Posted by Herne is located in the northern Ruhr region between Gelsenkirchen, Bochum and Dortmund. With the incorporation of Wanne-Eickel in 1975, the city has grown considerably. The population is currently around 170,000. Herne does not have too much to offer tourists. The city is known for the Cranger Kirmes fair, which takes place annually in August. However, the city has a nice inner city with a long pedestrian zone and the Westphalian Museum of Archaeology, which is well worth seeing. The town grew considerably in 1975, when the town of Wanne-Eickel became part of Herne.
Herne pedestrian zone
The central street and pedestrian zone of Herne is Bahnhofsstraße, from the main railway station southwards. Since Herne was less destroyed in the Second World War than other mining towns, you can still see many splendid buildings from the golden 1920s in the centre. At that time, Herne was one of the richest cities in NRW and Germany thanks to coal. Many well-known retail chains and department stores have a branch in Herne in Bahnhofsstraße. The snack bar Pim Pome Store (Bahnhofstraße 19) is said to have the best curry sausage with fries in the Ruhr area (€2.60, price a few years ago).
The Bahnhofsstraße pedestrian zone is more than a kilometre long. There are several hundred shops, cages and restaurants.
Some examples of shops and branches in Bahnhofstraße in Herne: C&A, H&M, DM Drogerie, Deichmann Schuhe, Rossmann Drogerie, Gery Weber, Mayersche Buchhandlung, Douglas Parfümerie, Backwerk, Penny Supermarkt, the shopping centre City Center Herne with, among others, New Yorker, Tchibo, McPaper, CCC (shoes and bags), Woolworth, Esprit Store, Tedi and Adler Mode. The two opticians Apollo and Fielmann also have a branch in Bahnhofstraße in Herne. There are of course many more shops in Herne’s main shopping street. This list only includes the shops that we can remember and are known throughout Germany.
Centre of the Ruhr
Herne is indeed the centre of the Ruhr area. The geographical centre of the Ruhr is in the district of Röhlinghausen, in the very west of Herne. Although Röhlinghausen is part of Herne, the city centre of Gelsenkirchen is actually closer to Röhlinghausen than the city centre of Herne. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Herne can rightly claim to be the centre of the Revier, the middle of the Ruhr area or the centre of the Potts.
Herne Archaeological Museum
The Westphalian Museum of Archaeology (LWL Museum) is located at the other end of the Bahnhofsstraße pedestrian zone, as seen from the railway station. It is one of the most modern archaeology museums in Europe, especially because of its interesting multimedia explanations, and is one of the most interesting museums in North Rhine-Westphalia. The focus is on the 250,000-year-old history of human development.
Opening hours (as of 2022): Tue, Wed, Fri 9am-5pm – Thu 9am-1pm – Sat ,Sun and Bank Holiday 11am-6pm, closed Mon.
Admission prices 2017 Museum of Archaeology in Herne 2022: Normal price 6 €, children free. Reductions (3 euros) are available for students, for example.
