UMGEBUNGSENTDECKER
TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS OF AN ART AND HISTORY LOVER
and my experiences as a teacher in China
Ruhrpott - On the Route of Industrial Culture
It took a while before I wanted to do a page about today's Ruhr area.
Maybe the region has become too common for me as a resident, maybe you also get the feeling that nobody is really interested in this area.
You are used to the region attracting little enthusiasm among foreigners, at best you experience impartiality.
The clichés about the area persist, but heavy industry is now history. The last mine closed.
In the meantime, many of the former industrial sites have become a kind of open-air museum, in which one can understand the entire industrial history of the region with everything that goes with it:
Mines, coking plants, blast furnaces, entrepreneurial villas, miners' settlements, club culture, everyday life, spoil heaps, etc.
All of this is interconnected by the so-called " Route of Industrial Culture ", a circular route that leads through the entire Ruhr area and holds the entire place together like a red thread.
By the time I moved here, I had explored the area using this route and it became like an undertow, because the more I saw, the more interested I got and I wanted more.
Each of these individual places illuminates different aspects, each has its own atmosphere and everything together has a high recreational value these days.
You can start where the whole history of the Ruhr area began, namely in the very south of the region, in Witten.
Muttental, Witten
Muttental, Witten
Das Bethaus im Muttental in Witten
It's green here - idyllic - trout ponds, birdsong, hiking trails through forests and meadows.
Above in the photo you can see the former prayer house at the beginning of the Muttental, in which people used to pray on the upper floor before work, in the basement there was a forge, so it was warm, but not only the warmth and the praying for protection with the dangerous work brought the men here, but it was also checked that everyone was there in time for the start of the shift.
Today there is a small exhibition in the forge, outside in front of the door there is still forging in the summer so that children can learn about old handicraft techniques and in the rooms above there is a café where a lot of old photos, miner's uniforms, miner's lamps, etc. get in the right mood for the mining culture. There is also a beer garden in front of the prayer house.
It's nice here, you could take it, but you want to go on to see more.
The path continues into Muttental and after a few hundred meters you reach the Steigerhaus, where the Steiger, a kind of foreman in the mining industry, used to live.
The next café is right there. You enter the small building, which is somewhat reminiscent of a club house in an allotment garden colony. A tiled stove heats the room, there is rustic wood furniture and you are surrounded by many things related to mining culture: models of mines that illustrate the beginnings of mining, old maps of the region on which all the mines are drawn. Miner's clothing, candle arches that may not necessarily have anything to do with the Ruhr area, but with mining. A small wooden sculpture can also be seen depicting the swineherd who is said to have discovered coal here centuries ago. Legend has it that he made a fire in a hollow that the pigs had dug. When he was about to make his way home in the evening, he noticed a strong glow in the hollow, from which a strong heat emanated - the coal.
Until a few years ago, the leaseholder of the café was a retired miner who started talking as soon as he noticed that people were looking around in the small museum and interested in this world.
You sit outside with crumble cake with filter coffee or bockwurst with mustard and it can happen that someone next door hears miner's songs with their cell phone plus loudspeaker.
In the Muttental, the coal was directly below the surface, so that you didn't have to build a vertical shaft to get to the coal, but could go horizontally, at ground level, into the tunnel. Such tunnel entrances can often be found in the Muttental. They are part of the history of this industrial region
The coal lay here in the extreme south of the Ruhr area, directly below the surface of the earth. Further to the north, it is significantly lower. Already in Essen you have to drive about 1000 meters into the earth to be able to mine it. As a result, coal mining gradually moved from the south to the north.
You can sit outside at the tables with cherry crumble cake with filter coffee or sausage with mustard. When we were there, another retired miner was sitting at the next table, listening to miner's songs on his cell phone with a loudspeaker. Here is a link to the miners' anthem, the Steigerlied , that can move many people to tears here in the district . Tip: Read the comments on the YouTube video. This speaks of the deepest identification with the entire mining culture. Incidentally, the Steigerlied is currently in the application process for the intangible world cultural heritage of UNESCO. (If you like the song, here are some more links to other versions, e.g. with oboists from the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra Variations on the Steigerlied play in former industrial sites or in the melancholy version of Rudy Cash .)
As I said, in the Muttental the coal was just below the surface, so that one did not have to build vertical shafts to get to them, but could go horizontally, at ground level, into the tunnels. Such tunnel entrances can still often be found in the valley, they are now part of a museum trail.
