Essen

Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as the ninth-largest city of Germany. Essen lies in the larger Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region and is part of the cultural area of Rhineland. Because of its central location in the Ruhr, Essen is often regarded as the Ruhr's "secret capital". Two rivers flow through the city: in the north, the Emscher, the Ruhr area's central river, and in the south, the Ruhr River, which is dammed in Essen to form the Lake Baldeney (''Baldeneysee'') and Lake Kettwig (''Kettwiger See'') reservoirs. The central and northern boroughs of Essen historically belong to the Low German ( Westphalian) language area, and the south of the city to the Low Franconian ( Bergish) area (closely related to Dutch).

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 three 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 respected 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 (both established in 1972) were merged into the University of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and a university hospital in Essen. In 1958, Essen was chosen to serve as the seat to a Roman Catholic diocese (often referred to as ''Ruhrbistum'' or ''diocese of the Ruhr'').

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 iron works—became one of Germany's most important coal and steel centers. 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 ''Strukturwandel'' (structural change) 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 inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites 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 the selection as the European Green Capital for 2017.

Geography

General

Essen is located in the centre of the Ruhr area, one of the largest urban areas in Europe (see also: megalopolis), comprising eleven independent cities and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants. The city limits of Essen itself are long and border ten cities, five independent and five ''kreisangehörig'' (i.e., belonging to a district), with a total population of approximately 1.4 million. The city extends over from north to south and from west to east, mainly north of the River Ruhr.

The Ruhr forms the reservoir in the boroughs of Fischlaken, Kupferdreh, Heisingen and Werden. The lake, a popular recreational area, dates from 1931 to 1933, when some thousands of unemployed coal miners dredged it with primitive tools. Generally, large areas south of the River Ruhr (including the suburbs of Schuir and Kettwig) are quite green and are often quoted as examples of rural structures in the otherwise relatively densely populated central Ruhr area. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Essen with 9.2% of its area covered by recreational green is the greenest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the third-greenest city in Germany. The city has been shortlisted for the title of European Green Capital two consecutive times, for 2016 and 2017, winning for 2017. 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 to improve the city's resilience in the face of climate change.

The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Karnap at , the highest point in the borough of Heidhausen at . The average elevation is .

City districts

Essen comprises fifty boroughs which in turn are grouped into nine suburban districts (called ''Stadtbezirke'') often named after the most important boroughs. Each Stadtbezirk is assigned a Roman 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 of Kettwig, located south of the Ruhr River, and which was not annexed until 1975, has its own area code and remains part of the Archdiocese of Cologne, whereas all other boroughs of Essen and some neighbouring cities constitute the Diocese of Essen.

Climate

Essen has a typical oceanic climate ( Köppen: ''Cfb'') with cool winters and warm summers (different of Berlin or Stuttgart). Without large mountains and the presence of inland seas, it ends up extending a predominantly marine climate is found in Essen, usually a little more extreme and drier in other continents in such geographical location. Its average annual temperature is : during the day and at night. The average annual precipitation is . The coldest month of the year is January, when the average temperature is . The warmest months are July and August, with an average temperature of . The record high is and the record low is .

History

Origin of the name

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 German infinitive of the verb for "eating" (written as lowercase '' essen''), and/or the German noun for food (which is always capitalized as '' Essen'', adding to the confusion). Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of the name, there remain a few noteworthy interpretations. The oldest known form of the city's name is ''Astnide'', 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 many ash trees were found or to a region in the East (of the Frankish Empire). The Old High German word for fireplace, Esse, is also commonly mentioned due to the industrial history of the city, but is highly unlikely since the old forms of the city name originate from times before industrialization.

Early history

The oldest archaeological find, the '' Vogelheimer Klinge'', dates back to 280,000 – 250,000 BC. It is a blade found in the borough of in the northern part of the city during the construction of the Rhine–Herne Canal in 1926. Other artifacts from the Stone 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 the Mesolithic era, are not expected. Finds from 3,000 BC and onwards are far more common, the most important one being a Megalithic tomb found in 1937. Simply called Steinkiste (Chest of Stone), it is referred to as "Essen's earliest preserved example of architecture".

Essen was part of the settlement areas of several Germanic peoples (Chatti, Bructeri, Marsi), although a clear distinction among these groupings is difficult.

