Industrial Heritage Route - Entrepreneur Villas

Entrepreneur villas is the name of theme route 20 of the Route of Industrial Culture .

Park Schloss Landsberg

The Villa Hügel is the best-known example of a magnificent and representative entrepreneurial villa in the Ruhr area . But there are a number of other entrepreneurial houses, from pre-industrial examples such as the half-timbered house of the Reidemeister to monuments that have now been converted into museums, such as the Hohenhof or entire streets as ensembles of town villas in Witten or Mülheim (Friedrichstrasse as the street of millionaires ). Many villas are privately owned and cannot be visited, but they still provide insights into the history of the Ruhr area and the social life of their former owners. In some buildings, the property has changed hands in the meantime, and some of it is now used as a park.

At the beginning of 2011, the Ruhr Regional Association expanded its themed route from 35 to 51 locations.

Stations on the themed route
designation	Location	Company or family of entrepreneurs	Building, style, architect	Todays use
Villa Hill	Essen Bredeney	Residential and representative house of the industrial family Krupp, 269 rooms, 8100 m² living and usable area, 28 hectare park	Planned by Alfred Krupp himself in 1873	Managed by the Kulturstiftung Ruhr, venue for exhibitions or concerts, visits possible
Headquarters Krupp	eat	initially the supervisor's house, then from 1824 the residential building of the industrial family Krupp	Slated half-timbered building planned by Friedrich Krupp in 1818/1819 , faithfully reconstructed after being destroyed in the war in 1961 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Krupp company	Monument in the Krupp belt
Charlottenhof	Essen-Kettwig	Residence for the industrialist Friedrich Flick , later used by the NS-Volkswohlfahrt and the Todt Organization , largely destroyed in the Second World War	Two- storey plastered building erected in the 1920s by the architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg	in the preserved outer bailey (farmyard): St. Altfrid's youth education center of the diocese of Essen
Villa Julius Scheidt	Essen-Kettwig	Home for Julius Scheidt and his wife Julie nee Fuhrmann	Built 1846–1848 by the architect Rudolf Wiegmann in Renaissance style as a symmetrical villa over high terraces	since 1958 used as a kindergarten or by a residential group of the Catholic parish of St. Peter
Villa Wilhelm Scheidt	Essen-Kettwig	built for the cloth manufacturer Gottfried Edmund Scheidt, acquired in 1885 by the mayor of Kettwig Karl Göring and given away in 1904 to his daughter Elisabeth - married to Wilhelm Scheidt	Simple, two-storey late classicist house built around 1850, expanded several times	private use of the building, which is now divided into several apartments
Landsberg Castle	Ratingen	Residence and work for the industrialist August Thyssen	Medieval hilltop castle, acquired by Thyssen in 1903, rebuilt and expanded by the architect Otto Lüer by 1904 , garden and park designed by Julius Trip , headquarters of the Roland staff during World War II , then used by British troops, municipal and company kindergarten	Property of the August Thyssen Foundation at Schloss Landsberg , rented to ThyssenKrupp , used as a seminar and conference venue
Villa Vogelsang	Essen-Horst	built for Friedrich Ludwig Niemann, but named after the later owner Wilhelm Vogelsang (entrepreneur, owner of a carbide factory and the Wohlverwahrt mine )	Built around 1840, design refers to Schinkelschule , from 1947 the German Red Cross ran a convalescent home for mothers, from 1962–1994 as a monastery owned by the diocese of Essen	Private property, villa and former coach house are under monument protection , today used as a hotel
Villa Dickmann	Bottrop	Residence of the Dickmann family, owners of a molding sand pit	1901–1903 in neo-Gothic style with elements of Art Nouveau built for the entrepreneur's wife Gertrude Dickmann, designed to be picturesque, acquired by the city of Bottrop in 1976 and used as a teachers' seminar or green space office, sold to private owners in 2004 and restored	private use of the building as an architectural office and apartments, the site of the former Dickmann sand pit was transformed into a park during construction, which has been public from 1976.