Right next to the Muttental, only a few hundred meters away, the Nachtigall colliery is also located in an idyllic landscape. You should definitely check it out while you're here. There you can experience, among other things, in a visitor tunnel what it is like when the coal is mined underground. The tours are carried out by friendly, local employees who embody the image of the uncomplicated Ruhrpottler - that open crowd that is quite common here.
Before going into the tunnel, a protective helmet is put on and after everyone is dressed, you are greeted with a proud, clear and unambiguous "Glück Auf". It will be clarified briefly whether someone suffers from claustrophobia and then it goes straight into the mountain. It's always cool inside, regardless of whether it's midsummer outside or not. You climb over railway sleepers, rails and uneven ground, you bump your head on the caps of the door frames several times (note: the language becomes professional) and you are happy about the hard hat.
This colliery should definitely be seen, because it offers a visitor tunnel in which one can understand everyday life underground. The tours are carried out by friendly employees from the Ruhr area, who embody the image of the uncomplicated, open crowd that is common here.
Before going into the tunnel, a protective helmet is put on and after everyone is dressed, you are greeted with a self-confident, clear and clear "Glück Auf". It will be clarified briefly whether someone suffers from claustrophobia and then it goes straight into the mountain. It's always cool in the tunnel, regardless of whether it's midsummer outside or not. You climb over sleepers, rails and uneven ground, you bump your head on the caps of the door frames several times (you notice that the language is professional) and you are happy about the hard hat. Sometimes it gets narrower, sometimes wider and whenever you stop, a lot of interesting things are told about Polish terms such as the "Mottek" (Polish: sledgehammer) and why the Polish language has left its mark here, just like the Schimanski, Dombrowskis or Heselowskis. It is told of St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners, of whom there is a chapel or at least a niche in every mine, of canaries as a living alarm system because they reacted to gases earlier than humans, of bad weather, and hygienic necessities , Horses and child labor underground, from the guarantee that in the event of an accident every miner will be brought to light, but that no one will ever stay down, whether dead or alive - and much more.
It is haunting and you can see immediately and on site how the work went decades ago, you get anxiety because of the tightness, the darkness and the awareness that there is always a lot of earth above you and you wonder how it could be endured. Even so, many miners admitted that they did not want to do any other work. Perhaps the social integration led to identification with work. Not only underground, but also upstairs, they were organized in associations, lived in the same settlement, knew each other and helped each other. Perhaps this need for solidarity has brought about the sociable class of people in the district.
Outside on the grounds of the Nachtigall colliery there is a ring furnace in which bricks were made for the rapidly growing Ruhr area. The ring kiln has been beautifully restored, the brick making is well didactic. The whole thing is rounded off by a museum shop, in which you can get suggestions as to what else there is to discover on the route of industrial culture. Then a piece of cake in the small café, which is a bit reminiscent of a kiosk on a campsite - great.
It's haunting and you can see right there how the work went decades ago. You get anxiety because of the narrowness, the darkness and the awareness that there is always a lot of earth above you and you wonder how that could be endured. Even so, many miners admitted that they did not want to do any other work. Perhaps the social integration led to identification with work. Not only underground, but also upstairs, they were organized in associations, lived in the same settlement, knew each other and helped each other. Perhaps this need for solidarity has brought about the sociable class of people in the district.
Outside on the grounds of the Nachtigall colliery there is a ring furnace in which bricks were made for the rapidly growing Ruhr area. The oven is perfect restored, brick production well educated.
In addition to the technical aspects, people's lives are repeatedly illuminated through photos and everyday objects.
The museum shop is housed in the former machine hall of the Nachtigall colliery. On the upper floor of the building is the Machine room in which the decommissioned machine for the elevator is located. Even if you are not a technology fan, you will rave about the aesthetics of this huge one Device.
We continue to the Zeche Zollern.
Perhaps it is the most beautiful of all the mines in the Ruhr area. After all, the entrance portal of the machine hall had once made it onto a postage stamp.
It was built in a mixture of Art Nouveau and Neo-Gothic, has a symmetrical, representative structure, impressive halls such as the pay hall, the interior of which is reminiscent of a church nave, so that the term "cathedrals of industrial culture" is understandable.
We continue to the Zeche Zollern.
