ExtraSchicht Herne — Night of Industrial Culture

22nd ExtraSchicht — Europe's Largest Night of Industrial Culture

ExtraSchicht is the largest and best-known Night of Industrial Culture in Europe, taking place for the 22nd time in 2026. On Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 6 PM to 2 AM, over 40 venues in 18 Ruhr area cities will transform into a shared night of performance, concerts, light, and theater. The former steelworks, blast furnaces, mines, and coking plants of the Ruhr area become stages.

Herne's Two Venues in 2026

In 2026, Herne is once again participating with two central venues:

• Flottmann-Hallen (Straße des Bohrhammers 5) — the former factory halls of the Flottmann works (compressed air rock drills for mining), a central cultural hub in Herne for decades, hosting concerts, theater, and performances
• LWL-Museum for Archaeology and Culture at Europaplatz — the central archaeology museum of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, featuring exhibitions on the region's prehistoric and early history

How ExtraSchicht Works

The ticket is a festival wristband, allowing visitors to access all venues in the 18 cities and, additionally, use public transport (buses, trams, subways, S-Bahn) free of charge throughout the region. A dense shuttle bus service connects the venues directly. Early bird tickets are available until May 20, 2026, for €15, followed by advance tickets for €22, and at the box office for €25. Children under 6 years old are free.

Four New Venues in 2026

The 22nd edition opens four new venues:

• RUTTKOWSKI;68 Galerie in Bochum
• University of Duisburg-Essen (Duisburg Campus)
• Two additional new venues

The festival thus expands its program to include artistic and educational components, alongside the classic industrial monuments.

ExtraSchicht in 18 Cities

Venues are spread across the major Ruhr area cities:

• Bochum, Bottrop, Castrop-Rauxel, Datteln, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Gladbeck, Hagen, Hamm, Hattingen, Herne, Marl, Moers, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen

Well-known venues include the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord (blast furnace site), Zeche Zollverein (UNESCO World Heritage), Henrichshütte Hattingen, and Nordsternpark Gelsenkirchen — in addition to Herne's Flottmann-Hallen and the LWL-Museum.

Herne and the Industrial Culture Ruhr Area

Herne (approx. 156,000 inhabitants) is located in the central Ruhr area between Bochum and Recklinghausen. The city was a center of hard coal mining for decades — now a structural change city with creative revitalization projects. The Flottmann-Hallen are symbolic of this transformation: former factory halls, now stages for theater, concerts, and precisely this Night of Industrial Culture.