ESSEN

city, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany, between the Rhine-Herne Canal and the Ruhr River. It was originally the seat of an aristocratic convent (founded 852), still represented by the cathedral (the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop), completed in the 15th century. In the suburb of Werden, the abbey church was founded in 796 as part of a monastery. The convent and the abbey exercised local sovereignty as imperial states until their dissolution in 1802, when Essen passed to Prussia. The development of ironworks, steelworks, and coal mines during the 19th century stimulated rapid growth from a small town (about 3,000 inhabitants in 1802) to the largest industrial city in the Ruhr coalfield. It was occupied by the French (192325) and suffered heavy destruction in World War II as a centre of German war industry. The city has since been rebuilt with large, modern administrative and office buildings and housing, concert halls, an economic research institute, and the Museum Folkwang featuring 19th- and 20th-century art. The Ruhr is dammed there to form the Baldeney Lake, near which is the Villa Hgel, originally the home of the Krupps (the noted German industrialists) and since 1953 used for meetings and cultural events. The industrial hub of the Ruhr, Essen is also a retail trade centre and a rail junction. Apart from coal and steel, it has diversified heavy, medium, and light industries, including construction, chemical and glassworks, and factories for textiles and precision instruments. The coal mines and most of the city's industry are concentrated to the north toward the canal, while the southern part of Essen presents a landscape of woods and parks. Pop. (1990 est.) 624,445.