1803. The territory was made part of the PrussianProvince of Jülich-Cleves-Berg from 1815 to 1822, after which it became part of the PrussianRhine Province until its dissolution in 1946.
During theNazi era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by theNazi Party. AfterWorld War II, the military government of theBritish occupation zone installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modelled on that of British cities. Later, the city council was again elected by the population. The mayor was elected by the council as its head and as the city's mainrepresentative. Theadministration was led by a full-timeOberstadtdirektor. In 1999, the position ofOberstadtdirektor was abolished inNorth Rhine-Westphalia and the mayor became both main representative and administrative head. In addition, the population now elects the mayor directly.
The Essen city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The current coalition in the council is between the SPD and the CDU.[36] The most recent city council election was held on 14 September 2025, and the results were as follows:
Hotel Handelshof with modified coat of arms and former unofficial motto
Essen's coat of arms
The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it is a so-calledarms of alliance (Allianzwappen) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities use amural crown instead of a heraldic crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to thesecularizedecclesiastical principality ofEssen under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right)escutcheon shows the double-headed Imperial Eagle of theHoly Roman Empire, granted to the city in 1623. The sinister (heraldically left) escutcheon is one of the oldest emblems of Essen and shows a sword that people believed was used to behead the city'spatronSaints Cosmas and Damian. People tend to connect the sword in the left shield with one found in the cathedral treasury. This sword, however, is much more recent.[37] A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of the coat of arms can be found on the roof of theHandelshof [de] hotel near themain station.
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions. Source:[38][39]
Essen has a population of 574,082 and is the 2nd largest city inRuhr area afterDortmund and the 10th largest city in Germany. Essen has also the largest urban density with cities such asBochum,Gelsenkirchen andOberhausen borders this city. In 1960, the population reached its historical peak of over 720,000 (Essen was the fifth largest German city at that time) due to its booming industrial era of the Ruhr Area and the West GermanWirtschaftswunder. Since 1970s, the population of Essen declined due to loss of jobs by coal and mining. Essen has a large migrant population, most of them are fromTurkey,Syria andPoland.
Essen is home to several large companies, among them theThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate which is also registered inDuisburg and originates from a 1999 merger between Duisburg-based Thyssen AG and Essen-basedFriedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp. The largest company registered only in Essen is Germany's second-largestelectric utilityRWE AG. Essen hosts parts of the corporate headquarters ofSchenker AG, the logistics division of Deutsche Bahn. Other major companies include Germany's largest construction companyHochtief, as well asAldi Nord,Evonik Industries,Karstadt,Medion AG andDeichmann, Europe's largest shoe retailer.The Coca-Cola Company had originally established their German headquarters in Essen (around 1930), where it remained until 2003, when it was moved to the capital Berlin. In light of theEnergy transition in Germany, Germany's largestelectric utilityE.ON announced that, after restructuring and splitting off its conventional electricity generation division (coal, gas, atomic energy), itwill move its headquarters to Essen in 2016,[needs update] becoming a sole provider ofrenewable energy.[43] TheDAX-listed chemical distribution companyBrenntagannounced it would move its headquarters to Essen at the end of 2017.[needs update]
The city's exhibition centre,Messe Essen, hosts some 50trade fairs each year. With around 530.000 visitors each year,Essen Motor Show is by far the largest event held there. It has been described as "the showcase event of the year for the tuning community"[44] and as the German version of the annualSEMA auto show inLas Vegas.[45] As contrasted with theFrankfurt Auto Show, the Essen show is smaller and is focused oncar tuning and racing interests.[46] Other important fairs open to consumers includeSPIEL, the world's biggest consumer fair for tabletop gaming, and one of the leading fairs forequestrian sports,Equitana, held every two years. Important fairs restricted to professionals include "Security" (security and fire protection), IPM (gardening) and E-World (energy and water).[47]
TheWestdeutscher Rundfunk has a studio in Essen, which is responsible for the centralRuhr area. Each day, it produces a 30-minute regional evening news magazine (calledLokalzeit Ruhr), a five-minute afternoon news programme, and several radio news programmes. A local broadcasting station went on air in the late 1990s. TheWAZ Media Group is one of the most important (print) media companies in Europe and publishes the Ruhr area's two most important daily newspapers,Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ; 580,000 copies) andNeue Ruhr/Rhein Zeitung (NRZ; 180,000 copies). In Essen, the WAZ Group also publishes the localBorbecker Nachrichten [de] andWerdener Nachrichten [de], both of which had been independent weekly newspapers for parts of Essen. Additionally, theAxel Springer AG runs a printing facility for their boulevard-style daily paperBild in Essen.
