The Emscherkunstweg – Emscher Art Trail – is a permanent collection of art in public space: eighteen artistic works accessible to everyone at all times and free of charge. Along the banks of the Emscher river you’ll see the unique conversion of the waterway that has decisively accompanied structural change in the Ruhr region.
With the beginning of autumn our cycling season has come to an end. Thanks for your enthusiasm – we’ll see you again in April 2021!
So that the waiting time doesn’t get too long, we have invited young artists to deal with the Emscherkunstweg. The only condition: the contribution should be available in digital form.
The duo »thisisinternet.de« from Dortmund will start the series with a video. In the film »Pawāaraibu – filling the vacuum« they create a scenario in which the earth has been left by humans. However, thanks to the achievements of engineering technology, it is preserved as a museum. From the perspective of a drone on reconnaissance flights, we encounter, among other things, the creatures that perform the maintenance work required to preserve the Earth.
In spring, the first new production on the Emscherkunstweg will open. We look forward to Julius von Bismarck in collaboration with Marta Dyachenko, who have created a miniature city at the Old Emscher in Duisburg. »Neustadt« consists of model house sculptures that once shaped the Ruhr area, but have been demolished since the 2000s.
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COMING SOON → NEUSTADT
Henrik Håkansson created a vision for the ecological future in the Emscher Valley. His two cube-like buildings at the Emscherquellhof offer accommodation for wild bees and a meadow of flowers as nutrition.
Opening times: The Emscherquellhof and the café are open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 midday till 6 pm.
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Emscherquellhof
Quellenstraße 2
59439 Holzwickede
Local public transport
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the U47 to Dortmund Aplerbeck, and from there the 438 bus (towards Holzwickede Landskrone). Descend at the stop Holzwickede Emscherquelle. Then on foot for about 1 km to the Emscherquellhof.
GPS
51.49089, 7.61298
For the residents of the Emscher Valley Lucy and Jorge Orta jointly created the two sculptures standing by the Phoenix Lake: »Vogelfrau (Birdwoman)« and »Totem mit Elster (Totem with Magpie)« convey the spirit and the history of the places for which they were made.
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Near Phoenix Lake
cycle track beyond the bridge above
Faßstrasse
44263 Dortmund
Local public transport
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the U41 (towards Clarenberg) to the stop Willem-van-Vloten-Strassen, then continue on foot for about 300 m.
GPS
Vogelfrau 51.48885, 7.51229 / Totem 51.48885, 7.51229
The shop sign is not seeking to attract customers nor promoting merchandise. Nothing has been removed, only scrupulously amended: through a discrete intervention Samuel Treindl filled gaps and by playing with letters created a new meaning.
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Rheinische Straße 131,
Dortmund
Local public transport
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station, S- and U-Bahn stations) take the 453 bus (towards Bergmeisterstrasse) to the stop Ritterstrasse/Unionstrasse, then continue on foot for about 700 m.
GPS
51.512733, 7.438809
All that glitters is not gold. The spherical hollow space inside the amorphous, walk-through concrete sculpture by the Berlin-based office for artists and architects nonetheless offers a special acoustic experience.
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Huckarder Straße 260
44369 Dortmund
Local public transport
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the U47 (towards DO-Westerfilde S- & U-Bahn) to the stop Insterburger Strasse, then continue on foot for about 450 m.
GPS
51.521569, 7.425760
The white square basin has a strangely alien appearance in the midst of the sweeping landscape. Leaning over its high surrounding edge one discovers a circular black pool of water at the basin’s centre. This abstract work of art which makes reference to Suprematism also serves as a fire pool for the Hof Emschertal.
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Flood retention basin of the Emschergenossenschaft in Dortmund-Mengede/Castrop-Rauxel-Ickern, Hof Emschertal
Rittersdorfer Strasse 170
44577 Castrop-Rauxel
Local public transport
From Castrop-Rauxel Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 480 bus (towards Ickern Nord) to the stop Uferstrasse, then continue on foot for about 1.8 km. Alternatively, take the 482 bus (towards DO-Mengede Main station/S-Bahn) to the stop Friedrichstrasse, then continue on foot for about 1.3 km.