Perhaps it is the most beautiful of all the mines in the Ruhr area. After all, the entrance portal of the machine hall had once made it onto a postage stamp.
Art Nouveau, a symmetrical, representative complex, impressive halls such as the pay hall, the interior of which is reminiscent of a church nave, so that the term "cathedrals of industrial culture" becomes understandable.
The machine hall is even more impressive, as if you were in the control center of a gigantic machine like in Fritz Lang's film "Metropolis".
Then you can climb one of the two winding towers and see in the distance the Dortmund city center with its skyscrapers and the television tower in the Westfalenpark, popularly known as "Florian", with a rotating restaurant.
I find the exhibition in the former Schwarzkaue on Zollern particularly impressive, which shows, among other things, the social history of the post-war Ruhr area: training for young people who lived with host parents, sports clubs, pigeon breeding, cinema, transistor radio, pettycoat and BMW motorcycle.
But everyday work in the mine is also made clear: moving clothes together, not in the locker, but under the covers with a basket and hook, showering together, dangers from serious diseases such as stone lungs, worm disease, or from explosions, etc.
You can browse for a long time and everyone will find something that interests them.
A visit to the Zollern colliery alone can take a while.
Incidentally, in the 1990s I saw the sites of the Westphalian Industrial Museum (WIM), which are on the route of industrial culture, because a friend of mine was doing an internship at WIM when everything was more of a vision than a reality. At the time, when I saw junkyards and unrenovated buildings, I asked myself how something would ever come of them. If you visit the various sites of the Industrial Museum today, you won't believe what they once looked like. They have become beautiful, excellently restored places, each of the museums has its own atmosphere and mood, but there is still something that connects them through the overall concept. The makers, who at the time had the vision of a museum-like industrial culture, were brave and created something completely new. Thus, in addition to the historical aspects that are thematized in the museums, the Ruhr area also received a new aspect that is part of the more recent history of the area: structural change - industrial sites become tourist destinations
Then you should enjoy the view from the southern of the two winding towers. In the distance, the city center of Dortmund rises up with its high-rise buildings and the television tower revolving restaurant in the Westfalenpark, popularly known as "Florian".
I was particularly impressed by the exhibition in the former Schwarzkaue on Zollern, which shows, among other things, the social history of the post-war Ruhr area: training for young people who lived with host parents, sports clubs, pigeon breeding, cinema, transistor radio, pettycoat and BMW motorcycle.
But everyday working life in the mine is also made clear: moving clothes together, pulling clothes under the covers with a basket and hook rather than in the locker, showering together, dangers from serious illnesses such as stone lungs, worm disease or explosions, etc.
You can browse for a long time and everyone will find something that interests them.
A visit to the Zollern colliery alone can take a while.
Incidentally, in the 1990s I saw the sites of the Westphalian Industrial Museum (WIM), which are on the route of industrial culture, because a friend of mine was doing an internship at WIM when everything was more of a vision than a reality. At the time, when I saw junkyards and unrenovated buildings, I asked myself how something would ever come of them. If you visit the various sites of the Industrial Museum today, you won't believe what they once looked like. They have become beautiful, excellently restored places, each of the museums has its own atmosphere and mood, but there is still something that connects them through the overall concept. The makers, who at the time had the vision of a museum-like industrial culture, were brave and created something completely new. Thus, in addition to the historical aspects that are thematized in the museums, the Ruhr area also received a new aspect that is part of the more recent history of the area: structural change - industrial sites become tourist destinations
Siedlung Teutoburgia, Herne
Teutoburgia settlement, Herne
How did the miners live? Often there were settlements with names like, Rheinpreußen, Flöz Dickebank, Dahlhauser Heide etc.
If you continue to Herne, you should definitely not miss the Teutoburgia settlement. Like all settlements, Teutoburgia has a uniform concept and still has a lot of individual design, lots of green and large gardens for cozy barbecues and other leisure activities. In the past, the gardens were used for self-sufficiency with vegetables and fruit and also for keeping farm animals. The rabbit hutch was certainly often to be found in the gardens, which led to the rabbit roast becoming a classic in Ruhrpott cuisine .
In the colliery colonies, ideas of the garden city movement were partially realized. Such a settlement is often like a small village with a shop, school, church, club house, etc. There were attempts to copy village life in an industrialized environment as a reaction to unreasonable living conditions with a lack of space, light and air, as brought about by early industrialization.
