E-travelguide To Essen
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Essen, Germany
Essen in Germany with e-travelguide.info
Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, guest houses and attractions in Essen.
Make the most of your time in Essen, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.
The city of Essen is a major business and trade fair destination in the west of Germany and has a traditionally strong past in the coal and steel industries. It is one of the country’s top ten most populated cities with somewhere approaching 600,000 inhabitants. Essen takes up a position in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and more specifically is to be found in the industrial Ruhr Valley heartland. Significantly, Essen is European Capital City of Culture for 2010 on behalf of the mighty Ruhr Valley, placing it in a strong position on the continent’s tourism map.
Despite its industrial past, in recent times Essen has become a business, commercial and service metropolis and is home to a number of large businesses, while serving to boost this reputation further, it is home to one of Germany’s top ten trade fairs. Essen also features the Zollverein colliery and coking plant which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The industrial site includes the remains of a historical coal-mining site and some outstanding pieces of architecture.
Most of the very centre of Essen is a pedestrianised zone and has been so since the 1920s. There are also some parks and other recreational areas such as the large and attractive Grugapark and the Baldeneysee Lake which is the destination for the Essen week regatta each year.
Helping to foster a reputation as a city of music Essen is home to an opera house and there is also the Grillo Theatre. Other sights and attractions in the city include the cathedral which is more than 1,000 years old, the Colosseum at Berliner Platz and the synagogue which suffered on the infamous Kristallnacht in 1938. There are also a couple of museums in the form of the Ruhrland Museum and the Museum Folkwang. Uniquely there is a blue stone pavement trail which leads from the city centre through the Folkwang. The trail works its way past various sculptures, architecture and the Aalto Opera House among other things.
Each Christmas there is a traditional International Christmas Market held in Essen which features a plethora of stalls around the streets and squares of the city. There are also some other shows and events such as the Essen Motor Show and the Essen Original, the latter of which is an entertainment and musical event. Finally, there is a gourmet festival called the Essen-Verwöhnt which occurs each year.