Slag Heap Rheinelbe

What remains of mining

400 men work day and night at the Rheinelbe Colliery, bringing up the coal. But not everything that comes to light is combustible. The colliery management is faced with a problem: what to do with all the worthless rock?

When the Consolidation Colliery started production on Gewerkenstraße in 1863, another competitor was active around four kilometres further south alongside the Hibernia Colliery: the Rheinelbe Colliery started operations in Ückendorf as early as 1861. In 1871, 400 miners travelled into the three shafts and brought the coal to the surface. But not everything is coal. The worthless rocks are piled up. Just like the pyramid in Schalke, the Rheinelbe salg heap is built right next to the Rheinelbe colliery. The slag heap grows year by year. Even when the colliery is shut down in 1928, it continues to grow. Collieries from the surrounding area sent their stony "waste" to Ückendorf by the lorryload so that it could be disposed of here on the Rheinelbe slag heap. In between, the heap shrinks when the overburden from the mines is needed as building material. By 1974, the it covers an area the size of 27 football pitches. 3.1 million cubic metres of stone and rubble are piled up here.

The Rheinelbe slag heap was planted with trees and shrubs as early as the mid-1970s. In 1999, material was piled up on the spoil tip for the last time. Since then, its highest point has been 100 metres above sea level. Today, it is a popular excursion destination, and not just because of the good views from here over large parts of the Ruhr region. The spiral paths from the foot of the slag heap to the top invite you to go hiking. Sculptures by the artist Hermann Prigann can be found along the paths. The stairway to heaven awaits hikers at the top. The sculpture made of concrete blocks rises another 10 metres into the air. From here, the Schalke district is also in sight. Although it is no longer possible to orientate oneself by means of pithead scaffolding, the towers of St Joseph's Church are recognisable. In the past, you would also have had a good view from here of the 1,000 fires that burnt down factories such as the Gutehoffnungshütte. But they too have disappeared. What remains are the slag heaps.

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