Zeche Zollverein and Ruhr Region Showcase Industrial Heritage

A school field trip led by teachers Herr Krämer and Herr Bieringer took students from France to the Ruhr region of Germany in early June 2026. The excursion visited Oberhausen’s historic city centre, the large Centro shopping complex, and concluded at a youth hostel after documenting the spatial distribution of shops and discussing the region’s structural transformation from coal mining to a diversified economy.

The same region’s industrial past was highlighted through the UNESCO World Heritage site Zeche Zollverein in Essen. The former coal mine, once the most productive in the Ruhr, operated from 1851 to 1986 and now serves as a symbol of successful structural change. Historical notes include a 1941 underground explosion that killed three miners and the forced labour of thousands under the Nazi regime during World War II. Unique features such as the five‑sheave hoist tower of shaft 9 and early mechanical “Fahrkunst” lifts were also described.