Sign in with Facebook"Center of the Ruhr Area Industrial Complex" Top 5 Page for this destination Essen by BillNJ
Essen Travel Guide: 219 reviews and 714 photos
Historically, the city of Essen is best known as an important coal and steel center in the Ruhr area led by the Krupp family. Today, it is a city with approximately 580,000 residents which makes it the 7th- or 8th-largest city in Germany. Also, the economy is more diverse now than in earlier years when it was dominated by Krupp. Today, Essen is home to 13 of the 100 largest German corporations and seat to several of the region's authorities.
Essen has a large center city pedestrian zone with many shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, churches, theaters, town squares, and other attractions. On the day of my visit, VTer Daniela (mickybleck), a native of Essen, was kind enough to give me a tour of the downtown pedestrian zone. It is a pleasure to take a stroll in a city center without having to be concerned about automobile traffic. During our stroll, we made a brief stop in the Münster Essen (Essen Cathedral) which has a treasury consisting of many important church relics, including the Golden Madonna dating back to the year 980 A.D.
The EU Commission has named Essen as a European Capital of Culture for 2010. Essen applied on behalf of the entire Ruhr region. Hopefully, this designation helps to draw more tourists to this wonderful city.
- Pros:Center city pedestrian zone, innovative parks of old industrial sites
- Cons:Limited organized tourism for non-German speakers
- In a nutshell:Industrial and business city with a lot to offer!
Reviews (15)
Essen closes many roads for a marathon...
Warnings Or Dangers
(1)
On the day of my visit, there was a marathon race through the city of Essen. As a result, the city closed many roads.... more travel advice
Touristikzentrale Essen (tourist office)
Favorites
(2)
The Touristikzentrale Essen (tourist office) is across the street from the Essen Hauptbahnhof (central train station).... more travel advice
Visit the Kardinal-Hengsbach-Platz
Things to Do
(7)
In the Essen pedestrian zone, there is a square named after Cardinal Franz Hengsbach who became the Bishop of Essen in... more travel advice
See Equestrian Statue of Kaiser Wilhelm...
Things to Do
(7)
In the Essen pedestrian zone, there is a statue of Wilhelm I (aka William the Great) of the House of Hohenzollern on... more travel advice
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Essen Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Essen, Cultural Capital 2010"
- "Center of the Ruhr Area Industrial Complex"
- "Opera and cycling (and coal-mining) in Essen"
- "Essentially Essen"
- "ESSEN KULINARISCH"
- "Welcome to Essen"
- "Industrial Beauty and green areas"
- See All...
Badges & Stats in Essen
- 15 Reviews
- 22 Photos
- 6 Forum posts
- 16 Comments
- 1,809PageViews
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Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Essen
- Commented on yumyum's Essen Page
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Friends
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Food and Dining
Trains
Historical TravelLatest Essen hotel reviews
- Welcome Hotel Ruhr Residenz Essen
- 15 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 3, 2012 - Holiday Inn Express Essen
- 32 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 7, 2012 - Essen Sheraton Hotel
- 36 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 28, 2012 - Hotel Wilhelmshoehe
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: May 9, 2012 - Hotel Zum Deutschen Haus
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: Jan 23, 2009 - Alte Lohnhalle Hotel
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: Jul 7, 2010 - Movenpick Hotel Essen
- 24 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 22, 2012 - Hotel Am Schlosspark
- 3 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Feb 23, 2012 - City Partner Hotel an der Gruga
- 6 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Feb 3, 2012 - Etap Hotel Essen Nord
- 2 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 14, 2011 - Goalfever Guesthouse
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: Apr 10, 2010 - Mintrops Stadt Hotel Margarethenhohe
- 4 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jul 20, 2011
Comments (16)
The Krupp family has a long reputation for steel and business. I even had loans to them in 1970's in my banking career. What a lovely town to visit, and your comments with the fine pictures stand out.
Hi Bill, Shame that you missed out on Zeche Zollverein! They have a great museum in there now about the Ruhr region.
Hi Bill, Nice page, will be in Berlin Aug'10. Doubt if we will have time for Essen. Thanks for visiting Darwin, the starting point for our Kakadu NP adventure.
... great tips! But there is much more to see - also outside downtown. Especially next year for the "European Capital of Culture for 2010" there are many events... hope to see you here!
very interesting and well written - i'll be back for more
Too bad you couldn't visit the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, but it sounds like you had a nice day anyway!
A schnitzel sounds great about now. Good see you got to some off the beaten path Germany, Bill but DD?? I think you could find a faschnat or something. ;)
A very nice page, Bill! I passed by Essen by car many times but never could drop in. Interesting info about Alfred Krupp. I think our Lenin has had more monuments than Kaiser Wilhelm I, haha! Thanks for the virtual tour!
In what church were the Krupps born in? Where is the present-day location of the Krupp subsidized housing? Where are employee records from 1865-1875 housed? many thanks!
A marvellous VT page on great place. Most of the places in Germany are wonderful.
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