Essen (dpa / lnw) – Just a few days ago, the renaturation of the Emscher was celebrated in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). Now an exhibition entitled “The Emscher. Pictorial history of a river” shows the transformation of the former “Köttelbecke” in the Ruhr area from this Monday until April 16, 2023. “The successful completion of the project will create a shining example for similar processes far beyond Germany,” said Scholz at the ceremony in early September about the billion-dollar Emscher project.
Around 400 photographs and exhibits can be seen in the industrial backdrop of the 12-meter level of the Ruhr Museum in the UNESCO World Heritage Zeche Zollverein in Essen. Among other things, the glass plate recordings from the archive of the Emschergenossenschaft are impressive. According to the Ruhr Museum Foundation, the exhibition not only shows the transformation of the Emscher from a natural water body to the dirtiest industrial river in Germany and now to a renatured river, but also the history of the former coal and steel region. Although the Ruhr area is named after another river, it is also decisively shaped by the Emscher.
