Nobility of the Rhine and Ruhr

About Nobility of the Rhine and Ruhr

The exhibition "A class of its own. Nobility on the Rhine and Ruhr" of the Ruhr Museum in the Coal Washing Plant on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein shows the fascinating and multi-layered history of the nobility on the Rhine and Ruhr until 24.4.2022. For the first time, it tells the story of the noble families in the region from their beginnings in the early Middle Ages to the present day on the spectacular bunker level.

The exhibition features outstanding cultural treasures from important museums and archives in our country and neighbouring European countries, as well as exhibits from princely collections and aristocratic private collections, some of which have never before been on public display, including paintings, furniture, weapons, jewellery, porcelain and other valuables.

Highlights of the exhibition are the magnificent armour of Duke Wilhelm V of Jülich-Kleve-Berg from Vienna, important endowments of aristocratic women from the Essen Cathedral Treasury, the large-format portrait of Essen's prince abbess Franziska Christine, valuable tapestries, but also a lion skin from the former lion park of Count von Westerholt in Gelsenkirchen. The wide range of exhibits extends from the Middle Ages to the present day and covers the entire spectrum of art and cultural history.