museum
Zollverein Coal Mine
A Bauhaus-styled colliery and UNESCO icon of the Ruhr, now a striking park of red walkways, museums and a winter ice rink.
4 km · about 10 min drive
EuropeGermanyNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Essen
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany · Europe
About Essen
Essen is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Überruhr-Holthausen, 57km from Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom).
Essen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with about 590,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Überruhr-Holthausen, about 7 km away.
Essen (German pronunciation: [ˈɛsn̩] ) is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of 573,618 makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as the tenth-largest city of Germany. EssenRead more
lies in the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, second largest by GDP in the EU, and is part of the cultural area of Rhineland. Due to its central location in the Ruhr, Essen is often regarded as the Ruhr's "secret capital".
Two rivers flow through the city: the Emscher in the north, and the Ruhr River in the south, which is dammed in Essen to form the Lake Baldeney and Lake Kettwig reservoirs. The central and northern boroughs of Essen historically belong to the Low German Westphalian dialects area, and the south of the city to the Low Franconian Bergish area.
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 four DAX-listed corporations. Essen is often considered the energy capital of Germany with E.ON and RWE, Germany's largest energy providers, both headquartered in the city.
Essen is also known for its impact on the arts through the Folkwang University of the Arts, its Zollverein School of Management and Design, and the Red Dot industrial product design award. In early 2003, the universities of Essen and the nearby city of Duisburg were merged into the University of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and a university hospital in Essen. In 1958, Essen was chosen as the seat of the Roman 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 important ecclesiastical principality, Essen Abbey, until the onset of industrialization. The city then—especially through the Krupp 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 strong tertiary sector of the economy. The most notable witness of this structural change (Strukturwandel) is the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, which had once been the largest of its kind in Europe. Ultimately closed in 1993, both the coking plant and the mine have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 2001.
Notable accomplishments of the city in recent years include the title of European Capital of Culture on behalf of the whole Ruhr area in 2010 and being selected as the European Green Capital for 2017.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Essen?
Within an hour or so of Essen: Zollverein Coal Mine (4 km), Wuppertal Schwebebahn (24 km), Classic Remise Düsseldorf (32 km), Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) (57 km).
Where is Essen?
Essen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, about 7 km from Überruhr-Holthausen.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 593,085
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Germany
- Region
- North Rhine-Westphalia
- Timezone
- Europe/Berlin
- Coordinates
- 51.4566, 7.0123
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Germany
ADAC roadside assistance: +49 89 22 22 22. No general speed limit on some autobahn sections but advisory 130 km/h.
Full driving guide for GermanyTags
Worth the detour from Essen
4 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Wuppertal Schwebebahn
The world's oldest electric suspension railway glides above the Wupper River, a 1901 engineering marvel still in daily use.
24 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Classic Remise Düsseldorf
A magnificent classic car centre in a restored locomotive roundhouse filled with rare vehicles, workshops, and automotive lifestyle shops.
32 km · about 35 min drive
cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom)
This twin-spired Gothic giant towers over the Rhine, its 533 steps rewarding climbers with a sweeping city panorama.
57 km · about 65 min drive
Driving in Germany
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.78/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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