Tour Report: Colliery H.

It was a real stroke of luck that we were able to visit the fourth location on our 2020 summer vacation. The coal mine had been closed for ten years, and initial measures to develop the site had been underway for several years, which is why it was heavily patrolled by security guards who did not hesitate to rigorously report any unauthorized entry onto the site.

My cousin and his wife, whom we visited at the beginning of our vacation, have a very good network in the city, and we had already asked in advance if there was any possibility of visiting the coal mine and taking photos.

Unfortunately, all requests were denied. So, on our last morning, we set out to see another location.

Then the call came. My cousin said, “You can go there NOW!”

So we contacted our friend Lost Dreams who had also shown great interest in the coal mine and set off immediately.

About half an hour later, we were standing in front of the gate and were greeted by a lady from the development company. We had to sign a few documents to ensure that everything—including the publication of the photos afterwards—was in order.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to visit the technical facilities because the halls had not yet been secured (the ceilings were starting to collapse) and therefore these areas had not yet been approved by the mining authority.

But just being able to explore this place (as far as we were allowed) at our leisure, without any stress or risk of getting caught, was a real experience for us.

First, we took a look at the washrooms and the dry house. There, the miners' clothes were placed in baskets attached to chains and hoisted up to the ceiling. The higher temperature under the roof allowed the mostly damp clothes to dry better.

The sheer size of the rooms and the hundreds of chains and baskets make these areas an experience in themselves. So we took our time before setting off to explore the adjacent areas. There we found mountings for the miners' pit lamps – unfortunately without the lamps themselves.

Finally, we had the opportunity to view the representative administration building with the payroll hall.

The architecture, size, and ornate decorations and windows reflect the prosperity that mining has brought to corporations and regions.

At the end of our exploration, we took a quick selfie and left this fantastic place with a wealth of wonderful impressions.

To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Ferropolis

On the day of our departure, I managed to persuade my parents to make a little detour on the way home to visit Ferropolis - the City of Iron.
This huge strip mine has been turned into a museum and event center with five gigantic excavators arranged to form an arena of rusting iron.
The mine itself has been flooded over a period of five years and is now an artificial lake.
Although this is not a "traditional" urbex location, it was a more than fascinating site to visit.
The weather had a great part in the photos. The rain was on and off, and it was pretty windy, so the clouds in exchange with the blue sky added some extra drama to the look og the photos.
My parents were fascinated as well, especially my father, who in his younger years originally had wanted to study mining and metallurgy before moving on and becoming a pharmacist, enjoyed this stop.
At the end of our visit, we drank a nice coffee and drove the remaining 400 kilomters home.


To find out more about the history of this industrial monument and to check out all the photos from this amazing place, click the button below.

Operation "Easter Basket" - Coal Mine W.

This was one we should have prepared better. We got caught before finding the motherload in this abandoned mine.
We were in the Ruhr area, and one of the things this area is famous for is mining. There are so many abandoned mines in the area, but a lot of them have been turned into museums or places for events, and only a few remain that are "lost".
We had spent quite a few hours in the abandoned prison, but we really wanted to find a mine, so we just drove to some spots that I had on my list but didn't really know if they were still interesting in the urbex-sense.  Most of them weren't.
We were about to give up. It was getting darker, it was still raining and we were supposed to pick up one more friend later who was going to be on tour with us for the next two days.
his mine was actually the last on my list, and we had almost lost hope when we got there and did in fact find a small hole in the front fence near the main administration building.
We slipped through and ran towards the building.
There was no access in sight, so we kept looking until I found an open window that allowed us to get into the lower level of the administration building.
First we found a modern - but mine-like - changing room. It looked like a normal coop in a mine, only much smaller.
We went on to explore the rest of the adminsitration building and did find the access to the descent in the mine, which unfortunately was sealed.
We left the building and started heading for the more industrial parts in the back of the area, when we were spotted by a security guard.
He had us.
He was really friendly though and just told us to go to the front gate to tell his colleague to let us out. So we went there and the colleague was furious when he saw us. He really wanted to call the police until the small guy came back again and asked him to leave us alone - after all, it was Good Friday.
We got off the hook, he only wrote our names and ID numbers on a small paper (which probably found its way into the trash later) and then let us out the front gate.
Later I heard that there is a much better access somewhere else where it's a lot easier not to get caught...so I suppose that there will be a next time.


To find out more about the history of this mine and to check out all the photos from this industrial monument, click the button below.