Essen Germany 19-23.08.2009
North Rhine‐Westphalia is the most highly populated state in the Federal Republic of Germany, with about 18 million inhabitants; and NRW covers an area of 34,084 square metres, making it the fourth biggest federal state.
Essen
Essen ‐ the modern business, commercial and service metropolis in the heart of the Ruhr region. Essen is home to the headquarters of some of Germany’s biggest companies: e.g. RWE AG, RAG Aktiengesellschaft, E.on‐Ruhrgas AG and Hochtief. The trade fair in Essen is one of the top‐ten German trade fair locations. But the business prowess of Essen is just one of the many aspects that go to make up this multifaceted city.
One fact that amazes many visitors on seeing the modern skyline of Essen is that the city can look back on a very long history. In the year 2002, Essen celebrated the 1150th anniversary of the convent and of the city of Essen.
History
Altfrid, later the Bishop of Hildesheim, founded a convent for ladies of the nobility in the year 852 on the site of the present Burgplatz. For almost 1000 years, the city was governed by the abbesses. With the Golden Madonna, the “Child’s Crown” of Otto III and the Seven‐Armed Candelabrum, the Essen Cathedral Treasury is one of the most important collections of sacred art in Germany, next to those of Aachen and Cologne. The present cathedral church with its Carolingian west front is more than 1000 years old, and has been the seat of the Ruhr bishopric since 1958.
Essen’s development to a city is inseparably linked with the discovery and mining of hard coal and with the production of cast steel. From the middle of the 19th century, thanks above all to the business success story of Alfred Krupp, Essen become the embodiment of the coal and steel industry.
European Cultural Capital 2010
The nomination of Essen together with Görlitz as the German candidates for the title of “European Cultural Capital 2010“ by the top‐class expert jury in the Spring of 2005 underlines just how serious this change is and which significance is attributed to culture.
“Change through culture ‐ Culture through change” is also the main theme of Essen’s candidacy prospectus that invites everyone to get to know not only the city but also the entire Ruhr region, in line with the slogan “Discovery. Experience. Movement“. For the first time, the candidate in this European competition is not an individual city, but a whole region. Essen is the standard‐bearer of this idea.
Essen for the Ruhr region
The most famous landmark of the Ruhr region, the Zollverein Colliery, along with the adjacent area of the coking plant, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001. This beautiful colliery complex, completely built in the Bauhaus style and a declared a protected monument in 1986, is not a museum‐like, forbidden place: on the contrary, the colliery facilities are now a creative centre and a location for events. The Design Centre NRW, the Choreographic Centre NRW, workshops, studios and art studios are located here.
Guided tours through the above‐ground mining facilities still give an authentic impression of the work of the miners.
The coal mixing plant and salt store of the Zollverein Coking Plant have already been used several times for exhibitions and art projects. After presentations in London, New York and Madrid, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov have chosen Zollverein as the permanent site for their “Palace of Projects” ‐ a walk‐in structure with 65 installations. The two Frankfurt artists, Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic, have created their “Works Swimming Pool”. Consisting of two overseas containers, the completely functioning pool, filled with 130 cubic meters of water, develops its fascinating force of attraction by its contrast to the disused industrial backdrop.
Another former industrial site that has experienced a renaissance is the Carl Colliery in Altenessen, which is now an “in” meeting place for young people. Rock and pop concerts, satire and comedy evenings, exhibitions and podium discussions are held in the former machine shed and pit head baths of the colliery, which was decommissioned in 1970.
Canoe Polo
If you don’t know…
Canoe polo (called kayak polo in some countries) is a competitive ball sport played on water, in a defined “field”, between two teams of 5 players, each in a kayak. The object of the game is to get the ball into the opponent’s goal (i.e. to score goals), the team scoring the most goals in a set time being the winner.
The game is played in many countries on all continents, for recreation and serious sport. The sport has World Championships every 2 years.
Getting to Essen
Arrival by Plane
Düsseldorf 32km
Dortmund 57km
Köln/Bonn 74km
Frankfurt 235km
Arrival by Train
Essen Hbf 6,5km
Arrival by Car or Bus
You can use www.map24.de
Target
Freiherr‐vom‐Stein‐Strasse 280
45133 Essen
Time Table
Wednesday 19 August
09:00 h Opening Front Office
till 14:00 h Accreditation / Scrutineering
from 19.00 h Admittance
Opening „Euro“ Plaza
from 20:00 h Opening Ceremony
from 21:30 h Reception in the Catering Tent
Thursday 20 August
7:00 h Opening catering tent
9:00 h Start of preliminary matches (Ladies; Ladies U21; Men; Men U21)
10:00 h Opening “Euro” Plaza
18:00 h End of matches
20:00 h Disco on the Plaza (Invitation to all referees)
Friday 21 August
7:00 h Opening catering tent
9:00 h Start of preliminary matches
10:00 h Opening “Euro” Plaza
18:00 h End of matches
20:00 h Disco on the Plaza
20:00 h Reception of the City of Essen (ICF; ECA; DKV; Countries representatives;VIPs)
22:30 h End of reception
Saturday 22 August
7:00 h Opening catering tent
9:00 h Begin of intermediate round
10:00 h Opening “Euro” Plaza
from 15:00 h Placing matches
18:00 h End of matches
20:00 h Reception ORGA etc.
from 15:00 h Placing matches
18:00 h End of matches
20:00 h Reception ORGA etc.
Sunday 23 August
07:00 h Opening catering tent
09:00 h Begin of matches Placing matches
10:00 h Opening “Euro” Plaza (Men U21 3rd place match; Men 3rd place match)
13:00 h Ladies U21 Final
14:00 h Men U21 Final
15:00 h Ladies Final
16:00 h Men Final
17:00 h Award Ceremony
18:00 h Final Ceremony
20:00 h Final Reception
Fore other informations you can visit canoepolo-euro.eu
