In 1215 the Counts of Berg gifted Hartzappe to Werden Abbey. This was the beginning of Haarzopf. Two farms Birkmannshof and Eichholzhof were included in the gift. Haarzopf is a district in the southwest of Essen. It’s mostly residential with green spaces and farmland. The area is spread out from the Erbach crossroads. There you’ll find shops and restaurants. A community primary school is located on Raadter Strasse.
The Neue Mitte Haarzopf opened in 2008. This is a complex of shops doctors’ offices and a bank. Construction began in 2007. The project included 238 parking spaces and a rainwater retention basin. SuS Haarzopf’s sports field is on Fohrenweg.
Haarzopf was once served by trams. That ended in 1980. The tram lines disappeared with the construction of the Neue Mitte Haarzopf. Now bus lines 130 136 145 and 194 serve the area. A night bus NE10 also connects Haarzopf. Since 2003 a citizen’s bus links Haarzopf and Margarethenhöhe to Messe Essen. It also connects to Alfried Krupp Hospital in Ruttenscheid.
A planned four-lane road was stopped in the 1970s. This would have connected the A40 to the A52. Citizen initiatives opposed the plan. The road would have had six-story buildings alongside it. The slogan was “Only five minutes to the motorway”.
Haarzopf’s history includes its time under the Broich rule. The name Hartzappe might mean “deer stream” or “forest stream”. The Steinbach stream runs through Haarzopf. In 1582 it was called Haftzbeek. The name changed to Harzper and finally Haarzopf around 1830.
Haus Stein is first mentioned in 1360. Around 1550 it was expanded into a moated castle. Haarzopf was part of the municipality of Mülheim until 1808. In 1847 it became part of the Mülheim rural mayoralty. Then in 1879 it joined the Heisingen mayoralty. In 1910 it joined the Essen district. It became part of Essen on April 1 1915.
An 1803 map doesn’t show Hatzper Strasse. Only the Markenweg existed. This ran from Raadter Strasse into the Haarzopf Mark. This was communal land. Farmers could graze livestock or collect wood. A 1907 map shows Hatzper Strasse. Houses were spread out. The land was mostly green and farmland with springs. In 1917 the streets around Erbach crossroads got their names. Hatzper Strasse was a watershed. Eastward flowed the Kesselbach Forkesbach and Kreutzenbeck. Westward flowed the Steinbach into the Ruhr. Hatzper Strasse was expanded to four lanes in 1927/28.
“Zum scharfen Eck” was a pub opened in 1903. It was at Hatzper Strasse/Raadter Strasse. The Victoriasaal was added later. This became Haarzopf’s community and club center. It was used as a refugee shelter after damage during wars. The pub and hall were demolished in 1972. Haus Erbach restaurant opened in a new high-rise at the Erbach crossroads in 1973. A windowless air-raid shelter was built in 1939/40. It held hundreds of people in separate cabins. It was never hit and received windows in 1979. A garden area on Kirschbaumsweg exists since 1934. Barracks were located on the Hatzper Strasse median. These housed bombed-out families. They burned down or were demolished by 1958.
In the Middle Ages Haarzopf belonged to the Mülheim parish. Later it was part of the Kettwig parish. Kettwig made Haarzopf Evangelical. A school was built in 1667. It’s still there now a community primary school. The Evangelical Church Haarzopf was consecrated in 1910. After Haarzopf joined Essen Catholics were served by St Markus in Bredeney. The first independent Catholic service was in 1924. This was in the Catholic elementary school.
The school was founded in 1902. It was the Hatzperschule. It was closed in 2014. The students joined the new school on Raadter Strasse. A new school is planned on Hatzper Strasse. Another school on Raadter Strasse was founded in the 17th century. It was the Steinbach-Schule. It became a four-class non-denominational primary school in 1966. Now it is the Haarzopf primary school.
The Christus König Church was built starting in 1929. It’s on Tommesweg. Haarzopf got its first independent priest in 1931. The current building dates from 1977. Haarzopf has an unofficial coat of arms. It depicts deer antlers and a wavy bar. This refers to the old name “Hartzapen” meaning “deer stream”.