One renowned educational institution in Essen is theFolkwang University, a university of the arts founded in 1927, which is headquartered in Essen and has additional facilities in Duisburg,Bochum andDortmund. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the formerWerden Abbey in Essen in the Ruhr area, with additional facilities inDuisburg,Bochum, andDortmund, and, since 2010, at theZeche Zollverein, aWorld Heritage Site also in Essen.[48] The Folkwang University is home to the international dance companyFolkwang Tanz Studio (FTS). In 1963 the Folkwang school was renamedFolkwang Academy (Folkwang-Hochschule). In 2010 the institution began offering graduate studies and was renamedFolkwang University of the Arts. This coincided withRuhr.2010, the festival in which the Ruhr district was designated theEuropean Capital of Culture for the year 2010.
TheUniversity of Duisburg-Essen, which resulted from a 2003 merger of the universities of Essen and Duisburg, is one of Germany's "youngest" universities with about 42,000 Students.[49] One of its primary research areas isurban systems (i.e., sustainable development, logistics and transportation), a theme largely inspired by the highly urbanised Ruhr area. Other fields includenanotechnology,discrete mathematics and "education in the 21st century". Another university in Essen is the privateFachhochschule für Ökonomie und Management, a university of applied sciences with over 6,000 students and branches in 15 other major cities throughout Germany.
Essen offers a highly diversified health care system with more than 1,350 resident doctors and almost 6,000 beds in 13 hospitals, including a university hospital. The university hospital dates back to 1909, when the city council established a municipal hospital; although it was largely destroyed duringWorld War II, it was later rebuilt, and finally gained the title of a university hospital in 1963. It focuses ondiseases of the circulatory system (West German Heart Centre Essen),oncology andtransplantation medicine, with the department ofbone marrow transplantation being the second-largest of its kind in the world.
In the north, theA 42 briefly touches Essen territory, serving as an interconnection between the neighboring cities ofOberhausen andGelsenkirchen and destinations beyond.
A part of theA 44, a highly segmented connection fromAachen and the Belgian border toKassel, planned to go further intocentral Germany, ends in Essen's south.
A segment of theA 52 connects Essen with the more southern region aroundDüsseldorf. On Essen territory, the A 52 runs from the southern boroughs nearMülheim an der Ruhr past the fairground and then merges with theRuhrschnellweg at theAutobahndreieck Essen-Ost junction east of the city centre.
With the A 40/A 52 in the southern parts of the city and the A 42 in the north, there is a gap in the motorway system often leading to congestion on streets leading from the central to the northern boroughs. An extension of the A 52 to connect the Essen-Ost junction with the A 42 to close this gap is considered urgent;[50] it has been planned for years but not yet been realized – most importantly due to the high-density areas this extension would lead through, resulting in high costs and concerns with the citizens.
As with most communes in the Ruhr area, local transport is carried out by a local, publicly owned company for transport within the city, theDB Regio subsidiary ofDeutsche Bahn for regional transport and Deutsche Bahn itself for long-distance journeys. The local carrier, Ruhrbahn, is a member of theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) association of public transport companies in the Ruhr area, which provides a uniform fare structure in the whole region. Within the VRR region, tickets are valid on lines of all members as well as DB'srailway lines (except the high-speedInterCity andIntercity-Express networks) and can be bought at ticket machines and service centres of Ruhrbahn, all other members of VRR, and DB.
