Witten-Hohenstein

The Hohenstein is part of the green belt of Witten downtown. It ends at Berger Memorial at a more than 100 m high steep rock wall, which is responsible for the naming. However, Hohenstein is also the name of a city sub-district of Witten- center ( see also: Criticism ).

The Hohenstein is a popular recreation area for all age groups. The large open spaces leave room for all sorts of activities. In addition there are some simple leisure facilities including water playground and table tennis facilities. Located nearby are some wild animal park and a teaching center bees. Occasional outdoor concerts and other events are also available.

In the years 1913-1914 the restaurant car park Hohenstein was built in Wilhelmine style. This location formative building was rebuilt in 1994 at a seminar center with funding and operated as such 10 years. After 2004, the seminary was closed down, because of the funding is no alternative use was permitted.

In early 2009 the building was sold, together with the adjacent guest house from the city of Witten to the private individuals, since May 2009, the restaurant is reopened. In 2009 Witten's first guest house close to nature nursery was on the lower floor after 4 months of renovation time in August opened and put into the top two floors of 22 rooms in operation.

A central line of sight, the Park Haus Hohenstein was associated with a slightly higher, called popularly Haarmann temple stone pavilion. This time typical line of sight is now overgrown. The pavilion was built in honor of the former mayor Witten Gustav hair man of his brother.

The Republikanerdenkmal in honor of the politician Friedrich Ebert (SPD ), Matthias Erzberger (Centre ) and Walther Rathenau ( DDP) in the vicinity was unveiled in 1926 in front of 30,000 participants. During the Nazi dictatorship, the monument was badly damaged. Original plans involved to build this monument in a working class neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown. The reasons why it was built on the then nationally important destination on Hohenstein, nothing is known. After two restorations in 1985 and 2006, it is now again open to the public.

At the foot of the Hohenstein is the former Hammerteich an early industrial forge. Today he is part of the recreation area and serves the local ship model builders as running waters. Near the dam there is a small children's playground and a public mini golf course.

History

Although located near the Ruhr, the district played no major role in Witten's life in earlier times. For agriculture, the rocky hill was not suitable, so the area was formerly used exclusively for timber. End of the 18th century settled in the area of ​​the Hohenstein Koehler, who beat gradually glades in the forest to gain wood. These lanes were not reforested and within a few years the forest was almost completely deforested. Of course, here painted from iron ore and coal seams were mined and in the Middle Ages from the surface.

Its location just off the town of Witten, with a still at his time easy access to the trains, the Government of the Province of Westphalia did pay attention to this area. In 1891, the government on the plan to build on the Hohenstein a large psychiatric hospital. The Municipality of the city of Witten was against this plan, and came to him by earlier that he unceremoniously commercially acquired the area on the grounds of wanting to create a city park. Such did not exist in the city. The forest was replanted at the same time large meadows were created. In 1902 was built on the Hohenstein the Berger Memorial.

On the initiative of Konrad Maria Krug a natural theater was built in 1926 on the Hohenstein. The necessary area was hineingerodet in the Hohenstein and there was next to the stage area, a grandstand with 6,000 seats and an access road. 1926 to 1932, the country home games of the Province of Westphalia Witten -Hohenstein were there, and that the Hohenstein making it the largest open air theater in Germany.

See also: Hydroelectric Hohenstein

Criticism

The district of the area as the district of Witten- middle is from today's perspective a purely administrative statistical construct constitutes neither there is place-name signs, the " district Hohenstein Witten Center" pointed to " Witten -Hohenstein, " or, even, the term " Witten -Hohenstein " used in some form in the vernacular. Nevertheless, in the official boundaries of the city of Witten is listed as a Statistical District 19 of Witten- middle " Hohenstein ". Historically emerged the term " Witten -Hohenstein, " mainly in the 1920s in connection with the so-called country home games of the Province of Westphalia Witten- Hohenstein.