Dahlbusch director's villa	Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen	Residence for the general director of the Dahlbusch mining company	Built in 1892, the design combines classical and baroque elements	1989 Conversion into eleven social housing, for which it was awarded as a model building in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Villa Baare	Bochum-Höntrop	Villa for Louis Baare , the general director of the Bochum association , and his family	Erected in 1888, later extended by Baare and his son Fritz , a simple late-classicist country house, inhabited by the widow until 1945, after her death it reverted to the Bochum association	1974 sold to the city of Wattenscheid, used by the Waldorf School Association
Director's villa of the Concordia colliery	Oberhausen	Residence for the director of the Concordia colliery , Wilhelm Liebrich	Two-storey building with a striking yellow facade, designed in the historicizing style in 1897, acquired by the city after World War II, used as a city library or city film and image center	Headquarters of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, park redesigned as a public facility "Königshütter Park"
House Hartenfels	Duisburg city forest	Castle-like country residence of the steel industrialist Peter Klöckner	Built 1911–1912 by Klöckner's brother-in-law Hermann Wolters , further extensions in the style of late historicism until 1927, dormitory for bombed out during the Second World War, then unused and dilapidated	Secured and externally restored since the 1980s, currently no use
Styrum Castle	Mülheim-Styrum	from 1930 residence of Franz Lenze (1878–1937), general director of Thyssen's gas and water works , head of the Thyssen company parts that remained in family ownership after 1926	Former mansion on the Ruhr, initially acquired by August Thyssen in 1890 for his waterworks company, renovated in 1930 and converted into a residence	Gone in 1959 as a foundation to the city of Mülheim, Germany's first day-care center for the elderly, palace and park thoroughly renovated in 1992 on the occasion of the MüGa state horticultural show , today additional use by restaurants and the aquarium association
Villa Eugene Coupienne	Mülheim an der Ruhr	Home of the leather manufacturer, Kommerzienrat Eugen Coupienne	Upper class home built 1872–1875
Villa Hanau	Mülheim an der Ruhr	Residence of the businessman Heinrich Hanau, nephew of the Mülheim banker Gustav Hanau	1902 by the architect Franz Hagen in the style of the late historicism, two-storey building
Villa Bagel	Mülheim an der Ruhr	Home of the printer's owner Julius Bagel junior	Prestigious house built in 1912 by the architect Franz Hagen
Villa Josef Thyssen	Mülheim an der Ruhr	representative house for Josef Thyssen , the younger brother of August Thyssen and active in his company, and his wife Klara geb. bagel	Erected 1898–1900 according to a design by the Berlin architects Heinrich Kayser and Karl von Großheim in the neo-baroque style of historicism in Louisenthal on the property of the insolvent textile factory J. Caspar Troost	The park of the villa has been open to the public as "Thyssen-Park" since the State Garden Show MüGa in 1992
House Urge	Mülheim an der Ruhr	built as the home of the family of leather manufacturer Jean Baptiste Coupienne junior, after 1924 residence of Gustav Stinnes, then of Hugo Stinnes junior, in the meantime 1945-1958 British military casino	Prestigious house built in 1913 in the neo-baroque style, Martha Coupienne, as the owner, played a key role in the planning	from 1973 owned by the nearby Max Planck Institute for Coal Research , initially used as a guest house, since 2004 rented to the Center for Innovation and Technology
House kitchens	Mülheim an der Ruhr	large country house (floor space of 3800 m²) for councilor Gerhard Küchen , a grandson of Mathias Stinnes and head of the family business	Built in 1913 by the Mannheim architect Rudolf Tillessen , after the Second World War the seat of the British High Commissioner in the Rhineland, from 1952 used by the Evangelical Church (conversion to the Academy House of Encounter )	from 2003 vacancy, 2006 acquisition by Teutonia Grundbesitz AG , conversion to a hotel and restaurant, today called "Residenz Uhlenhorst"