The castle in the south of Essen dates back to the eighth century, the nearby to the ninth century.

Recent research into Ptolemy's '' Geographia'' has identified the ''polis'' or '' oppidum'' Navalia as Essen.

Eighth–twelfth centuries

Around 845, Saint Altfrid (around 800–874), the later Bishop 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 founded Benedictine Werden Abbey on its own grounds a few kilometers south. The region was sparsely populated with only a few smallholdings and an old and probably abandoned castle. Whereas Werden Abbey sought to support Liudger's missionary work in the Harz region ( Helmstedt/Halberstadt), Essen Abbey was meant to care for women of the higher Saxon 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 of chastity.

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, when Zwentibold, King of Lotharingia, willed territory on the western bank of the River 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 Emperor Otto 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 the Golden Madonna of Essen, the oldest known sculpture of the Virgin Mary in the western world. Mathilde was succeeded by other women related to the Ottonian emperors: Sophia, daughter of Otto II and sister of Otto 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. Its crypt contains the tombs of St. Altfrid, Mathilde II, and Teophanu herself.

13th–17th centuries

In 1216, the abbey, which had only been an important landowner until then, gained the status of a princely residence when Emperor Frederick II called abbess Elisabeth I ''Reichsfürstin'' (''Princess of the Empire'') in an official letter. In 1244, 28 years later, Essen received its town charter and seal when Konrad von Hochstaden, the Archbishop 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, King Rudolph 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 and imperial immediacy. The title free imperial city was finally granted by Emperor Charles 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 the Reichskammergericht, 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 the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic abbey had no troops to counter this development.

Thirty Years' War

During the Thirty 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 a Counter-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 the Bavarians under Gottfried 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 the Peace of Westphalia from 1648, troops remained in the city until 9 September 1650.

Industrialisation

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 the main railway station welcomed visitors Hitler and Mussolini to the "Armory of the Reich" (german: Waffenschmiede des Reiches, link=no) in 1937. The Krupp Works also were the main reason for the large population growth beginning in the mid-19th century. Essen reached a population of 100,000 in 1896. Other industrialists, such as Friedrich Grillo, who in 1892 donated the Grillo-Theater to the city, also played a major role in the shaping of the city and the Ruhr area in the late 19th and early 20th century.

World War I and occupation

Riots broke out in February 1917 following a breakdown in the supply of flour. There were then strikes in the Krupp factory.

On 11 January 1923 the Occupation 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 the Treaty of Versailles. On the morning of 31 March 1923, the culmination of this French-German confrontation 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.

Nazism, World War II

On the night of Kristallnacht on 10 November 1938, the synagogue was sacked, but remained through the whole war in the exterior almost intact. The Steele synagogue was completely destroyed.

During the Nazi era, tens of thousands of slave laborers were forced to work in 350 Essen forced labour camps. Here, they did mining work and worked for companies like Krupp and Siemens. Alfried Krupp was convicted in the Krupp trial at Nuremberg for his role in this but was pardoned by the US in 1951. There were several subcamps in Essen in Second World War, such as the subcamps , , .

As a major industrial centre, Essen was a target for allied bombing, the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping a total of 36,429 long tons of bombs on the city. Over 270 air raids were launched against the city, destroying 90% of the centre and 60% of the suburbs. 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. On 13 December 1944 three British airmen were lynched.

The Krupp decoy site (German: Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage) was built in Velbert 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 US 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, entered the city unopposed and captured it on 10 April 1945.

After the successful invasion of Germany by the allies, Essen was assigned to the British 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.

Twenty-first century

Although weaponry is no longer produced in Essen, old industrial enterprises such as ThyssenKrupp and RWE remain large employers in the city. Foundations such as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung still promote the well-being of the city, for example by supporting a hospital and donating €55,000,000 for a new building for the Museum Folkwang, one of the Ruhr area's major art museums.

Politics

Historical development

The administration of Essen had for a long time been in the hands of the princess-abbesses as heads of the Imperial Abbey of Essen. However, from the 14th century onwards, the city council increasingly grew in importance. In 1335, it started choosing two burgomasters, one of whom was placed in charge of the treasury. In 1377, Essen was granted imperial immediacy 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 the Protestant Reformation in 1563, the annexation of 1802 by Prussia, and the subsequent secularization of the principality in 1803. The territory was made part of the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg from 1815 to 1822, after which it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province until its dissolution in 1946.

