Essen

What used to be Europe’s largest mining town has undergone rapid change. The former synonym for industrial heaviness has long since found creative lightness and is today an exciting and versatile draw for a young, upwardly mobile crowd. The Museum Folkwang and the Folkwang High School are far more than internationally renowned institutions. In its tolerance, its push for integration, for creative mixing and freedom of the spirit, the Folkwang idea characterises the Ruhr metropolis and the city of Essen between Alter Synagoge and cathedral, Villa Hügel and Zeche Zollverein, Museum Folkwang and Unperfekthaus, Aalto Theater and the Philharmonic in a very special way. The minster, with one of the most precious cathedral treasures in the world, the Schauspiel Essen with its unusual programme and the urban ensemble between Domplatz, the Lichtburg (the largest film palace in Germany), the Volkshochschule and the surrounding dining establishments, invite people to stroll and pass the time in Essen city centre.