Central Europe

UNESCO World Heritage Site • Zeche Zollverein

The history of Zollverein begins in the pioneering days of today's Ruhr region. The first shaft was sunk in 1847 and the first coal was produced four years later: Four more plants were built, the last of which was the Zollverein XII shaft, which took over the central extraction of all Zollverein coal from 1932. 

The buildings of the plant, built between 1928 and 1932 in the style of the "New Objectivity" according to designs by the architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer, were arranged according to the principle of "form follows function" for the optimal flow of coal extraction and preparation. Despite record figures such as 12,000 tonnes of usable hard coal per day, the end of heavy industry did not stop at Zollverein. On 23 December 1986 the last shift went into operation. On that day, the colliery was already a listed building. In 1990, restoration work began, and since 2001, the Zollverein colliery and coking plant have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With the ZOLLVEREIN® heritage trail, the Ruhr Museum and the Red Dot Design Museum, Shaft XII is home to three of the region's most popular tourist destinations. Today, the double trestle winding tower of the shaft is a landmark for the entire Ruhr region.