Located to the south of the towns of Herten and Recklinghausen, Emscherbruch landscape park is a new 750-hectare area for leisure and recreation which has been developed on the Emscher river in a partially wooded landscape excessively shaped by industry and mining .
The main component in the park is the Hoheward slag heap, which has already been partially recultivated but where dumping still continues. Together with the already greened Hoppenbruch slag heap, it will form the largest mining slag heap landscape in Europe.
Mining meant that the “bottommost” was brought to the top and piled up in layers: other layers of soil subsided: This layering of the landscape became the leitmotiv for the “New Horizons” master plan for Emscherbruch park.
The landscape park is divided into various zones, each with its own individual character:
• Emscherbruch wood with the Ewaldsee (Ewald Lake) • Ewald colliery business park (under construction) • Hoppenbruch slag heap with wind turbine • Hoheward slag heap, development (under construction) • Aktiv Linear Strip, axis for central access (at planning stage) • Herten Süd Industrial Area with the Industrie-Allee (Industrial Avenue) • Biotope corridor (at planning stage) • Emscher river strip (at planning stage) • Hochlarmark garden strip at the edge of town (undergoing development)
The core projects of Ewald business park, Hoheward slag heap and Hochlarmark garden strip are currently being realised and are scheduled to be completed in 2008. Further projects in the landscape park will be developed in the middle or long term (Emscher river revitalisation).
The reclaimed land will become a firm component of local recreation for the adjoining town districts. Visitors will come from throughout the region to experience attractions such as the obelisk/sundial or the planned observatory on Hoheward slag heap.
