LippePark Hamm

Under the slogan "Im Westen was Neues" (Something new in the west), a new leisure area, the LippePark Hamm, has been created on a total of 42 hectares on the site of the former Franz shaft in the Herringen district. It significantly improves the quality of life of the 175,000 inhabitants on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, makes the structural change in the former mining region visible and tangible, and provides important urban development, recreational and social impulses.

In addition to the core area "Schacht Franz" in the Hammer district of Herringen, the development concept or built park also includes areas in the districts of Bockum-Hövel and Pelkum. The development of the landscape park thus also has a positive effect on the coalescence and attractiveness of the western city districts as a whole. This area of the city of Hamm in particular is strongly affected by structural change and is characterised by large proportions of people with a migration background and citizens with low incomes. Structural impulses and the improvement of the living environment are therefore significant here. Social projects run parallel to the landscaping and represent a strategic overall package to promote the Hammer West.

A simple and clear basic structure determines the park. All attractions and paths are arranged around the central meadow park. In addition to children's playgrounds, lookout points and sunbathing lawns, it impresses with a number of special highlights.

So in the northern part of the park, a fun sports platform was realized, a leisure facility on the site of the new Lippepark Hamm in Herringen. The main attraction is a skate facility with many ramps, rails and fun boxes. In addition, various sports, such as basketball or streetball, hockey and parkouring can be practiced in the fun sports park.

Other attractions include the Square of the 5 World Religions, which is based on the idea and commitment of the local "Christian-Islamic discussion group Herringen/Pelkum". Five steel gates lead to a square with five standing desks arranged in a circle. The gates symbolize the different approaches of the religions to faith. Gates and desks feature religious symbols, and core messages of each faith are found on the desks.

The site's special history remains alive at the site of mining history in the middle of the northern park lawn. Surrounded by a picket fence, the site is a reminder of the location of the shaft of the former Franz Colliery, which has since been filled in, with the so-called Protego hood for the controlled discharge of mine gas. An outdoor exhibition with photographs and text documents from the last 100 years on the mining history of the site has been created around the site.

The participation process and the special design quality of the Lippepark Hamm have received several awards and recognition, including the Federal "Socially Integrative City" prize in 2010 and second place in the European "City for children" competition in 2012.