One of hundreds of coal mines that once dotted Germany’s Ruhr region, the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and arts hub, offering mine tours and hosting museums and cultural festivals.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Locals enjoy biking or walking along and across the Rhine-Herne Canal, which once served to transport coal through the Ruhr region.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Herman Prigann’s concrete sculpture ”Stairway to Heaven” tops a mine dump in Gelsenkirchen.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
The Red Dot Design Museum, located in the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, showcases award-winning product designs from around the world.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Staircases and escalators mimicking coal conveyors help visitors navigate the Ruhr Museum, which explores the history of the region.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
A collection of medicine bottles fills a display at the ”Age of Coal,” a temporary exhibit at the Zollverein Coal Mine.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Part of a former gasworks, the Gasometer Oberhausen is the tallest exhibition hall in Europe. The exhibit ”The Call of the Mountains” features an upside-down replica of the Matterhorn.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
A longtime family-run pub/restaurant in Essen, Ampütte serves hearty cuisine such as a spicy sausage with fries.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Visitors can spend the night in a concrete sewage pipe at the pay-what-you-can Parkhotel in Berne Park in Bottrop.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
Grugapark in Essen features a botanic garden, a zoo, playgrounds, and outdoor sculptures.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
In Moers, artist Otto Piene’s sculpture ”Geleucht” is modeled on a miner’s lamp and sits atop a coal tip with views of the Rhine and industrial plants.
Photograph by Martin Kirchner, Laif, Redux
