Essen

Essen, city in west central Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, in the industrial Ruhr district. The city is a rail junction and manufacturing centre, a key industry being the production of high quality iron and steel. Other products include machinery, chemicals, glass, textiles, and building materials; and coal is mined nearby. Among the city's points of interest are a cathedral (begun in the 10th century) with a rich collection of medieval gold; the Folkwang Museum, with notable displays of 19th- and 20th-century painting; a museum of industrial design; and the Villa Hügel, with a museum devoted to the Krupp family who founded the iron-and-steel industry here in the early 19th century. A university (1972) is in the city.

Essen was originally the seat of a Benedictine convent, and it became an ecclesiastical town, governed by the convent, in the mid-10th century. The convent maintained control until 1803, when Essen was made a secular town under Prussia, a status it retained until 1946, except for a period of French control (1808-1814). During World War II the city was severely damaged, and after 1945 it was rebuilt with technologically advanced factories and attractive open spaces. Population 588,100 (2005 estimate).