GPS
51.58635, 7.35559
The landscape architecture office atelier le balto transformed an overgrown hazelnut grove close to a motorway slip road in Dortmund into an inviting place: traversing wooden walkways visitors reach the heart of the grove, a calm spot to linger for a while.
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Huckarder Strasse 197/beneath Mallinckrodtstrasse
44369 Dortmund
Local public transport
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the U47 (towards DO-Westerfilde S- & U-Bahn) to the stop Insterburger Strasse, then continue on foot for about 450 m.
GPS
51.52325, 7.42461
GPS
51.52325, 7.42461
Tadashi Kawamata built an observation tower on raised ground which is accessible via a wooden walkway. Zigzagging upwards, the walkway offers varying perspectives across the countryside. The panoramic view from the tower shows a landscape that is still changing as a result of the Emscher river’s conversion.
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Access via Emschertalweg 62, rise at the Emscher-Weg
45665 Recklinghausen
Local public transport
From Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 233 bus (towards CAS Henrichenburg Mitte) to the stop Castrop-Rauxel Emschertalweg, then continue on foot for about 1.5 km.
GPS
51.5897, 7.28605
In the middle of Herner Meer a three-part assembly of figures juts out of the water at the end of a jetty. Bogomir Ecker has stacked cylindrical hollow bodies made of yellow-coated steel perforated with holes that catch the wind. Twenty-three metres high, the tower is flanked by a smaller companion made of cast aluminium and a street lamp 16 metres high.
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Im Herner Meer/Herne Sea, jetty between the lock and the yacht harbour
near Gneisenaustrasse 204
44628 Herne
Local public transport
From Herne Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 321 bus (towards Bochum Schwerinstrasse) to the stop Herne IGZ Friedrich der Grosse, then continue on foot for about 1.2 km.
GPS
51.5642, 7.25135
A digestion tank in the decommissioned sewage treatment plant has been turned into a monument dedicated to the history of coal mining. On the outer shell Silke Wagner designed a giant mural that shows major historical scenes ranging from the first mass strike by miners in 1889 to the political decision to end state subsidies to the coal industry in 2007.
Watch the documentation of the event »On site« with Silke Wagner on July 12, 2020 → YOUTUBE.
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Digestion tank in the former sewage plant Herne
Vockenhof 1
44629 Herne
Local public transport
From Herne Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the SB20 bus (towards Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof) to the stop Herne Kanalbrücke, then continue on foot for about 550 m.
GPS
51.55832, 7.20394
A true-to-life reproduction of a mountain in the Joshua Tree National Park suddenly appeared on the Wilde Insel (Wild Island) between the Emscher river and the Rhine-Herne Canal. Quiet music can be heard coming from the mountain, “Symphony from another world” composed by Mogwai.
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An den Schleusen 1—29
45881 Gelsenkirchen
The work is best reached by bicycle as part of the Insel-Tour.
GPS
51.530928, 7.052213
Standing at an unspectacular crossroads north of the Emscher river is an obelisk almost 14 metres high. Its black carbon surface gleams in the sun. Made of carbon fibre the object’s material points to the future – the hi-tech substance is extremely light and shock-resistant.
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Altenessener Straße
(at Waldemey Strasse)
45329 Essen
Local public transport
From Essen Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the U11 (towards Gelsenkirchen Buerer Strasse) to the stop Arenbergstrasse, then continue on foot in the same direction for about 700 m.
GPS
51.515631, 7.011303
An old gas tank has been turned into a study: reference books, ornithologist artefacts and an assortment of curiosities encourage visitors to take up natural studies. Visitors can also use the telescopes and the observation platform on top of the tank to watch local birdlife.
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Kläranlage (sewage treatment plant) Bottrop
In der Welheimer Mark 190
46238 Bottrop
Local public transport
From Bottrop Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the taxi-bus line TB294 to the stop Emscher-Kläranlage, then continue on foot in the same direction for about 50 m.
