Welcome to Essen

Woman in Blue - Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler, 20. Mar 2025 – 22. Jun 2025, Museum Folkwang In Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century, the young painter Oskar Kokoschka fell in love with Alma Mahler, a well-known salon hostess in Viennese society and widow of the composer Gustav Mahler. The obsessive love that Oskar Kokoschka developed for Alma Mahler within a very short time found expression in paintings, drawings, fans and a mural. He reached the peak of this creative obsession around 1919, when he had a life-size doll modelled on Alma Mahler made by the doll maker Hermine Moos. Woman in Blue (1919) was the first painting to take the doll as its subject and marked a turning point in Kokoschka’s painting style.

Tag der Überflieger, 31st May and 1st June 2025, Kennedyplatz Essen This unique gathering for jumping events showcases top athletes right in the heart of downtown Essen. From high jump to long jump, triple jump, and pole vault – the finest will soar through the skies here!

RHINE-RUHR 2025 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES, 16 - 27 July 2025 In 2025, the world will come together in the Rhine-Ruhr region to celebrate sport, science and culture. We are looking forward to great sports, enthusiastic visitors, full sports facilities and many new friendships. We are looking forward to seeing you!

New in Essen? Service for new residents This is somewhere you want to live. Citizens of Essen know that living in the centre of one of the most interesting regions in Europe not only makes you feel good because it is a capital of culture, but it also lets you enjoy life to the full at all times.

Zollverein The plant, built in 1932 in the style of the 'new objectivity', was once the most modern colliery in Europe. Today, the 'Zollverein' is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a vibrant location for contemporary art, culture, architecture, and creative industries. Visitors are immersed in both the past and present of the Ruhr region and its culture. Whether you'll come to take a tour of the impressive monument, go to an exhibition, concert or theatre performance: The Zollverein Foundation offers a cornucopia of cultural and leisure activities all year round.

Museum Folkwang All epoch-making art periods from the romantics to the modern avantgarde are represented in the Folkwang Museum by excellent exhibits: paintings, graphics, and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries, a first class collection on the history of photography, antique ceramics and some examples of Far Eastern and African art.

Old Essen Synagogue - a house of Jewish culture The former Essen synagogue, completed in 1913 by master builder Edmund Körner on behalf of the Jewish community, is the only free-standing major synagogue structure to have survived - at least externally - the Second World War. Today, it constitutes a unique cultural and architectural monument. The future House of Jewish Culture is, however, presented not as a museum and historical site but rather as a meeting place where people can come into contact with Jewish culture and the Jewish way of life.

Essen International UNESCO World heritage Zollverein, Museum Folkwang, European Capital of Culture in 2010, European Green Capital in 2017: The Ruhr metropolis of Essen offers a wide range of International and European activities and lively relations with seven twin cities all over the world.