Social

Social Commitment

ART AND CULTURE

Kurt and his wife Lilly Ernsting shared a great passion for art and culture. One of the main aspirations close to the Ernsting’s family shareholders’ hearts remains to make this experience accessible to the people in our region and to minimise barriers to access. Our aim is to stimulate social discourse by bringing art and culture to as many people as possible. Even though Ernsting’s family is first and foremost a commercial enterprise, in our role as an ally for families we also want to promote people’s cultural participation and education, as engaging with art and culture is essential for personal development.

Art and culture

konzert theater coefeld (ktc)

Coesfeld’s concert theatre, konzert theater coesfeld, built and operated by Ernsting's real estate & Co. KG, opened in 2007. As one of the most modern theatres in Europe, it is a cultural attraction that draws visitors from far beyond the city and national borders. The Ernsting Foundation Alter Hof Herding, founded by Kurt and Lilly Ernsting in 1995, is responsible for the varied programme (culture for the region).

Art and culture

WBK Coesfeld

The Second World War was associated with very painful experiences also for Kurt Ernsting. In the last few days of the war, his family suffered a bomb attack that his father and younger sister did not survive. A building like the former Wehrbereichskommando (WBK – Military District Command) in Coesfeld brings back memories of this darkest chapter in German history. Perhaps it was this very memory that motivated Kurt Ernsting to give the WBK Coesfeld a new function and to turn it into something positive. The abbreviation WBK no longer stands for Wehrbereichskommando, but for Zentrum für Wissen, Bildung und Kultur (Centre for Knowledge, Education and Culture). Today, the new users and designers of the WBK are the music school, the FernUniversität in Hagen and the adult education centre. There are also two meeting rooms and two halls available for hire for festivities or conferences. The WBK is directly connected to the konzert theatre coesfeld and is managed by EHG GmbH & Co. KG.

Art and culture

THE GLASS MUSEUM IN COESFELD-LETTE

Lilly Ernsting, the company founder’s wife, built up an extensive, initially private glass collection over the course of more than 30 years. This collection was the starting point and reason for the opening of the glass museum in Coesfeld-Lette in 1996. In the same year, Kurt and Lilly Ernsting set up a foundation to promote art and culture in their home region and named it “Alter Hof Herding” after the former village mayor’s farm in Coesfeld-Lette. Since then, the Glass Museum’s collection has been displayed there, exhibiting a selection of glass objects owned by the foundation and new acquisitions as part of regular temporary exhibitions. The foundation’s goal is to inspire as many visitors as possible to appreciate glass.