GPS
51.518056, 6.982715
A hotel room inside a sewage pipe: on the grounds of the BernePark dasparkhotel offers inexpensive accommodation. Strauss first developed this “hospitality device”, as he calls his hotel, in Austria, before extending the concept to the Ruhr region. The five “sleep pipes” can be booked between April and October.
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BernePark (Former sewage treatment plant Bottrop-Ebel)
Ebelstraße 25 a
46242 Bottrop
Local public transport
From Bottrop Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 261 bus (towards BOT Bergbaustrasse) or the SB16 (towards Essen Hauptbahnhof) to the stop Bottrop-Ebel, then continue on foot in the same direction for about 450 m.
GPS
51.505166, 6.944046
One of the two former clarifying tanks has been turned into a „theatre of plants“.With arrangements of over 21,000 shrubs and flowers, interspersed with benches, the circular garden inside the tank is an invitation to stroll and while away time. The second clarifying tank is filled with water: at its centre is a wooden platform that can be reached by bridge. A sewage treatment plant as a leisure spot!
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BernePark (Former sewage treatment plant Bottrop-Ebel)
Ebelstraße 25 a
46242 Bottrop
Local public transport
From Bottrop Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 261 bus (towards BOT Bergbaustrasse) to the stop BOT Bergbaustrasse, or the SB16 (towards Essen Hauptbahnhof) to the stop Bottrop-Ebel, then continue on foot for about 450 m.
GPS
51.505166, 6.944046
A revolving circle of glaring light edges each of the two clarifying tanks when the day turns to dusk. Mounted on the roof of a former maintenance hut is a kind of publicity panel proclaiming CATCH AS CATCH CAN. The illuminated lettering spiritedly echoes the circular movement of the light as a commentary on the whole site.
The light installation is currently not in operation.
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BernePark (Former sewage treatment plant Bottrop-Ebel)
Ebelstraße 25 a
46242 Bottrop
Local public transport
From Bottrop Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 261 bus (towards BOT Bergbaustrasse) to the stop BOT Bergbaustrasse, or the SB16 (towards Essen Hauptbahnhof) to the stop Bottrop-Ebel, then continue on foot for about 450 m.
GPS
51.505166, 6.944046
Who’s that dancing out of line? Though based on the form of a typical electricity pylon, this 35-metre high, curving steel sculpture made by the Berlin artists’ collective Inges Idee (Inge’s Idea) is reminiscent more of the spirit in Goethe’s poem “Der Zauberlehrling” summoned by the sorcerer’s disobedient apprentice.
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Ripshorster Straße 306
46117 Oberhausen
Local public transport
From Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof (main station) take the 957 bus (towards Oberhausen Kiebitzstrasse) to the stop Oberhausen Haus Ripshorst, then continue on foot for about 260 m.
GPS
51.493966, 6.895775
With 496 aluminium coils, the bridge spirals loosely across the Rhine-Herne Canal in Oberhausen. Not only children are stimulated by the changing colour fields of the bridge’s floor to hop over to the other side – where the Kaisergarten park lies in store!
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Konrad-Adenauer-Allee 46
46049 Oberhausen
Local public transport
From Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof (main station) take either the 956 or the 957 bus (towards Oberhausen Goerdelerstrasse), or the 966 bus (towards Oberhausen Neumarkt), to the stop Schloss Oberhausen, then continue on foot for about 100 m.
GPS
51.493131, 6.858362
With a team made up of wbp Landschaftsarchitekten, Banz + Riecks Architekten and Elger Blitz (Carve, Amsterdam), and the collaborative participation of local residents, Apolonija Šušteršič designed the new building and an outdoor playground. A youth club has become PLAY_LAND.
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Flugstraße / corner of Bahnstraße
46147 Oberhausen
Local public transport
From Oberhausen Holten station take the 907 bus (towards Duisburg Godesberger Strasse), the 954 bus (towards OB Sterkrade Bahnhof) or the SB90 (towards OB Holten Markt), to the stop Oberhausen Lützowstrasse, then continue on foot – counter to the direction of travel – for about 300 m.
GPS
51.527267, 6.793051