As of 2009[update], Ruhrbahn operates 3 U-Stadtbahn lines of theEssen Stadtbahn network, 7Straßenbahn (tram) lines and 57 bus lines (16 of these serving asNacht Express late-night lines only). The Stadtbahn and Straßenbahn operate on total route lengths of 19.6 kilometres (12.2 mi) and 52.4 kilometres (32.6 mi), respectively.[51] One tram line and a few bus lines coming from neighboring cities are operated by these cities' respective carriers. The U-Stadtbahn, which partly runs on usedDocklands Light Railway stock, is a mixture of tram and fullunderground systems with 20 underground stations for the U-Stadtbahn and additional four underground stations used by the tram. Two lines of the U-Stadtbahn are completely intersection-free and hence independent from other traffic, and the U18 line leading from Mülheim main station to theBismarckplatz station at the gates of the city centre partly runs above ground amidst theA 40 motorway. The Essen Stadtbahn is one of the Stadtbahn systems integrated into the greaterRhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn network.
On the same motorway, a long-term test of aguided bus system is being held since 1980. Many Ruhrbahn rail lines meet at the main station but only a handful of bus lines. However, all but one of the Night Express bus lines either originate from or lead toEssen Hauptbahnhof in a star-shaped manner. All Ruhrbahn lines, including the Night Express lines, are closed on weekdays from 1:30am to 4:30am.
Of theRhein-Ruhr S-Bahn network's 13 lines, 5 lines lead through Essen territory and meet at the Essen Hauptbahnhof main station, which also serves as the connection to theRegional-Express andIntercity-Express network of regional and nationwide high-speed trains, respectively. Other important stations in Essen, where regional and local traffic are connected, are theRegionalbahnhöfe (regional railway stations) in the boroughs of Altenessen,Borbeck, Kray and Steele. Further 20 S-Bahn stations can be found in the whole urban area.
In 2017, the public transport organization of Mülheim, the Mülheimer Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) and the Essener Verkehrsgesellschaft (EVAG) merged and became theRuhrbahn. All vehicles and staff were merged and are now operated together.
Together with the neighbouring city ofMülheim an der Ruhr and the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia, Essen maintainsEssen/Mülheim Airport (IATA: ESS,ICAO: EDLE). While the first flights had already arrived in 1919, it was officially opened on 25 August 1925. Significantly expanded in 1935, Essen/Mülheim became the central airport of the Ruhr area until the end of theSecond World War, providing anasphalted runway of 1,553 metres (5,095 ft), another unsurfaced runway forgliding and destinations to most major European cities. It was heavily damaged during the war, yet partly reconstructed and used by theAllies as a secondary airport since visibility is less oftenobscured than atDüsseldorf Airport. The latter then developed into the large civil airport that it is now, while Essen/Mülheim now mainly serves occasional air traffic (some 33,000 passengers each year),[52] the base of a fleet ofairships and Germany's oldest publicflight training company. Residents of the region around Essen typically use Düsseldorf Airport (about 20 driving minutes) and occasionallyDortmund Airport (about 30 driving minutes) for both domestic and international flights.
TheZollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex is the city's most famous landmark. For decades, the coal mine (current form mainly from 1932, closed in 1986) and the coking plant (closed in 1993) ranked among the largest of their kinds in Europe. Shaft XII, built inBauhaus style, with its characteristic winding tower, which over the years has become a symbol for the wholeRuhr area, is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece, earning it a reputation as the "most beautiful coal mine in the world".[53] AfterUNESCO had declared it aWorld Heritage Site in 2001, the complex, which had lain idle for a long time and was even threatened to be demolished, began to see a period of redevelopment. Under the direction of an agency borne by the land ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia and the city itself, several arts and design institutions settled mainly on the grounds of the former coal mine; a redevelopment plan for the coking plant is to be realised.
On the grounds of the coal mine and the coking plant, which are both accessible free of charge while paid guided tours (some with formerKumpels) are available, several tourist attractions can be found, most importantly theDesign Zentrum NRW/Red Dot Design Museum. TheRuhrmuseum, a museum dedicated to the history of the Ruhr area, which had been existing since 1904, opened its gates as one of the anchor attractions in the former coal-washing facility in 2010.
