Essen’s medieval Dom is an island of quiet engulfed by the commercialism of pedestrianised Kettwiger Strasse, the main shopping strip. It has a priceless collection of Ottonian works, all about 1000 years old. Not to be missed is a hauntingly beautiful Golden Madonna, set in her own midnight-blue chapel, which matches the colour of her eyes. The treasury presents more fancy baubles, including a crown worn by Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, in a contemporary, intimate fashion.
Dom Essen
The Ruhrgebiet
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Schloss Benrath
21.32 MILES
About 10km south of the city centre, Schloss Benrath is a park-and-palace ensemble where elector Carl Theodor, a man of deep pockets and good taste, came…
Nearby The Ruhrgebiet attractions
1. Alte Synagoge
0.11 MILES
The grand Alte Synagoge served as the hub of Essen's Jewish community between 1913 and 1938 and miraculously survived WWII largely intact. A memorial site…
2. Museum Folkwang
0.99 MILES
A grand dame among Germany’s art repositories, the Museum Folkwang has sparkling digs designed by top British architect David Chipperfield. Galleries…
3. Ruhr Museum
2.4 MILES
The former coal-wash plant at the Unesco-listed Zeche Zollverein provides a suitably atmospheric setting for accessible and engaging exhibits on the…
4. Zeche Zollverein
2.48 MILES
A key site along the Ruhr area's Industrial Heritage Trail, the former Zollverein coal mine was a marvel of efficiency while in operation from 1932 until…
5. Red Dot Design Museum
2.57 MILES
Part of the Zeche Zollverein colliery-turned-cultural centre, this museum showcases the best in contemporary design in the former stoker's hall,…
6. Basilika St Ludgerus
4.72 MILES
Werden’s main sight is the solid stone St Ludgerus (1175), a beautiful late-Romanesque church named for the Frisian missionary buried here. It has an…
7. Eisenbahnmuseum Bochum
5.1 MILES
Fans of historical trains have plenty to admire at this vast museum, which displays around 120 steam locomotives (many puffing away), coaches and wagons…
8. Tetraeder
5.44 MILES
The Tetraeder is one of the most striking stops on the Ruhr Valley's Industrial Heritage Trail. The airy 60m-high installation by Wolfgang Christ is a…