Streithof	Mülheim an der Ruhr	Retirement home for Emil Kirdorf , the general director of Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG (GBAG) and co-founder of the Rheinisch-Westfälischen coal syndicate	1905–1907 country estate built by the architect Wilhelm Zaiser as a courtyard in the Broich-Speldorfer Wald, Bau is considered a pioneer of the Heimatstyle	Vacancy after Kirdorf's death in 1938, looting after the end of the war, then officers' accommodation, from 1951 old people's home and 1973 to 1999 specialist clinic for addicts of the German Red Cross
Fritz Thyssen Villa	Mülheim an der Ruhr	English manor house for Fritz Thyssen , the eldest child of August Thyssen and head of the company after his death, and his family	1910–1912 by the Krefeld architects Wilhelm Girmes and Heinrich Oedinger built brick building in the style of the English baroque	Occasionally used as a kindergarten teachers' school and English boarding school, main building destroyed by fire in 1993, reconstruction as a villa park Uhlenhorst with several residential units in 2003
House Rott	Mülheim an der Ruhr	planned as the residence of Hugo Stinnes and his wife Clare	Land acquired in 1903, porter's houses, residential and palm house completed before the First World War, main house not carried out, the mausoleum planned for Hugo Stinnes in the 1950s built for Hugo Stinnes in the 1920s	owned by the Grillo family
Goldsmithing House	Castrop-Rauxel	Summer residence of the family of the Irish entrepreneur William Thomas Mulvany , who works in the Ruhr area, and the Erin and Hibernia mining companies are founded in these rooms	Former aristocratic residence, acquired by Friedrich Klönne in 1838, sold to Mulvany in 1872, the landscaped park and racecourse built, his son rebuilt in 1895, sold in 1905 to Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG , from 1950 guest house of the Society for Moral Armament	1968 Transfer to the city of Castrop-Rauxel, main building is used as a restaurant, new building instead of the outer bailey as a hotel, park is open to the public
Schulte-Witten house	Dortmund-Dorstfeld	Simple brick house belonging to the Schulte-Witten family, who made their fortune by selling agricultural land to the mining industry ( Zeche Dorstfeld ), built on the site of the demolished manor	Erected in 1888, 1913–1915 commissioned by Erich Schulte-Witten by the architects Gröpler, Feldmann and Müller in neo-baroque and neoclassical forms to form a mansion, inherited from the city of Dortmund in 1950 through heritable building rights , used as a children's home from 1958 1960 Park open to the public, 1977 branch of the adult education center	Extensively refurbished and restored in the 1990s, reopened as a community center, district library, venue for clubs, concerts and lectures, wedding room, 2010 as part of the cultural capital of North Rhine-Westphalia Children's and Youth Literature Center
Villa Friemann	Dortmund	House for the factory owner Hugo Friemann, manager of the Dortmund branch of the mining accessories company Friemann & Wolf	Representative villa built in 1900 by the Dortmund architect Ernst Marx	Use as an office building
Villa Moritz Klönne	Dortmund	Home for Moritz Klönne , one of August Klönne's sons , head of the steel construction company after the death of their father, and his wife from the Glückert family of furniture manufacturers in Darmstadt	Richly decorated house built 1922–1923 by the Dortmund architects Emil Pohle and Adolf Ott, with ornamental friezes and reliefs by the sculptor Ludwig Habich, also from Darmstadt	Office building of an engineering office for test statics
Villa Ernst Lohmann	Witten-Herbede	House of Ernst Lohmann and his wife Anna von Born (daughter of the President of the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce)	Erected in 1882 in a mixed style of late classicism and neo-renaissance, inhabited for many years by the family and then by the son Waldemar	Use of the building as administration for the Lohmann company
