ESSEN - Whoever will be on the road in the Ruhr area at the end of May next year, might believe that unidentified flying objects are visiting on a reconnaissance mission.
In fact, several hundred bright yellow balloons have just gone up.
Visible from afar, they highlight the invisible, the past of this region.
"Schachtzeichen" (Coal Shaft Signs) is one of the key projects in the Capital of Culture program in Essen, the title to which Potsdam was also competing, has won for the entire Ruhr area and now operates under the name "Ruhr 2010".
RUHR.2010 Schachtzeichen webpage (English)
In allen 53 Städten sorgen Ballons über den Stellen für Aufmerksamkeit, an denen Zechen standen und die jetzt verfüllten Kohleschächte verliefen.
In all 53 Ruhr area cities participating in the event, balloons will be released from former mines, which are now backfilled coal shafts.
Each balloon will have a mentor, buddy or historians to detail and bring to life the story of mining in the area.
Visitors to Essen and the Capital of Culture who want to learn more about the Ruhr area are welcomed starting January 10th to the new Ruhr Museum, which has been spectacularly based in the former coal washing plant Zeche Zollverein Quarter, a place that symbolizes the transformation of the Ruhr area.
Click here for Official Zollverein Webpage (English-Version)
It was natural to make this development not only on the topic of "Ruhr 2010". Program leaders also hope to be able to initiate further structural changes by the individual projects.
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Zollverein Wikipedia Artice
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![The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it is a so-called Allianzwappen (arms of alliance) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities show a wall instead of a crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to the secularized ecclesiastical principality of Essen under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right) escutcheon shows the double-headed Imperial Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, granted to the city in 1623. The sinister (heraldically left) escutcheon is one of the oldest emblems of Essen and shows a sword that people believed was used to behead the city's patrons Saints Cosmas and Damian. People tend to connect the sword in the left shield with one found in the Cathedral Treasury. This sword, however, is much younger [10]. A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of the arms can be found on the roof of the Handelshof hotel near the main station.](http://www.2010essen.info/uploads/extgallery/public-photo/thumb/thumb_574px-Wappen_Stadt_Essen_DE_svg_1_7b61f.png "The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it is a so-called Allianzwappen (arms of alliance) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities show a wall instead of a crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to the secularized ecclesiastical principality of Essen under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right) escutcheon shows the double-headed Imperial Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, granted to the city in 1623. The sinister (heraldically left) escutcheon is one of the oldest emblems of Essen and shows a sword that people believed was used to behead the city's patrons Saints Cosmas and Damian. People tend to connect the sword in the left shield with one found in the Cathedral Treasury. This sword, however, is much younger [10]. A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of the arms can be found on the roof of the Handelshof hotel near the main station.")
