Explore essen ,netherlands !

Essen is the second largest city in the Ruhr, which is the largest metropolitan area in Germany. Its population of 583,393 makes it the ninth largest city in Germany, as well as the fourth largest city in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. On the banks of the Ruhr and Emscher rivers, Essen is geographically part of the Rhineland and the Greater Rhine-Ruhr region. The Ruhrdeutsch language spoken in the region has strong influences from both Low German (Westphalian) and Low Franconian (Eastern Prussian). The city is home to eight of the 100 largest publicly held German companies in terms of trading, including three DAX companies, making it the number one among all German cities for the number of DAX company headquarters. Essen is often considered the energy capital of Germany with E.ON and RWE, Germany's largest energy providers, both located in the city. It is also known for influencing the arts with its renowned Folkwang University of the Arts and its Zollverein School of Management and Design and the Red Dot Award for Industrial Product Design. In early 2003, the universities of Essen and the nearby city of Duisburg (founded in 1972) were merged into the University of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and a university hospital in Essen. In 1958 Essen was chosen to be the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese (often referred to as the Ruhrbistum or Diocese of the Ruhr). Notable achievements of the city in recent years include the title of European Capital of Culture on behalf of the entire Ruhr region in 2010 and its selection as Europe's Green Capital for 2017.