Henrichenburg ship lift, Waltrop
The next station that I really like on the route is the ship lift in Waltrop.
You have to drive a bit north to do this, but you are completely in the country again, the area is a recreational and excursion area, many go on bike tours on the canals, in summer you can go swimming right away, or visit the lifts, one of which is about to go there are three, but only the newest one is in operation, so you can see the ships come and go.
The proximity of the water is beneficial and again an anchor point on the route has a completely different theme and a different atmosphere. Of course there will be restaurants again, a small museum harbor, an exhibition hall and a shop.
The most beautiful of the three lifts is the oldest, inaugurated in 1899 by Kaiser Wilhelm. Like a decommissioned old-timer, it exudes the aesthetics of bygone times. It is located on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, which leads from the Ems to the Dortmund harbor, where it ends.
The Rhine-Herne Canal meets the Dortmund-Ems Canal here at the Hebewerk. You are in the middle of the West German canal network, which enables shipping from east to west between the rivers Rhine, Ems and Weser.
The Rhine-Herne Canal enables the connection to the Rhine and leads through the northern Ruhr area to Duisburg.
A little further north, the Wesel-Datteln Canal, which runs roughly parallel to the Lippe, crosses the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and even further north you can get to the Weser via the Mittelland Canal.
Waltrop colliery, Manufactum
If you are already in Waltrop, it is worth making a detour to the Zeche Waltrop, which is now the headquarters of the luxury goods shipping company " Manufactum ". There is direct sales here and anyone who wants to deal with well-tried, beautiful things will certainly be delighted here, but for Manufactum you need a big wallet.
It goes back from the periphery of the Ruhr area back towards the center of the agglomeration. The next stage is the Hoheward dump in Herten.
There are several heaps in the Ruhr area that were created by mining, which clearly changed the landscape. In the course of structural change, they were renatured and developed into recreational areas.
They are interesting, but their barren appearance makes them look brittle. The uppermost level is mostly free of vegetation and it is not uncommon for there to be a monumental giant sculpture that is visible from afar and sets accents as a landmark.
If you climb a dump, it becomes a walk of several kilometers, with the path winding up like a serpentine through pioneer trees and shrubby vegetation, which at some point ends completely.
Once at the top, you experience a strange atmosphere. The monumental celestial observatory arches up on the Hoheward Halde and it looks like something in a science fiction film. A little lower down there is an oversized sundial - a stainless steel lobelisk in a large square.
You can feel a bit lost up there, even if there are a lot of people out and about when the weather is good. But the others seem anonymous in this environment, some are far away and move like silhouettes in the backlight at the edge of the dump, behind which the entire Ruhr area with chimneys and industrial plants appears in shadow. It's a surreal atmosphere.
You seem to float above everything, look down on the cities and constantly hear the anonymous rustling of the A2 motorway on the north side.
The distant views are overwhelming. From the Hoheward dump you can see from the mountains of the Hochsauerland to the Rhine Tower in Düsseldorf, about 50 kilometers away, so you have a view with a diameter of a hundred kilometers.
There is often a stiff breeze at the top and it is advisable to bring a hat and dress warm enough.
A little lower down there is an oversized sundial - a stainless steel lobelisk in a large square.
If you leave the Hoheward dump in the direction of Herten, you descend a staircase to the Ewald colliery, a somewhat less restored colliery that exudes the morbid charm of an abandoned industrial ruin. There is a beer garden where you can enjoy your currywurst between brick industrial buildings with broken glass panes under the lasting impression of the surreal-looking Hoheward dump.
Herne
What does Herne have to offer? The settlement of Teutoburgia was already on the program, now it should be something iconic again with the definitely hottest currywurst ever. If you are hungry, it is best to have the " Currywurst ". You can choose between many degrees of spiciness, the sales board shows the spiciness level from which the situation can become critical to your health, you can also test the sauces beforehand with a small wooden stick, which can take on fateful features and from a certain degree of spiciness you have to go first Sign the "enjoyment" that you have been informed about any physical risks and that you eat the sausage at your own risk.