Villa Friedrich Lohmann Sr.	Witten	Home for Carl Lohmann, later used by his nephew Friedrich Lohmann senior, then by his youngest son Max	1868 by Friedrich Lohmann sen. Erected as a classicist villa with a sandstone facade in the park of Haus Berge zu Witten, damaged in the Second World War and modified in 1962, restored	Used as a registry office since 1996, also used by the Witten Adult Education Center
Villa Gustav Lohmann	Witten	House for the factory and distillery owner Gustav Lohmann	1865 designed by the architect Wilhelm Bovensiepen, erected from 1873, massive building in the style of Italian late classicism, acquired around 1900 by Wilhelm Dittmann (entrepreneur in the Dittmann & Neuhaus company ), heavily damaged in the Second World War
Villa Friedrich Lohmann jun.	Witten	House for the factory owner Friedrich Lohmann junior, initiator and sponsor of the nearby Märkisches Museum	House built around 1895 made of red brick with light sandstone edges and steps as well as mosaic bands	office building
Villa Albert Lohmann	Witten	Residence for the brandy manufacturer Albert Lohmann, twin brother of Gustav Lohmann	Built around 1865, later used by entrepreneur Arthur Imhausen , acquired by the city of Witten in 1981 and rented to the University of Witten-Herdecke	used privately again since 1997 (law firm)
House Berger	Witten	Classicist villa for Carl Ludwig Berger, initially an employee of the Lohmann family, from 1838 own cast steel works	Simple, two-story quarry stone building built in 1839	Acquired by the city of Witten in 1961, used as the city's local museum for many years, city archive since 2005
Villa Müllensiefen	Witten	Home of the glass manufacturer and President of the Bochum Chamber of Commerce, Hermann Müllensiefen, and his wife Anna, née. Müser	Late classicist house built in 1872 from brownish Ruhr sandstone
House end	Herdecke-Ostend	Robert Müser's retirement home , as the son and successor of Friedrich Müser, head of Harpener Bergbau AG	Villa built in 1913 by the Dortmund architects Karl Pinno and Philipp Bachmann in neo-baroque style with numerous guest rooms, used by French troops during the occupation of the Ruhr, then acquired by Albert Vögler , after the Second World War under US military administration, handed over to the city of Herdecke with conditions	Children's home, then training home for nurses, bought in 1981 by the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, rented to the Federal Office for Civil Service and used as a civil service school
Niedernhof (Villa Funcke)	Herdecke	Country home of the iron and steel entrepreneur Bernhard Wilhelm Funcke II.	Three-storey quarry stone building with sandstone facade built in 1872 in neo-Gothic style, handed over to the son of the same name in 1890, bought by the Ruhrverband in 1919 because of the damming up of the Hengsteysee
Schede house	Herdecke-Vosskuhle	by marriage (1748) and purchase (173) in the possession of the Harkort family	1804–1810 New construction of a mansion by Peter Nicolaus Harkort, 1904–1905 redesign of the interior for Elisabet Harkort by the architects Henry van de Velde (two rooms in the ornament style) and Peter Behrens (Blue Salon)	privately used as the family residence, annual art exhibitions in the main barn
Villa Bönnhoff	Weather	Home of the foundry owner Carl Bönnhoff close to his factories	1901–1902 built by the architect Rudolf Plies in the style of the German Renaissance, completely clad with sandstone, after the Second World War quarters of the British occupying forces, then handed over to the city	1976–2007 Youth Center of the City of Wetter, extensively restored in 2007, “Café Bonheur” opened in 2009, location for exhibitions, readings and concerts
Villa headmaster	Weather	Villa of the timber merchant, Kommerzienrat Gustav Vorsteher	Built 1894–1895 by the architect Gustav Werner in the style of the North German Renaissance as a country house, alternating brick and sandstone elements	The town hall of Wetter, the park is open to the public
