Automobilism. Urbane Räume im Wandel

Strictly local! – is both the motto and the modus operandi of the Heimatmuseum Unser Fritz in Herne. Using exhibits that are almost exclusively sourced locally, the museum’s permanent collection presents a comprehensive cultural historical impression of one city in the Ruhr Area. Herne, acknowledged as the region’s geographical centre, is criss-crossed by a dense network of roads and motorways. These were built in response to the Zeitgeist of the economic miracle: the flourishing economy demanded unhindered movement of goods while at the same time an increasing number of individuals was able to achieve the dream of owning their own private car.

As part of the Ruhr Ding: Klima the Heimatmuseum has devoted a special exhibition to automobility demonstrating how the car has transformed the urban space and still continues to dominate it today. Car-friendly city centres, by-passes and motorway connections have expanded continuously across the region since the 1960s. Meanwhile the first subway system linking different cities, the U35, has never travelled further than from Bochum to Herne after seventeen years of construction.

Even in those days, cheap petrol prices enabled individuals to travel by car. At the petrol stations of Herne-based fraudster Erhard Goldbach prices consistently remained stable, even during the oil crisis of the seventies. The fortune he amassed was quite daunting – not least due to the vast scale of his tax evasion. Today Goldbach still remains one of Germany’s big-gest tax criminals.

The artistic works by Ines Braun and Iris Stephan as well as Patrick Praschma accompany, comment on and transcend the insights into Herne’s traffic history, which exemplifies the urban transformation of many modern cities. It tells of the apparent freedom of unlimited passenger and freight traffic and the finite nature of economic growth.

An exhibition in co-operation with the Emschertal-Museum, curated by Ralf Piorr and Katrin Lieske.