233 
ESSEN. 
Essen, a town of the Prussian province of Rhineland, lies in the very 
centre of the great coal and iron district of Western Germany. Though noted 
at different epochs for weaving and the manufacture of weapons, and in the 
eighteenth century of some repute as a coal-mining centre, it was still only a 
village with just over 3,000 inhabitants at the commencement of the nineteenth 
century. Its progress continued to be very slow, even during the period of 
German industrial development after 1X40 ; and as late as 1850 its population 
was less than 10,000. Its rapid advance began with the rise to importance of 
the Krupp works in the decade following 1850. It has been estimated that 
nearly 70 per cent, of the inhabitants of the town are directly or indirectly 
dependent upon the Krupp firm, and this fact, taken in conjunction with the 
institutions founded by the firm, makes the conditions in Essen altogether 
abnormal. 
The municipal boundaries have been very greatly extended in recent years, 
and the following Table shows the increase of area (by incorporation) and the 
rise of population :— 
Year. 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1895 
1900 
1905 
Area. 
2,415g acres. 
2,415| ,, 
2,415& „ 
2,415j „ 
2,4154 acres. 
4,709* „ 
6,245i „ 
Population. 
18,435 
43,528 
56,944 
78,706 
96,128 
182,100 
231,396 
No. of Dwelling Houses. 
4,227 
4,869 
5,710 
9,738 
12,769 
The increase of population since 1880 in each of the three districts which 
make up the present Essen is shown in the next Table :— 
Year. 
Essen. 
Altendorf. 
Rüttenscheid. 
1880 
1890 
1895 
1900 
1905 
56,944 
78,706 
96,128 
118,862 
130,490 
22,229 
31,892 
40,280 
63,238 
78,472 
2,751 
4,457 
6,040 
14,735 
22,434 
Total. 
81,924 
115,055 
142,448 
196,835 
231,396 
The increase of population in these three districts during the twenty-five 
years, amounting to about 182 per cent., is due partly to a large influx of 
workmen, and partly to a high birth-rate. The next Table gives the birth 
and death rates for the five years 1901-5 : — 
Year. 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
Birth* per 1,000 of 
Population. 
47-0 
442 
43 6 
41*7 
40-3 
Deaths per 1.000 
of Population. 
211 
17*7 
19-8 
17-7 
15*5 
Infantile Mortality 
per 1,000 Births. 
163 
146 
172 
152 
150 
In 1905 the population consisted of 119,661 males and 111,735 females. 
The town of Essen may be divided into three areas, or groups of areas : 
(a) The " old town,” which lies on the slopes of a small hill, in the centre of 
the town, with narrow streets, and squares which are used as market places. 
In this district there are many survivals of old Essen, in the shape of low 
houses of “ Fachwerk ” (Le., a wooden frame tilled in with brick or rubble, 
often faced with slates) ; these are often crowded together in picturesque and 
2908$ 2 G