The Messe Essen is the

exhibition centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

of the city of

Essen Essen () 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 ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany. It is located in the Rüttenscheid borough near the Grugapark. It is the 9th largest exhibition centre in Germany.

History

Though there had been a trade exhibition in the Saalbau Essen in 1893, the first real trade fair of the city was the ''Gewerbeschau Essen'' on 21 April 1913 near the Grugahalle. In 1921, an association was founded for the organization of the fairs. At the same time, Messehalle V was erected. Today, the Grugahalle stands on the foundation of this hall. In 1944, the Messe compound was destroyed by the allied bombings. Exhibitions were resumed in 1949. In 1971, the operating company of ''Gemeinnützige Ausstellungsgesellschaft mbH'' was renamed the ''Ausstellungs- und Messegesellschaft mbH Essen (AMGE)'', since 1982 it is called ''Messe Essen GmbH''. New halls were opened in 1983 and 1990. In 2000, Halle 3 went into operation. With a length of 230 meters, a width of 69 meters and a height of about 15 meters, it is considered as the longest free-spanning hall in Europe. From 26 to 28 July 2013 the ''Star Wars'' Celebration Europe II took place at the Messe Essen. More than 20,000 people from over 40 countries attended it. In 2014, the Essen citizens voted against plans for a complete reconstruction of the Messe Essen.Bürgerbegehren kippt geplanten Umbau der Messe Essen
/ref> Instead, it was then rebuilt to a smaller extent. Works are scheduled from 2016 to 2019 at a cost of around €88 million. The Messe Essen is connected to public traffic of Stadtbahn Essen by the Messe Ost/Gruga station and the Messe West/Süd/Gruga station, as well as Federal Motorway 52 and Federal highway 224.

External links

Official website

Sources

Essen Convention centres in Germany Trade fair venues Buildings and structures in Essen {{NorthRhineWestphalia-struct-stub