Villa Hugel

In the southern part of Essen, on the high banks of the river Ruhr, stands villa of a wealthiest family in the history of Germany. The building was constructed in 1869-1873 respectively. First sketches of the villa were drew by Alfred Krupp, the richest and most powerful man in Europe at that time. Curiously, the villa was built of fire-resistant materials, as industrialist afraid of fire. Also interesting is the fact that despite all his money, Krupp could not find a good architect for the building. Probably he was not very popular person in the country, sometimes that happens to a rich people. However with the efforts of many architects the villa was built and became a true masterpiece.

To understand the size you need to know that the building has 269 rooms and at the time of 1902 it was served by 570 people! Just imagine, more than five hundred people are working in your house, it is more than in many large companies nowadays.

In April 1945 the villa was confiscated by the US command and in 1952 returned to the family of Krupps. In 1984  museum and gallery were organized there. The museum is located in a small wing of the building and the gallery and main halls in the large one.








After a walk in the park, first visit the small wing with the museum of the Krupp family, as this part of the building is less impressive.


Rings are the symbol of the Krupp family and logo of the company since 1875. It symbolizes the seamless railway wheels.


Unfortunately museum is only in german, although it stores very interesting exhibits. Here's for example photo of Alfried Krupp's arrest in 1945. A curious fact - he was sentenced to 12 years with confiscation of property, but released by a US court. The main emphasis in an appeal was the logo with 3 rings - symbol of peace. After his release Alfried Krupp was able to recover and return former glory to the factories.

In 1999, concerns «AG Krupp» and «Thyssen AG» merged to form the largest group in Europe «ThyssenKrupp AG».


Warning that all property of "Friedrich Krupp" is controlled by the military. This is not surprising, since at all times of its existence Krupps were the largest arms manufacturers. And of course served to all rulers of Germany, including Hitler.


The largest companies in Germany in 1958


At a time when there was no Facebook and Instagram it was not possible to boast about the trips, so rich people created personal photo books with photos.


After the museum, we went to the main wing. Hall of such size we have not seen yet.


Overall, the interiors of Villa Hugel resemble more a palace, then a living house. We did not see such scales even at the estate of the former Ukrainian president :)










In 2015 the park was opened from 8 to 20 and the villa from 10 to 18, ticket price 5 euros. But better check the calendar on the official website, as villa may be closed due to various events.

Getting there: Villa Hugel is located in the south of Essen. It is best to use S-Bahn S6 from Essen Hbf or Koln Hbf and go to the station Essen-Hügel. You can also take trams 101 or 107 to stop Frankenstraße or bus 194 to the stop Zur Villa Hügel.