Ruhrmuseum Kohlenwäscheanlage Coalwash Zeche Zollverein Essen

The Ruhr Museum, formerly the Ruhrland Museum, is a diverse natural history and cultural history museum for the

Ruhrgebiet The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

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 D ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The sponsor is the ''Stiftung Ruhr Museum'' (''Ruhr Museum Foundation''). Director since 2012 is the historian Heinrich Theodor Grütter.Homepage Ruhr Museum
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Exhibitions

The museum, which understands itself as a memory and showcase of the Ruhr area, documents in its permanent exhibition nature, culture and history of the Ruhr area and thus the development of the largest agglomeration in Europe. The new permanent exhibition in the Kohlenwäsche (Coal wash) of the

Zeche Zollverein The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activities took pla ...

colliery (A 14, shaft XII) was designed by the

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

office of

HG Merz Hans Günter Merz, better known as HG Merz (born 1947 in Tailfingen) is a German architect and museum designer. He is the founder and director of ''hg merz architekten museumsgestalter'', an architecture office that specializes in museum and exhib ...

and is divided into four levels. On the 24-meter level, which is accessed by the large external escalator - the largest in Germany -, there is a cash and information desk, a café, and the museum shop. On the 17 meter level, myths, phenomena and structures of the present Ruhr area are presented. The 12-meter level represents the region's pre-industrial memory and also includes the museum's collections on archeology, ethnology and natural history. On the 6 meter level the history of the Ruhr area in the industrial age is represented. Thus the museum is not only an industry museum, but presents a trias of nature, culture and history. On the 12-meter level there is an area for temporary exhibitions, likewise in the ''Gallery 21'' in a mezzanine.

History

The former Ruhrlandmuseum was closed in April 2007 to make way for the new buildings of the

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

. The new Ruhr Museum opened its doors on 20 October 2008 in the coal mine of the World Cultural Heritage Zeche Zollverein, which was rebuilt to plans by

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a re ...

, with a presentation of the

Essen Cathedral Treasury The Essen Cathedral Treasury (German: Essener Domschatz) is one of the most significant collections of religious artworks in Germany. A great number of items of treasure are accessible to the public in the treasury chamber of Essen Minster. The ...

. On 9 January 2010,Kunst in der Kohlenwäsche
Die Welt, 10 January 2010 the Ruhr Museum in the Zollverein World Heritage Site was ceremoniously opened in the presence of the Federal President

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU (of which he is ...

in the course of the Ruhrgebiet becoming a "Cultural Capital" during the

Ruhr.2010 Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's Ruhr region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as Essen represented all 53 towns ...

campaign.

References

{{Authority control Museums in Germany