Harkorthaus	Weather	House of the entrepreneurial family Harkort, Friedrich Harkort also lived here at times	Simple half-timbered house built around 1700, used as a school building, acquired by business partner Carl Gravemann in 1840, acquired by Harkort's children in 1845, family-owned until 1922, small memorial on the property	1926 Acquisition by the city of Wetter, initially used as a youth hostel, now city archive
Stiftsamtmannshaus	Gevelsberg	Amtsmannhaus zum Damenstift, inhabited by the entrepreneurial family Bertram	Half-timbered building probably built around 1780 by Johann Wilhelm Bertram
House Harkorten	Hagen-Westerbauer	Headquarters of the industrial family Harkort	1756–1757 at the request of Louisa Harkort, construction of a new mansion on the previous manor, architecture from the Schwelm master school, two-storey half-timbered building with a complex hipped roof	2010 plans for a conversion as a health house
Villa Post	Hagen	Home of the merchant Wilhelm Karl Johann Diederich Post, near the family hammer mill	Villa built in late Classicist style in 1892, acquired by the city of Hagen in 1927, used as a museum (Christian Rohlfs) from 1932, renamed the Karl-Ernst-Osthaus-Museum in 1941	From 1955 used for educational institutions, from 1988 by the adult education center, extensively restored in 1998, today the headquarters and seminar building of the adult education center in Hagen
Villa Springmann	Hagen-Wehringhausen	Residence for the entrepreneur Rudolf Springmann, partner in the Funcke & Elbers company	Erected 1910–1911 by Henry van de Velde, facades made of plaster, stone and slate
House Ruhreck	Hagen-Boele	House for the wagon manufacturer Caspar Diedrich Killing, also called "Killingsburg"	A neo-Gothic building erected in 1878 in the Tudor Gothic style	Office use as an architectural office
Villa Vorster	Hagen-Delstern	Home of the Vorster family, owners of the Vorster paper mill	Cubic structure built around 1850
Villa Kerckhoff	Hagen-Eppenhausen	Villa of the metal wholesaler Gustav Kerckhoff, junior boss of the company Kerkhoff and patron	Simple, two-story building with a high hipped roof, built in 1922 by the Hagen architect Leopold Ludwigs
Mansions on the headband	Hagen-Eppenhausen	Artists' colony, planned by Karl Ernst Osthaus , in the center of the garden city of Hohenhagen	From around 1910 Mathieu Lauweriks built a series of single and semi-detached houses, facades in brick and shell limestone, mansard roofs covered with slate, numerous variations of wrought iron railings and window bars.	The sculptor Milly Steger lived and worked in house number 48, the artist Johan Thorn Prikker in house number 38 , the latter was restored in 2007-2008
Villa Cuno	Hagen-Eppenhausen	Residence of the Mayor of Hagen, Willi Cuno	1908–1910 by the architect Peter Behrens on behalf of Karl Ernst Osthaus, a strictly symmetrical villa, originally planned with two tapered wings, of which only the central staircase remained in the square structure	After various changes of use and renovation in the 1990s, it is now used as a day-care center
Villa Emil Hoesch	Hagen-Eppenhausen	Residence of the entrepreneur Emil Hoesch	1918-1919 already a small country house by Walter Gropius was planned in 1921 designed a larger home of Henry van de Velde, construction work under the architects Keydel were discontinued in 1925 according to the new draft of the Cologne architect Theodor Merrill executed	Headquarters of the Steel and Metalworking Association (WSM)
House Goedecke	Hagen-Eppenhausen	House for CH Goedecke	1911–1912, two-story simple building built according to plans by Peter Behrens
Hohenhof	Hagen-Eppenhausen	Villa for Karl Ernst Osthaus and his wife Gertrud	1906–1908 designed and built as a total work of art by Henry van de Velde, initiator for an art network based on the Folkwang idea, residence until 1921, National Socialist training center from 1933–1939, military hospital until 1945, gynecological clinic until 1962, seat of the University of Education from 1962–1976 Hagen	From the 1980s, rooms and facilities were reconstructed in detail, since then one of the locations of the Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum in the city of Hagen