Consolidation Colliery 8

The dream of a blue-white sky

Apprenticeship years are not master years. Young Ernst Kuzorra realises this when he starts his training at the Consolidation colliery. However, he actually dreams of a life outside mining with a quiet job in the fresh air - and of course a football pitch. In the end, his colleagues help him to realise this dream.

Außenansicht der Zeche Consolidation 8 in der Gelsenkirchener-Feldmark. Hinter dem Maschinenhaus im Jugendstil ist das Fördergerüst zu erkennen.

Consol's outpost

In 1910, the Consolidation colliery put its shaft 8 in the Gelsenkirchen Feldmark into operation. The independent secondary colliery with its striking red bricks was named after the long-serving operations director Johann Oberschuir.

Source: Institut für Stadtgeschichte Gelsenkirchen

Ansicht des Fördergerüsts über Schacht 8 der Zeche Consolidation in der Gelsenkirchener Feldmark.

Other tasks

The Oberschuir shaft was used exclusively for haulage and ventilation - i.e. to supply fresh air to the mine. It did this until 1940.

Source: Institut für Stadtgeschichte Gelsenkirchen

Heutige Ansicht der verbliebenen Anlagen der Zeche Consolidation 8 in der Gelsenkirchener Feldmark. Das Maschinenhaus ist in gutem Zustand. Das Fördergerüst daneben allerdings schon leicht verwittert.

Monument protection and subsequent use

In 1984, Shaft 8 was placed under a preservation order and the architecture of the mine was preserved. Most of the buildings have since been converted into flats. A glass cube was also erected on the site in 1996. The "stadtbauraum", the European House of Urban Culture, has been located there since 2002. Regular exhibitions, lectures and discussion events take place here.

Source: Olivier Kruschinski

Young Ernst has to hurry, he's running late. His shift starts at 4 o'clock in the morning. He has been an apprentice hewer at Consolidation colliery for a few weeks. Unfortunately for him, however, he does not arrive at Consolidation 1/6 in Schalke, but here at Shaft 8 in the neighbouring Feldmark section. He walks the two kilometres from his parents' house in Blumenstraße to the shaft as fast as he can. On the way through the morning darkness, he only sees a few scattered miners hurrying to their shift like him. When he arrives at the shaft, his colleagues greet him: "Clemens, there you are!" For some reason, they have given him the nickname. But "Clemens" is not angry with them, because they are his mates - in the truest sense of the word. They take the hardest jobs off Ernst's hands so that he doesn't wear himself out. They know how well the boy kicks. They want him to save his strength for the games. Ernst thinks about this every time he goes out on the pitch. It spurs him on: He wants to give something back to his colleagues and becomes the greatest Schalke player (click here for the story).

Ernst Kuzorra later said of his time underground: "For the coal I was hauling up, I couldn't even get a kettle of water boiling." Thanks to the care of his colleagues, he was able to continue focussing on football. For many, there was a way out of the mines or away from the blast furnaces. But only a few managed to escape the world of hard labour through football. But even if you did make it and played in the top leagues with your club, players could not make a living from football alone. Professional players were not allowed to take part in match operations, only small allowances were permitted. In 1930, a scandal broke out at Schalke due to allegedly excessive payments. A scandal broke out at Schalke with one person dead (click here for the story). However, Ernst Kuzorra was able to set up his own tobacco shop early on. In any case, life as a business owner was much more comfortable and more compatible with football. Fritz Szepan ran a textile shop on the Schalke Market for a time.

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Consolidation Colliery 8

Boniverstraße 30
45883 Gelsenkirchen

Locations

Schalke Arena