Did you know that Heisingen was first mentioned in 796? It was a gift to Saint Liudger. We’re standing in Heisingen, a southern district of Essen. It lies north of the Ruhr on a peninsula.
Heisingen is mainly residential. It has a village center and surrounding nature reserves. The Korte-Klippe viewpoint offers views over the Ruhr valley and Baldeneysee. In the Heisinger Ruhraue, you can find an old watermill and the Rote Mühle lock. The old Heisingen town hall was built in 1910 and 1911. The Wottelfest takes place here every August. Wottel means carrot. Heisingen also has a mining and local history museum in the Paulushof.
In a forest near Wechselpfad is a monument. It commemorates seven crew members. They died in a 1918 German military aircraft crash. The plane was a Zeppelin R.VI type.
The Heisinger Ruhraue is a nature reserve since 2004. It is about 150 hectares. The Heisinger Bogen bird sanctuary provides refuge for rare bird species.
In 2023, 12,746 people lived in Heisingen.
Heisingen has several sights. These include the Old Town Hall and Baldeneysee. Also worth seeing are the Mining and Local History Museum in the Paulushof and the Geological Wall Kampmannbrücke. Other attractions include Haus Heisingen and Jagdhaus Schellenberg. The Youth Hall Heisingen and Kampmannbrücke are also interesting. Don’t miss St. George’s Church and Korte-Klippe. The engine house of the Hundsnocken mine and Pauluskirche are worth a visit. Finally, there is the Rote Mühle and the Carl Funke settlement.
Heisingen has the Carl Funke municipal elementary school. There is also the Georgschule, a Catholic elementary school. St. George’s Church was built in the neo-Gothic style from 1879 to 1881. Heinrich Gerhard Bücker created the church’s interior. The Pauluskirche was built in 1907. The Bergbau- und Heimatmuseum is in the Paulushof. Werner Hamacher initiated the museum.
Heisinger SV is a notable sports club. It was formed in 1996. Jens Lehmann, a former national goalkeeper, played for DJK Heisingen.
The Bundesstraße 227 passes Heisingen. It merges into the Bundesautobahn 44. Bus lines connect Heisingen to public transport. The Ruhrtalbahn line is barely recognizable. Its Ruhr bridge is important for cyclists to Kupferdreh.
Heisingen may have originated in the 7th or 8th century. It was during the settlement expansions of the Franks and Saxons. Heisingen was first mentioned in 796. Heinrich von der Ruhr gave his clearing in the Heissiwald to Liudger. The Heissiwald was officially named in 1935.
In the Middle Ages, Heisingen was connected to two religious communities. The Werden Abbey acquired property in Heisingen in the 9th century. The Essen women’s community owned the Eickenscheidt estate. Heisingen received a chapel in 1493. It was dedicated to Saint George.
In 1370, the Werden Abbey’s register listed 23 farms. They belonged to the abbey’s main estates. After secularization in 1802, the farms went to the Prussian treasury. Seven of the 23 farms were still agricultural in 1930.
Coal discovery in the late 16th century changed Heisingen. Small mines merged into the Carl Funke mine. It produced 617,000 tons of coal in 1954. The mine closed in 1973. Its winding tower is now a landmark.
The first Kampmannbrücke was completed in 1895. The current bridge replaced it in 1950-1951. Heisingen belonged to the Kettwig municipality after the French era. In 1910, Heisingen became its own municipality. It was incorporated into Essen in 1929.
The Heisingen coat of arms features a red wall with an open gate. A silver ball sits above the gate. A green beech branch with six red balls floats above. The coat of arms is a symbol of Heisingen’s name. It means “clearing in the beech forest.” The balls come from the coat of arms of the Lords of Stael.