Krupp-Park Essen –
one of the biggest inner city revitalization projects

A new leisure and recreational landscape has been created on the site of the former Krupp cast iron works in Essen and was opened at a big public festival in August 2009. The “Lebendige Stadt” Foundation sponsored the wooded area in the northern area of the Krupp-Park with funding totaling 150,000 euros. These funds were used to finance around 18,000 trees and bushes that make the park the "green lung" of the inner city.

Alexander Otto, Chairman of the Board of Trustees: "From the point of view of the Foundation, this project is a best practice model for two reasons. First of all, more and more towns and cities are looking for meaningful utilization concepts for inner city brownfield sites. In locations where new construction projects are not financially viable, they can develop inner city parks and wooded areas that not only have a positive impact on the quality of the air and the climate and serve as attractive leisure areas but also significantly and permanently upgrade the neighboring parts of the city. Secondly, the city of Essen has developed intelligent concepts to allow the creation of the Krupp-Park despite the fact that the municipal coffers are empty. The hills, for example, were modeled from the excavation soil from a large-scale building site, and employment providers and school projects were also involved in the development of the park."

A new recreational and leisure area is being created at the heart of Essen on a plot of land measuring 22 hectares - the size of 27 soccer pitches. From sunbathing lawns, children's playgrounds and barbecue zones to areas for sports and other activities, the Krupp-Park offers all the facilities the local people need to recuperate and recover from the stress of big city life. A skatepark with an undulating concrete surface provides the ideal leisure location for inline skaters, skateboard enthusiasts and BMX riders. The main attraction is the newly created Krupp Lake, fed exclusively from rainwater. This new park and wooded area will have a positive effect on the quality of the air and the climate, while also offering a new habitat for plants and animals. The design was penned by the Duisburg-based Kipar-Landschaftsarchitekten (KLA) firm of landscape architects

The brownfield site on which the Krupp cast iron works used to stand was unsuitable fur use by the local people for nearly 200 years and acted as a barrier separating the Altendorf suburb from the inner city. The redevelopment of this land to create a hilled park "fills the gap" in combination with the newly created Berthold–Beitz-Boulevard and the ThyssenKrupp Quartier currently being built, paving the way for the utilization of this area for housing, commerce, culture and recreation and thereby enhancing the qualities of the district. The second development phase of the Krupp-Park will soon be underway.

Photo: Peter Prengler, Presse- und Kommunikationsamt Essen


Photo: Peter Wieler, Essen Marketing GmbH

>>  Project page "Krupp-Park"

The Foundation was awarded the "Silver Landscape 2008" by the German Association for Horticulture, Landscaping and the Construction of Sports Pitches (GaLaBau), in particular on account of its outstanding role in promoting the creation of green spaces in the inner city.