The district park

Around 16 of the total of 25 hectares of the reclaimed area are being regenerated as a district park. This is an important piece in the "big jigsaw" of the "Emscher Landscaped Park", a series of green spaces which were systematically developed in the last ten years to improve the quality of life in the Ruhr region, and were opened up for local recreation purposes.The district park re-interprets the old idea of a people's park and was designed in the first place to be used and to be user-friendly.

The academy is the core of the complex. It is on a slightly higher level and is visible as one of the Ruhr region's new landmarks in the place of the old winding-gear. The academy is surrounded by an oval ellipse of trees. In the north of this clearing old industrial slag heaps have been covered by grassland. Outside the oval, spontaneous vegetation will develop into woodland. Pine trees and oaks have been planted in a grid pattern only in the north-east in the area of the academy's parking spaces.

In the north of the park a contaminated area is being covered. Straight ditches ensure that the rainwater cannot filter through the contaminated earth into the groundwater. This area will be covered accordingly with a dry vegetation with its own character. Further to the north the park merges into the Vosshacken green space and nature reserve.

In front of the academy there is a public square which connects the park and the district. A water course from the interior of the academy continues from "Mont-Cenis-Platz" to the road. On Summer weekends open-air events of all types can take place here - fetes, cultural festivals, open-air concerts, etc. The grassed areas of the district park provide additional space for an extension of the events and for larger-scale programmes.