Turkish wedding businesses revitalised the city

Bernd Fesel


Almost half of the population of the city of Markslow worked in its coal mine. The mine closed down some 15 years ago. Subsequently, thousands of people moved away and the city became almost empty. A big part of the population was Turkish. Some of the people who stayed, came up with the idea of opening shops with wedding dresses, because they knew that people will always be getting married, no matter how bad the economy is. 
 
Today, there are more than 30 shops with wedding dresses and accessories, restaurants, and a shopping centre dedicated to everything wedding-related. For the Turkish population in Europe, Markslow became the main pre-wedding shopping destination. People come here for whole weekends to buy what they need. This revitalised the whole city. There are international art residences and a film production company. It is one of most studied sites in the Ruhr, with city developers and planners, architects looking at how social and creative economy motivates people to stay. This means not only doing business but also developing the city. In fact, the creative industry always has this side effect. Along with doing your own thing, you are helping your city to develop.

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Bernd Fesel

Bernd Fesel

Founder of European Centre for Creative Economy

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