Bochum
Dortmund and Essen are much larger in the Ruhr area, but Bochum has an atmosphere that the other cities don't have. Perhaps it is due to the university or the reverberating importance of the Bochum theater. The university falls a bit out of the scope of the Ruhr area universities, as it not only offers technical or application-related subjects, but also art history, archeology, sinology, oriental studies and many more, subjects that are more likely to be found in old universities such as Cologne, Bonn, Münster, Marburg, Tübingen etc. takes place. The city is not as student-dominated as the others I have just listed, but there are at least a number of good arthouse cinemas and a very lively pub scene. If you want to party in Bochum, you will find a lot. There are no centuries-old traditional pubs with student carvings on wooden tables, wall paintings with toasts and Karzeranecdotes, fraternities, etc., but it is still fun to go out in the evening and there is a lot going on on warm summer nights.
The city has a number of good arthouse cinemas and a fairly lively pub scene. There are no centuries-old traditional pubs with student carvings on wooden tables, wall paintings with toasts, but in Bermuda3Eck there is a lot going on on warm summer nights.
There is really something going on here in the evenings on warm summer nights. The streets, Brüderstraße, Kortumstraße and Viktoriastraße can compete with Düsseldorf's old town or the Belgian Quarter in Cologne. Actually, the route on which everything happens is not long, but it is enough. The Kortumstraße becomes a kind of catwalk, on which bars and cafes with lots of outdoor dining are lined up on both sides. If you get a seat, you can sit there comfortably, watch the passing crowds and comment.
The oldest shops in Bermuda3eck are the Mandragora on Konrad-Adenauer-Platz with a Breton-oriented menu from cider to crêpes, in which in the 80s the service came to the tables on roller skates. Next door is Café Tucholsky , where Otto Sander was always a guest when he played at the Bochum Schauspielhaus. Opposite is the buccaneer bar, popular with younger people, and between Tucholsky and Mandragora you can feel the closeness of Belgium in the appearance of a Belgian frituur .
The Bratwursthaus at the former Engelbertbrunnen is recommended, where you can enjoy the traditional currywurst at the bar table on the edge of the hustle and bustle. Café Konkret, an institution among Bochum's cafés, is also by the fountain. One should not forget the art house cinema Casablanca with its beautiful 50s charm and quite interesting companies.
There are innumerable possibilities, so that one can only list a small selection here.
Kemnader See and Ruhrauen
The Ruhr is dammed south of Bochum, below the university. On sunny weekends, there are masses of cyclists, inline skaters and walkers who all have their own paths and lanes so that there are no collisions. You can practice water sports on the lake or simply let yourself be driven around on the excursion boat MS Kemenate. A boat trip along the Ruhr in the direction of Witten with MS Schwalbe is also recommended. (If you want to know more about boat trips on the waters in the Ruhr area, click here . )
The Ruhr valley is really green and one wonders why the industrial region is named after this river, which has absolutely nothing to do with heavy industry.
The name was given when it all began here, but that was a long time ago, namely in the 18th century, when the coal lay directly below the surface of the earth here on the Ruhr and was transported away on the river. As the coal layers lie deeper and deeper to the north, industry has shifted further and further north. Today the Ruhr is an idyllic river, incidentally one of the cleanest in Germany.
There are a total of six lakes on the Ruhr, the Hengsteysee reservoir in Holzwickede, the Harkortsee between Hagen, Wetter and Herdecke, the Hengsteysee between Hagen, Herdecke and Dortmund, the Kemnader See between Bochum and Witten, the Baldeneysee in Essen and the Kettwiger See in Eat Kettwig.
Currywurst and Co.
For fans of currywurst, the Ruhr area is the perfect place to go. There's even a guide to the best french fries in the pot. It is impressive that a number of sausage roasters have a long tradition, some for generations. The sauces for the sausage are made in-house according to secret recipes, ready-made sauces are apparently frowned upon in the district.
The cult stalls are places worth seeing, lovingly decorated and it just tastes really good. Particularly recommendable is the Dönninghaus Currywurst, which you can get in the " Bratwursthaus " in Bochum's Bermuda3eck, but also the " Profi-Grill " in Wattenscheid, which is run by the former star chef Raimund Ostendorp, spoils you with its culinary specialties from French fries. World. The "Zu m Xaver " booth in Essen is the second oldest in Germany, according to research by the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation. It has existed since 1957 and is passed on from generation to generation. At the RTL currywurst check, Xaver won the crown for the best currywurst in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Allotments
In the Ruhr area you should actually live in a house in a former colliery settlement.
If you live in an apartment, the allotment garden can be an optimal solution for local recreation and greenery in the city. Allotment gardens simply belong to the Ruhr area.