During the German Revolution of 1918–19, Essen was the home of the Essen Tendency (Essener Richtung) within the Communist Workers' Party of Germany. In 1922 they founded the Communist Workers' International. Essen became one of the centres of resistance to Social Democracy and the Freikorps alike.

During the Nazi era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by the Nazi Party. After World War II, the military government of the British occupation zone installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modeled 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 main representative. The administration was led by a full-time ''Oberstadtdirektor''. In 1999, the position of ''Oberstadtdirektor'' was abolished in North Rhine-Westphalia and the mayor became both main representative and administrative head. In addition, the population now elects the mayor directly.

Mayor

The current Mayor of Essen is Thomas Kufen of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020.

The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2, Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Thomas Kufen
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union
, 115,415
, 54.3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Oliver Kern
, align=left, Social Democratic Party
, 43,093
, 20.3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Mehrdad Mostofizadeh
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens
, 25,924
, 12.2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Harald Parussel
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
, 12,695
, 6.0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Daniel Kerekeš
, align=left, The Left
, 5,414
, 2.5
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Annie Maria Tarrach
, align=left, Die PARTEI
, 5,168
, 2.4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Karlgeorg Raimund Krüger
, align=left, Free Democratic Party
, 4,200
, 2.0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Peter Köster
, align=left, German Communist Party
, 546
, 0.3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Detlef Albert Fergeé
, align=left, National Democratic Party
, 232
, 0.1
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 212,687
! 99.1
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 1,861
! 0.9
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 214,548
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 446,384
! 48.1
, -
, colspan=5, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Essen city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2, Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, 73,206
, 34.4
, 3.0
, 30
, 2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD)
, 51,550
, 24.3
, 9.7
, 21
, 10
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
, 39,569
, 18.6
, 7.4
, 16
, 6
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD)
, 15,849
, 7.5
, 3.7
, 6
, 3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, The Left (Die Linke)
, 8,309
, 3.9
, 1.4
, 3
, 2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, 6,476
, 3.0
, 0.2
, 3
, ±0
, -
,
, align=left, Essen Citizens' Alliance (EBB)
, 6,209
, 2.9
, 1.4
, 3
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
, 5,282
, 2.5
, 1.7
, 2
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutz)
, 4,396
, 2.1
, New
, 2
, New
, -
, colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey,
, -
,
, align=left, Social Liberal Alliance (SLB)
, 760
, 0.4
, New
, 0
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, German Communist Party (DKP)
, 463
, 0.2
, 0.1
, 0
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Volt Germany (Volt)
, 357
, 0.2
, New
, 0
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)
, 86
, 0.0
, 1.8
, 0
, 2
, -
! colspan=2, Valid votes
! 212,512
! 98.9
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Invalid votes
! 2,327
! 1.1
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 214,839
! 100.0
!
! 86
! 4
, -
! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout
! 446,384
! 48.1
! 2.8
!
!
, -
, colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it is a so-called ''Allianzwappen'' ( arms of alliance) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities use a mural crown instead of a heraldic crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to the secularized ecclesiastical principality of Essen under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right) escutcheon shows the double-headed Imperial Eagle of the Holy 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's patron Saints 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. A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of the coat of arms can be found on the roof of the ''Handelshof'' hotel near the main station.

International relations

The City of Monessen, Pennsylvania, situated along the Monongahela River, was named after the river and Essen.

Twin towns – sister cities

Essen is twinned with:

* Changzhou, China (2015)
* Grenoble, France (1974)
*Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (1991)
*Sunderland, England, United Kingdom (1949)
*Tampere, Finland (1960)
*Tel Aviv, Israel (1991)
*Zabrze, Poland (2015)

Cooperation agreements

Essen cooperates with:
* Kōriyama, Japan (2017)
*Qingdao, China (2008)
* Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (2012)

Industry and infrastructure

Economy

Essen is home to several large companies, among them the ThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate which is also registered in Duisburg and originates from a 1999 merger between Duisburg-based Thyssen AG and Essen-based Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp. The largest company registered only in Essen is Germany's second-largest electric utility RWE AG. Essen hosts parts of the corporate headquarters of Schenker AG, the logistics division of Deutsche Bahn. Other major companies include Germany's largest construction company Hochtief