The former collegiate church ofEssen Abbey and nowadays cathedral of theBishop of Essen is aGothic hall church made from lightsandstone. The first church on the premises dates back to between 845 and 870; the current church was constructed after a former church had burnt down in 1275. However, the importantwestwork andcrypt have survived fromOttonian times. The cathedral is located in the centre of the city which evolved around it. It is not spectacular in appearance and the adjacent churchSt. Johann Baptist, which is located directly within the pedestrian precinct, is often mistakenly referred to as the cathedral. The cathedral treasury, however, ranks amongst the most important in Germany since only few art works have been lost over the centuries. The most precious exhibit, located within the cathedral, is theGolden Madonna of Essen (around 980), the oldest known sculpture of theMadonna and the oldest free-standing sculpture north of the Alps. Other exhibits include the allegedchild crown ofEmperor Otto III, the eldest preserved seven-branched Christiancandelabrum and several other art works from Ottonian times.
Opened in 1913, the then-New Synagogue served as the central meeting place of Essen's pre-war Jewish community. The building ranks as one of the largest and most impressive testimonies of Jewish culture in pre-war Germany. In post-war Germany, following thegenocidal reduction of the Jewish population during theHolocaust, the former house of worship was bought by the city, used as an exhibition hall, and later rededicated as a cultural meeting centre and house of Jewish culture.
Built in 1873 by industrial magnateAlfred Krupp,Villa Hügel, the 269-room mansion (8,100 m2 or 87,190 sq ft) and the surrounding park of 28 ha (69.2 acres) served as theKrupp family's representative seat. The city's land register solely lists the property, which at times had a staff of up to 640 people, as asingle-family home.[54] At the time of its construction, the villa featured some technicalnovelties andpeculiarities, such as a central hot air heating system, own water- andgas works and electric internal and externaltelegraph- andtelephone systems (with a centralinduction alarm for the staff). The mansion's centralclock became the reference clock for the whole Krupp enterprise; every clock was to be set with a maximum difference of half a minute. It even acquired its ownrailway station,Essen Hügel, which is still a regular stop. The Krupp family had to leave theGründerzeit mansion in 1945, when it was annexed by theallies. Given back in 1952, Villa Hügel is now seat of theAlfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation (major shareholder of Thyssen-Krupp) and was opened for concerts and sporadic yet high-profile exhibitions.
Borough ofKettwig, annexed in 1975. Despite its industrial history, Essen is generally regarded as one of Germany's greenest cities.[55]
In the south of the city, the boroughs of Kettwig and Werden exceptionally stand for towns once of their own, which have been annexed in 1929 (Werden) and 1975 (Kettwig), respectively, and which have largely preserved their pre-annexation character. While most of the northern boroughs were heavily damaged during theSecond World War and often lost their historic town centres; the more southern parts got off more lightly.
In Werden, St.Ludger foundedWerden Abbey around 799, 45 years before St.Altfrid founded the later cornerstone of the modern city,Essen Abbey. The old church of Werden abbey,St. Ludgerus, was designated apapalbasilica minor in 1993, while the main building of the former abbey today is the headquarters of theFolkwang University of music and performing arts.
Kettwig, which was annexed in 1975, much to the dismay of the population that still struggles for independence,[56] was mainly shaped by thetextile industry. The most southern borough of Essen is also the city's largest (with regard to area) and presumably greenest.
Museum Folkwang: One of the Ruhr area's major art collections, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries. Major parts of the museum have recently been rebuilt and expanded according to plans byDavid Chipperfield & Co. The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation is the sole funder of the €55 million project which was completed in early 2010. After its re-opening, it also hosts the collection of theDeutschesPlakat Museum (more than 340 000 exhibits).
Aalto Theatre: Opened in 1988 (the plans dating back to 1959), theasymmetric building with its deepindigo interior is home to the acclaimed Essen Opera and Ballet.
