Herne

Herne is a city of 156,000 people (2019) in the Ruhr area. Part of the city escaped the extensive bombing that destroyed other Rugr cities in World War II, so there are still many historical buildings, especially in the Herne-Mitte district, many of them from the Wilhelminian era.

Understand
Barely an association of hamlets before the mining boom and Industrial Revolution in the Ruhr area of the 19th century, it quickly grew largely due to immigration from other parts of Prussia/Germany before being hit hard by the decline of the Ruhr coal fields after World War II. Today the city is looking for a future beyond coal and steel.

Like the rest of the Ruhr area, Herne rose to prominence through the mining of a high quality coal (known as Steinkohle in German - literally "stone coal") and the metallurgical industries dependent on coal. The last mines in Herne shut down in 1967 and 1978 leaving the town with an unemployment problem only partially mitigated by the presence of various manufacturing industries in the town. The structural problems along with the burden to pay for the maintenance of infrastructure largely built with state and federal funds in "good years" have left Herne financially struggling and in 2012 the municipality was over one billion euros in debt. There has been talks of a federal debt relief program for this and other local governments not only but mostly in NRW, but despite voices of all major parties being in favour of such a move in principle, states like Bavaria whose municipalities are in much better financial shape have thus far (2021) derailed any such attempt coming to fruition.

By car
The federal motorways A 42 (Kamp-Lintfort - Dortmund) and A 43 (Münster - Wuppertal) run through the urban area of ​​Hernes. They meet in the middle of the urban area at the Herne motorway junction. In addition, the federal road B 226 Bochum-Gelsenkirchen runs through the western part of the city in the Eickel and Wanne districts.

By plane
Herne is surrounded by numerous airports within a radius of 100 km. Dortmund Airport is the closest regional airport, approximately 30 km away. The journey time by public transport is around 60 minutes and involves several changes, while the journey by car or taxi takes around 35 minutes.

Düsseldorf Airport is the closest international airport. It is 45 km southwest of Herne and can be reached with the RE 3 in 40 minutes without having to change trains. The journey takes about 40 minutes by car or taxi.

Other airports within 100 km of Herne are Niederrhein Weeze Airport, Cologne-Bonn Airport , and Münster Osnabrück Airport.

On foot
Many destinations in Herne can be reached on foot. In connection with the well-developed local public transport and the possibility of renting bicycles, it is possible to reach the destinations without any problems.

By bike
Herne is a bicycle-friendly city, even if the cycle path network is not yet satisfactorily developed everywhere, but the city administration is endeavoring to promote bicycle traffic more and to further expand the cycle traffic network. Because of the few inclines, cycling is not strenuous, there are only a few inclines to overcome in the south-eastern part of Herne (Gysenbergpark). Bicycles can be rented from local bike dealers or flexibly at many Metropolradruhr stations. The NRW cycling network offers orientation with its uniform traffic signs.

By public transport
Local public transport is well developed in Herne and is operated by bus, tram and light rail by the transport companies HCR and BOGESTRA. Buses and trains run through the city almost around the clock. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at night, buses and the U35 run at night. There is a strong north-south orientation of local rail traffic - the STRB 306 runs from Wanne-Eickel Hauptbahnhof to Bochum, the Metro U35 from Strünkede Castle to Bochum. Herne is connected to the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR). Tickets are therefore valid for all buses and trains. Cross-city journeys are also possible with one ticket.

Tickets can be bought at ticket machines, which can be found in every subway station and at some larger stops. For trips by bus, the ticket can be bought from the bus driver. The customer centre of the HCR (HCR customer centre, Bebelstrasse 8. Open: M-F 09:30-18:00, Sa 09:30-13:30) at the Herne-Mitte stop offers personal advice and the purchase of tickets and timetables.

A single ticket in the A2 price level required for Herne costs (reduced €2.10) and enables a 90-minute journey, a day ticket costs €6.60 for one person and is available for up to 5 people. (May 2024) The timetable for the lines that run there is posted at every station. In addition, the route map with all bus, tram and underground lines in Herne is posted at most stations.

Connections can be calculated on the VRR website or other transport companies (such as Deutsche Bahn). There you can also download the city route map with all routes in Herne.

By car and taxi
You can easily reach all destinations in Herne by car. On weekdays there are regular traffic jams on the A42 and A43 around the Herner Kreuz - if you want to get through Herne without any problems, you should either check the traffic jam reports beforehand or use the local road network. Taxis can be found at various taxi stands (including in front of the train stations). A taxi ride costs €1.80 per km (at night between 22:00 and 06:00 €1.90/km), plus a base price of €3.20.

See




Buy
Herne has two main shopping streets - due to the two formerly independent towns of Herne and Wanne-Eickel.

The main shopping street in Herne is Bahnhofstraße. From Holsterhauser Strasse in the south to Herne Bahnhof, Bahnhofstraße is a pedestrian zone with numerous shops. Side streets such as Behrenstraße are also partly pedestrian zones and offer other, often owner-managed shops and restaurants. In the southern part is the City Centre - one of the first shopping centres close to the city centre, which is now only partially used. In the northern part of the Robert-Brauner-Platz is the listed, former Karstadt department store, which is no longer used today. In addition to everyday goods, you will also find grocery stores, bookshops and other special shops on Bahnhofstraße.

In the Wanne district, the main shopping street is on Hauptstraße. The pedestrian zone in Wanne has been suffering from vacancies and the relocation of shops for years. Attempts are being made to revitalize Wanner city centre by building a large grocery store on Berliner Straße. There is a weekly market on Friedrich-Ebert-Platz every Tuesday and Friday.

Go next

 * Bochum, mix of working class residents and large university, plenty of bars, only 15-20 minutes away on subway U35
 * Gelsenkirchen, home of famous Schalke football club, concerts at the Arena
 * Essen, UNESCO industrial heritage, shopping and culture
 * Düsseldorf, wealthy capital city with international airport, parks and one of europe's largest japanese communities