They are now iconic again and if things are not stuffy but relaxed, it is a good alternative to the garden in front of the house. Going there is always like a kind of short vacation, where you have a distance from home and leave a lot behind.
Hedgehogs, bats and hornets, fireflies, rose beetles, etc. live in my garden arbor colony.
Allotment gardens have a long tradition, as is the planting; you can find Levkoyen, peonies, delphinium, rhubarb, gooseberries, camellias, woodruff, lovage and much more. Plants and flowers whose names actually sound like from times long past. But they are in the allotment garden. Beyond the garden border, your gaze wanders into the neighboring gardens, so that you can see far into the green, there is no gravel garden with granite steles here.
The facility in which my allotment garden is located is only a few minutes' walk from the city center, when the church bells ring, it rings over, you can hear the fans roaring from the stadium when the VfL is playing, and in the evening and morning hours it sounds more diverse, Melodic birdsong by blackbirds over song thrushes from the park next to the garden.
Bochum theater
The highlight was probably the directorship under Peter Zadek and Claus Peymann. That was a long time ago. The fame of theaters and opera houses is rising and falling, but recently Peymann came to Bochum again to read Thomas Bernhard.
Stockpile Rheinelbe, Gelsenkirchen
The route of industrial culture continues through the northern Ruhr area.
The loveliness of green, wooded valleys and Ruhr meadows, with which the journey on the route of industrial culture in the southeast of the Ruhr area began, cannot be found in the north. But there is a different atmosphere here, which is fascinating in its own way. You have to accept that the landscape looks strange, desolate, more deserted. Here the Ruhr area shows a completely different side.
eat
The journey continues to one of the metropolises on the Ruhr. Essen has everything a big city needs: a fairly large university, bishopric, opera house, theater, symphony orchestra, good medical facilities, which is essential in such a densely populated region, etc.
As the town of the Krupp company and meanwhile the headquarters of the Thyssen / Krupp stock corporation on the former Krupp factory premises, it is obvious that there is a lot to discover in terms of industrial culture.
In the north of the city lies the Zollverein World Heritage Site, in the south the picturesque garden city settlement Margarethenhöhe. The Folkwang Museum is also an expression of the art collecting activity of industrialists and entrepreneurs, even if the history of the art collection actually leads to Hagen.
The headquarters of the Krupp family
The headquarters of the Krupp family
The small half-timbered house from 1811 in the photo below was the residence of the Krupp family until they moved to a more representative house on the company premises and then finally to Villa Hügel in 1873.
Originally it was an overseer's house that the family had to move into, as the company was not doing well economically in the first quarter of the 19th century. At the time, the small company was headed by Friedrich Krupp, the company's founder. It was only his son Alfred who managed to develop the company into what was then the largest industrial company in Europe. The success came when Alfred Krupp patented the invention of the seamless railway wheel, he sold these wheels to all North American railway companies for decades, whereby the company grew enormously. The advantage of seamless railway wheels was that there was no longer a welded seam. Previously, metal was bent into a ring and welded together, causing frequent breaks at the seam. The Krupp company logo, the three rings, can be traced back to the seamless railway wheels.
Today's main building is a reconstruction from the 1960s. The original house was destroyed in the war. The replica was renovated in 2010 and 2011. For this purpose, wallpapers were reproduced from old photos, power cables were laid over the wallpapers, original lamps were hung, the desk was reproduced and the original chair was put in it, on which Friedrich Alfred Krupp, the grandson of the founder Friedrich, actually was sat.
The little house is now on the Thyssenkrupp headquarters.
Thyssenkrupp, corporate headquarters
The corporate headquarters of the group is located on the former factory premises of Company west downtown Essen. The area was several times the size of the city of Essen. Only recently has the Headquarters returned to the place where the company began. Construction of the complex began in 2008; until then, the corporate headquarters in Düsseldorf was housed in the three-pane high-rise.
The headquarters is a settlement of several buildings with green spaces, squares and connecting paths in between. It seems a bit lost on the site, which is now known as the Krupp belt and has been converted into a park.
If you want to visit the villa you can come by car, the drive through the large park is impressive. Old trees and an extensive English landscape garden lead you on a winding road to the castle-like building.
