Zeche Zollverein

Historic industrial monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. For us, this is mainly to check in to see the buildings, after all, this is the most modern and beautiful coal mining complex in the world.

Coal mining is the driving force behind the Ruhr industrial revolution's "golden century" - here's a huge (huge!) museum showing you how and why. German and English explanations. The only odd thing is that they don't show you what's happening underground, focusing only on beautiful architectural superstructures, energy, explanations of coal chemistry, etc. - what museum curators today are ashamed of for what their grandparents did or for others to suffer underground? Orwell will love it! You will too, and the secondary plots about what we are ashamed of in history and don’t want to talk about are very fascinating. (This stage is long gone when talking about Nazis or discrimination against blacks in the United States or South Africa, but describing the encounters of underground miners here seems taboo.)

It was originally a coal mine, later abandoned, and now it is a successful World Heritage Site, a representative of the second industrial revolution, and it is worth visiting to feel the strength of German industry before walking in it.

A famous tourist attraction in the Ruhr district of Germany

This is another success story for Essen. There is a tower-shaped building built with a mine derrick. You can visit it. It is a look here.