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Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Münster District

Emscher Canal

North Rhine-Westphalia

Münster District

Ruhr Region

Emscher Canal

Highlight • River

Emscher Canal

Recommended by 57 hikers out of 60

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Location: Ruhr Region, Münster District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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Best Hikes to Emscher Canal

4.4

(16)

hikers

1. Emscher Canal – Mengede People's Park loop from Mengede

7.08km

01:48

20m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

4.5

(16)

hikers

2. Emscher Canal – Mengede People's Park loop from Groppenbruch

8.34km

02:07

20m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

3.9

(8)

hikers

3. Volksgarten Mengede – Henrichenburg Boat Lift loop from Castrop-Rauxel Hbf

28.2km

07:11

90m

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Hard

Tips

PeterH65 (a.k.a. "Waldorf")

October 31, 2021

"... The Ruhr area should actually be called the Emscher area. Because in the middle of the region there is a river that meanders through the core zone of the melting pot: the Emscher. Its source is in Holzwickede near Dortmund, around 80 kilometers to the west, in Dinslaken , it flows into the Rhine. More than a hundred years ago, the region around the Emscher was still a sparsely populated meadow landscape with swampy heaths and damp swamp forests. Soon, however, industry and mining found their way into the rural idyll and an industrial conurbation quickly emerged: More and more Coal and steel companies settled in. The population density grew rapidly and numerous workers' settlements were built.

The changes in the landscape and the infrastructure were not without consequences for the rural river. All commercial and domestic wastewater was directed into the small river Emscher and its tributaries. The Emscher was not up to these high demands: When flooding came, severe flooding occurred again and again, which flooded entire parts of the city and polluted people with hygienic grievances. In order to get the problems under control, the EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT was founded in 1899 by the neighboring towns and districts, mining and industry with the aim of providing the Emscher with an unhindered drainage again. However, due to mining and the associated subsidence, it was not possible to set up an underground sewage system. Underground pipelines would not have withstood this pressure. It was therefore decided to straighten the course of the river and tame the Emscher - similar to a canal. The “untamed” Emscher thus became a human-shaped system of open sewers.

Opportunities for change
Today, over a hundred years later, almost all mines and most of the steelworks have disappeared. The mining industry has migrated northwards and the subsidence has largely subsided. This gives the Emscher the chance to change its face again: the Emscher, which was once straightened by human hands and banished in concrete corsets, and its tributaries will once again become a river system without wastewater pollution. ... "
emscher-weg.de/emscher-umbau

Translated by Google •

Klaus

March 24, 2023

Great hiking trails and landscape invites you to go hiking and cycling

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Volker Rump 🌲〽️

January 19, 2025

Here you can see the Emscher almost as it used to be: canalized

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Informations

Elevation 120 m

Weather

Sunday 16 November

9°C

2°C

0 %

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Max wind speed: 7.0 km/h

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Location: Ruhr Region, Münster District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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Emscher Canal

1. Emscher Canal – Mengede People's Park loop from Mengede

2. Emscher Canal – Mengede People's Park loop from Groppenbruch

3. Volksgarten Mengede – Henrichenburg Boat Lift loop from Castrop-Rauxel Hbf

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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