You can also travel to the villa by train. The Essen Bredeney stop was created especially for the villa so that state guests were spared the journey via Werden or Essen. In 1890 the bus stop was inaugurated with the visit of the emperor. The Krupp family bore the costs for the bus stop. The station should also serve day trippers in the Ruhr valley. Today it is called "Hügel" and offers a good opportunity to get from Essen main train station to the villa or to the Baldeneysee in a short time.
The villa was the house of the Krupp family. The client was Alfred Krupp, the second in the company's history, under whose leadership the company achieved its strong rise to become Europe's largest company.
In the first half of the 19th century it was still common for entrepreneurs to work on the Factory premises lived who family Krupp chose the remote location above the Ruhr valley only after authorized representatives were employed in the company.
Construction of the residence began in 1869. At this point in time, the river had not yet been dammed into the Baldeneysee.
A total of four generations lived in the villa: 1. the builder Albrecht, 2. his son Friedrich Albrecht and his wife Margarethe, 3. his granddaughter Bertha Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach and her husband Gustav von Bohlen and Halbach and 4. the great-grandson Alfried Croup von Bohlen und Halbach until 1945. After the end of the war, the villa was confiscated by American troops.
In 1952 the building was returned to the family, who opened it to the public in 1953. The great-great-grandson Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach was the only one Inheritance , could but by Berthod Beitz, the general representative of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach be moved to renounce their inheritance. The entire fortune went into the non-profit Alfried-Krupp-von-Bohlen-und-Halbach-Stiftung, which has been active since 1968 and philanthropic Pursued goals. This foundation is the current owner of the house. The Kulturstiftung Ruhr has its seat in the villa and that building is the place of diverse cultural events.
Tetrahedron, Bottrop
Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord
The Hohenhof in Hagen
The Hohenhof is one of the most important buildings in Europe in terms of architectural history. It was built by the architect and designer Henry van de Velde in the years 1906-1908 for the entrepreneur, art patron and cultural reformer Karl Ernst Osthaus. The building is an Art Nouveau total work of art in which all details are coordinated.
As the son of a banker, Karl Ernst Osthaus was financially equipped in such a way that he was able to partially realize his visions of a cultural reform of the environment. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 46, so that his ideas could no longer be completed. An artist colony like the Mathildenhöhe floated in Darmstadt before. For his architectural projects he was able to win well-known master builders such as Peter Behrens, Bruno Taut and Walter Gropius. Although not all plans were implemented, you can see a lot of this Hagen impulse in Hagen, starting from the center of the visions, the Hohenhof, via the nearby street "Stirnband" with houses by Johannes L.M. Lauwericks, the Villa Cuno by Peter Behrens and the Houses by the architect brothers Ludwig (Goldene Pforte 2, Lohest. 3, Hassleyer Str. 10 and 14, Eppenhauser Str. 136 and 151-155) to the facade of the theater with sculptures by the sculptor Milly Steger and the glass windows by Thorn Prikker in the main station . Not to be forgotten, of course, is the Osthaus Museum, whose interior design was also taken over by Henry van de Verde.
This museum was the first contemporary art museum ever. Osthaus collected modern art including van Gogh, Renoir, Gauguin and he organized exhibitions such as the 1907 Brücke exhibition. He kept close contact with the artists Kirchner and Nolde.
After Osthaus' early death at the age of only 46, the entire collection was sold by the heirs to the city of Essen in 2021, where it now represents one of the most important collections of modern art in Germany as the Museum Folkwang.
The name Folkwang runs like a red thread through Osthaus's work and is now associated with the city of Essen, just think of the Folkwang University.
Osthaus founded Folkwang-Verlag in Hagen in 1919, which published illustrated books on art, architecture, dance, photography and non-European art with the aim of making art accessible to everyone and thus improving the understanding of culture and, in this context, the living conditions of workers . Today, in the age of the Internet, where one has easy access to all information and especially images, this concern to achieve education through high-quality illustrated books seems anachronistic, but at the time it was the adequate medium.
Ferdinand Hodler, The Chosen One, 1903. This painting by the Swiss Art Nouveau artist hangs in the reception hall next to the vestibule of the Hohenhof.
The stairwell of the Hohenhof
Detail of a radiator cover
The study of Karl Ernst Osthaus. The ceiling and walls are decorated with a stencil painting by Thorn Prikker.
Die Häuser am Stirnband
It still goes on
soon ...
... with the Oberhausen gasometer
the Duisburg North Landscape Park,
the port of Duisburg,
and the Hagen impulse