With the young-timer Yamaha XJ 1100 to Hattingen

The wonderful weather and the urge to go on our first motorcycle tour after winter made us open the garage and roll the Yamaha into the yard.

Reliable as usual, despite not being moved for a few months, the XJ 1100 started straight away. A pleasure to hear them. A little later, coming from Velbert, we first took the B 224 in the direction of the Ruhr / Baldeneysee along the Brehm Island, then in the direction of Korte Klippe along the lakeshore and then more or less followed the Ruhr to Lake Kemnader, bypassing it and continuing to Hattingen today's destination of our tour.

When you arrive in Hattingen, you should of course explore the old town on foot.

Hattingen is located on the southern bank of the Ruhr River in the south of the Ruhr area and its picturesque old town, with its almost 150 medieval half-timbered houses from the 14th to 16th centuries, is a popular destination for tourists.

There are also three medieval castles in the municipality as further tourist attractions, with Isenburg Castle being built in the hills above the Ruhr in the 12th century. The castle was destroyed in 1225, but striking ruins still remain.

Blankenstein Castle was built above the Ruhr in the 13th century and Haus Kemnade is a moated castle from the 16th century. All three castles are well-known tourist attractions and are open to the public.

A little about the urban history of Hattingen

The first documented mention of the city of Hattingen was in 1396, when the Duke of Mark gave permission to build a city wall, some of which still surrounds the old town today. Hattingen became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1554 and developed into an important trading town.

The "Malerwinkel" with its picturesque houses and the leaning tower of St. George's Church is one of the most beautiful views in Hattingen. The stairs between the closely spaced half-timbered houses lead to the church square, the centre of the old town.

The church square with St. George's Church and its narrow entrances has been preserved in its medieval layout and is probably one of the most beautiful in North Rhine-Westphalia. Admire lovingly restored half-timbered houses and old gravestones.

The Old Town Hall from 1576 on the Untermarkt is also one of the most famous motifs in the old town. It includes the municipal gallery, where exhibitions are shown and cultural events (cabaret, chamber concerts, readings, lectures) take place (see events calendar).

You can walk along Grabenstrasse for a bit past the Zollhaus, Hattingen's smallest house. The ditch used to form a ring path along the city wall and parts of it are still preserved.

The Iron House (built in 1611) takes its name from its unusual shape and is certainly a very peculiar half-timbered house. From 1771 to 1856, cloth makers lived in this building and made cloth on their looms. Clamps and beams with volutes and mask carvings determine the appearance of the facade. In front of the building, a stumbling block commemorates the last Jewish owner of the house, Selma Abraham née Cahn.

Today it houses the local history association's museum and is also worth a look from the inside.

In 1720 there were 52 coal mines in the city and Hattingen became one of the first industrial towns in the Ruhr area. Steel production began in 1853 with the founding of the Henrichshütte. The Henrichshütte developed into one of the most important employers in the entire region and dominated the town until its closure in 1987.

Structural change in the Hattingen economy

Hattingen is still facing problems of structural change in the economy, but is developing into a tourist centre, especially through the historic city centre.

The old town is an expression of the citizens' will in the city, which spoke out against area redevelopment and in favor of property redevelopment as early as the 1960s. The traffic-free pedestrian zone is one of the first in Germany.

In addition, Hattingen also offers numerous architectural monuments, both older and younger, outside the boundaries of the old town - and thus a successful mix of the Middle Ages and modernity. As a representative of modernity, the “Henrichshütte” is an impressive example of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries. The ironworks, which was closed down in 1987, now houses the Westphalian Industrial Museum. Three circular routes open up the path of iron on the approximately 50,000 square meter site - through ore and coal bunkers, past the machine house and wind heaters and into the casting hall. A path also leads to the 35-meter-high blast furnace 3 - the oldest blast furnace in the district.

Once you reach the top via the stairs or elevator, the visitor lets his gaze wander: In the north, the path leads from Hattingen to Bochum and Essen - right into the heart of the Ruhr area. The forests and meadows of the Bergisches Land extend to the south. Here, at the interface between the city and the forest, not far from the centre of Hatting, the local recreation area “Elfringhauser Schweiz” with the only ski lift in the Ruhr area invites you to take long Advent and Christmas walks. All that's missing for the perfect winter idyll is a blanket of snow - but wait and see: Maybe Mrs. Holle has a good portion of the white splendour in her luggage.

Local recreation area for bikers and hikers

Because of its many green spaces, Hattingen is a local recreation area for many residents of the Ruhr area. The Ruhr Valley in particular attracts cyclists, hikers and walkers. You can cycle up the Ruhr on the RuhrtalRadweg to the Sauerland. The path leads down the Ruhr past Lake Baldeneysee in Essen towards Duisburg on the Rhine. In some places the old towpath has been preserved.

We had learned a lot and ended our city tour in a small café in the old town before we followed the Ruhr again on the way back, this time along the southern bank to Kupferdreh, from where we went straight back to Velbert. A less arduous first outing came to an end.

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