Saalbau Essen: Home of the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, completely renovated in 2003/2004. Critics have repeatedly voted the Essen Philharmonic as Germany's Orchestra of the Year.[57]
Colosseum Theater: Situated in a former Krupp factory building at the fringe of the central pedestrian precinct, theColosseum Theater has been home to severalmusical theatre productions since 1996.
Gartenstadt Margarethenhöhe: Founded by Margarethe Krupp in 1906, the garden city with its 3092 units in 935 buildings on an area of 115 ha (284.2 acres) (of which 50 ha are woodland) is considered the first of its kind in Germany. All buildings follow the same stylistic concept, with slight variations for each one. Although originally designed as an area for the lower classes with quite small flats, the old part Margarethenhöhe I has developed into a middle class residential area and housing space has become highly sought after. A new part, Margarehenhöhe II, was built in the 1960s and 1970s but is architecturally inferior and especially the multi-storey buildings are still considered social hot spots.
Moltkeviertel (Moltke Quarter): from 1908 on, following reformative plans of the city deputyRobert Schmidt, this quarter was developed just south-east of the city centre. Large green zones, forming broad urban ventilation lanes and incorporating sporting and playing areas and high quality architecture – invariably in the style of Reform Architecture, combine to create a unique example worldwide of modern town planning. It reflects reformative ideas and dates from the early part of the 20th century. The Moltkeviertel continues to be a much sought-after area for residential, educational, health care and small-scale commercial purposes. On the Moltkeplatz, the quarter's largest square, an ensemble of high quality contemporary art is maintained and cared for by local residents.
Grugapark: With a total area of 70 ha (173.0 acres), the park near the exhibition halls is one of the largest urban parks in Germany and, although entry is not free of charge, one of the most popular recreational sites of the city. It includes the city'sbotanical garden, theBotanischer Garten Grugapark.
Baldeneysee [de]: The largest of the sixreservoirs of theRiver Ruhr, situated in the south of the city, is another popular recreational area. It is used forsailing,rowing and ship tours. The hilly and only lightly developed forest area around the lake, from which the Kettwig area is easily reachable, is popular withhikers.
Grugapark, Kranichwiese facing the Orangerie and the sculptureOrion
The city of Essen has been awarding honorary citizenships since 1879 but has (coincidentally) discontinued this tradition after the foundation of theFederal Republic of Germany in 1949. A notable exception was made in 2007, when Berthold Beitz, the president of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation received honorary citizenship for his long lasting commitment to the city.[59]The following list contains all honorary citizens of the city of Essen:[60]
Another important and famous sports club isTUSEM Essen, with a handball team that have won several national and international titles.
The city's main basketball team isETB Essen, currently called the ETB Wohnbau Baskets for sponsorship reasons. The team is one of the main teams in Germany's second divisionProA and has attempted to move up to Germany's elite leagueBasketball Bundesliga. The Baskets play their home games at theSportpark am Hallo.
^Detlef Hopp:Essen vor der Geschichte – Die Archäologie der Stadt bis zum 9. Jahrhundert, in Borsdorf (Ed.):Essen – Geschichte einer Stadt, 2002, p. 32
^"Auszug aus der Zusammenstellung der Monatsberichte der stellv. Generalkommandos an das preußische Kriegsministerium betr. die allgemeine Stimmung im Volke" (Excerpt from the compilation of monthly reports of the Deputy Commanding Generals to the Prussian War Ministry concerning the morale of the population). 3 March 1917, no. 230/17 g. B. 6., Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, Abt. 456, vol. 70. Reprinted inWilhelm Deist,Militär und Innenpolitik im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Military and Domestic Policy in the World War, 1914–1918). 2 volumes. Düsseldorf: Droste, 1970, vol. 2, pp. 666–667.
^Stanton, Shelby,World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946 (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books, p. 97.
^"Essen.International"(PDF).essen.de (in German). Essen. September 2019. p. 22.Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved2 February 2021.
^"Kleine EVAG Statistik 2010* (*stand 31.12.2009)" [Small EVAG Statistics 2010* (*as of 31.12.2009)](PDF) (in German). Essener Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft (EVAG). 31 December 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 16 November 2011. Retrieved20 October 2013.
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