Ruhrgebiet appoints first spoil tip keeper as part of regional campaign

A 21-year-old man from Hamburg named Fynn has been selected as the first ‘Haldenwärter’ (spoil tip keeper) in the Ruhr region. Out of more than 1,000 applicants, he won a one-week position that includes a 5,000 euro fee.

Fynn will reside in a tiny house located on the Halde Hoheward, situated between Herten and Recklinghausen. His unconventional duties include watching over ‘robo-sheep’ and monitoring sunrises from the plateau, which sits 150 meters above sea level.

The Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR) organized this initiative as part of a location campaign to showcase the region as modern and adaptable. The spoil tips, which are artificial hills formed from rock residue during coal mining, serve as symbols of the area's structural transformation and are now popular leisure destinations.