TOUR I: CLOSE TO NATURE – FROM THE SPRING TO THE »KUNSTPAUSE« (ART BREAK)
From Henrik Hakånsson’s »The Insect Societies (part 1)« at the Emscherquellhof in Holzwickede, we head through fields and meadows towards Dortmund. Along the Emscher we leave the city centre on the right and pass David Jablonowski’s 2021 work »Public Hybrid«. Behind the Phoenix Lake, we pass the Westfalenpark to Dortmund-Huckarde to be acoustically surprised in the work »Zur kleinen Weile«. Finally, we take an »Kunstpause« in the installation by atelier le balto, where the tour ends.
For an individual tour, you can also download the route here for your navigation systems:
TOUR II: MINIMAL – FROM THE EMSCHER-AUEN YARD TO THE »BERGARBEITERPROTESTEN« (MINERS’ PROTESTS)
The first stop is at Hof Emscher-Auen, home to the artwork »Black Circle Square« by Massimo Bartolini and, since 2022, the »dasparkhotel_inside-outsite« by Andreas Strauss, an unusual overnight accommodation option with a nature observation station. From there, the route follows the Emscher to the water crossing at Castrop-Rauxel over the Rhine-Herne Canal. At Tadashi Kawamata’s observation tower you can watch the changes in the landscape. The route then continues across the Emscher Island to Bogomir Ecker’s »reemrenreh (kaum Gesang)« in the Herner Meer. The route ends at the former sewage plant in Herne at Silke Wagner’s work »Glückauf. Bergarbeiterproteste im Ruhrgebiet« (Miners’ Protests in the Ruhr Area).
For an individual tour, you can also download the route here for your navigation systems:
Tour II promises a lot of nature at the Emscher-Auen farm to the Kawamata lookout tower.
At the end, you will reach the former sewage treatment plant in Herne, where a special chapter of mining history is told.
TOUR III SPECIAL: ZOLLVEREIN – FROM THE ZOLLVEREIN SITE TO THE »THEATER DER PFLANZEN« (THEATRE OF PLANTS)
The tour starts in front of the Salzlager on the grounds of the Zollverein Coal Mine and Coking Plant UNESCO World Heritage Site. The exhibition “Landscapes of an Ongoing Past”, conceived by Urbane Künste Ruhr as a contribution to the Ruhrtriennale 2024, can be experienced in the Salzlager from 16 August to 22 September. Before the start of the guided cycle tour, you will have the opportunity to visit the exhibition on your own. From the Zollverein site, the tour heads towards the Rhine-Herne Canal. On the island between the Emscher and the canal, the tour leads to the work »Monument for a Forgotten Future«, which is both a sculpture and a sound installation. The tour then continues along one bank of the canal and the other to the »Carbon Obelisk« in Essen. Finally, the tour ends at BernePark, where there are a total of three art installations to discover: »CATCH AS CATCH CAN«, »Theater der Pflanzen« (theatre of plants) and »dasparkhotel«. The former sewage treatment plant has become a park with a quality of stay, even offering a work of art as an overnight accommodation!
There is much to discover in the BernePark: In one of the former septic tanks, Piet Oudolf has realized the »Theater der Pflanzen«. In the background you can see Andreas Strauss’ sleeping tubes.
TOUR III SPECIAL: HEALING COMPLEX – FROM THE CHURCH OF ST. BONIFATIUS TO THE »THEATRE OF PLANTS«
The tour begins in the car park in front of the former church of St. Boniface in Gelsenkirchen-Erle. Since June 2022, the artist Irena Haiduk has been pursuing the idea of creating a new meeting and community place in the Erle district of Gelsenkirchen with »Healing Complex (2018–ongoing)« at the invitation of Urbane Künste Ruhr. Before the guided bike tours begin, you will have the opportunity to visit this meeting and community place on your own. From Gelsenkirchen-Erle you will head towards the Rhine-Herne Canal. On the island between the Emscher and the canal, the tour leads to the work »Monument for a Forgotten Future«, which is both a sculpture and a sound installation. The tour then continues along one bank of the canal and the other to the »Carbon Obelisk« in Essen. Finally, the tour ends at BernePark, where there are a total of three art installations to discover: »CATCH AS CATCH CAN«, »Theater der Pflanzen« and »dasparkhotel«. The former sewage treatment plant has become a park with a quality of stay, even offering a work of art as an overnight accommodation!
One of the most popular and undoubtedly most colorful bridges is »Slinky Springs to Fame«, which leads over the Rhine-Herne Canal to the Kaisergarten in Oberhausen.
TOUR IV: PLAYFUL – FROM THE LANDSCAPE PARK TO THE KAISERGARTEN
The tour starts in front of the impressive backdrop of the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park. From there it goes to the »Neustadt« work of art and on along the Old Emscher to the »Emscher Folly«, newly created in 2022. The tour then leads along the Green Path to the Little Emscher, through the Mattlerbusch District Park to Oberhausen-Holten to »PLAY_LAND«. Along the Emscher we pass the new pumping station of the Emschergenossenschaft in Oberhausen and finally walk along the Rhine-Herne Canal over the »Slinky Springs to Fame« bridge to the Kaisergarten.
For an individual tour, you can also download the route here for your navigation system:
TOUR V: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN – FROM THE BERNEPARK TO »NEUSTADT«
The tour starts at BernePark, where you can see three works of art from the 2010 Capital of Culture Year. From there the route heads west along the Rhine-Herne Canal, which is crossed at the Ripshorster Gehölzgarten. Here the »Zauberlehrling« (sorcerer’s apprentice) of Inge’s idea comes into view from afar. Back on the Emscher Island, the tour leads to the Kaisergarten and there to the »Slinky Springs to Fame« bridge by Tobias Rehberger. Here it is worth dismounting and pushing the bike over the footbridge to continue on the other side to the Emscher and finally via the Grüner Pfad to the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park.
For an individual tour, you can also download the route here for your navigation systems:
→ DOWNLOAD TOUR V (GPX)
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TOUR III: MONUMENTAL — VON DER »KÖNIGSGRUBE« ZUM »THEATER DER PFLANZEN«
Los geht es in Wanne-Eickel Richtung Herne-Röhlinghausen zur »Königsgrube«, unserem neuesten Kunstwerk, dass sich zurzeit noch in der Umsetzung befindet. Auf der Insel zwischen Emscher und Kanal führt die Tour zum Werk »Monument for a Forgotten Future«, das Skulptur und Soundinstallation zugleich ist. Dann geht es weiter mal an dem einem, mal an dem anderen Ufer des Kanals bis nach Essen zum »Carbon Obelisk«. Schließlich endet die Tour im BernePark, wo es insgesamt drei Kunstinstallationen zu entdecken gibt: »CATCH AS CATCH CAN«, »Theater der Pflanzen« und »dasparkhotel«. Die einstige Kläranlage ist zum Park mit Aufenthaltsqualität geworden, die sogar ein Kunstwerk als Übernachtungsmöglichkeit bietet!