Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
Zollverein Coal Mine, shaft 12 | |
| Location | Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii) |
| Reference | 975 |
| Inscription | 2001 (25th Session) |
| Website | www |
| Coordinates | 51°29′29″N 07°02′46″E / 51.49139°N 7.04611°E |
Location of Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Germany Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (North Rhine-Westphalia) | |
The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activities took place from 1851 until 23 December 1986. For decades, starting in the late 1950s, the two parts of the site, Zollverein Coal Mine and Zollverein Coking Plant (erected 1957–1961, closed on 30 June 1993), ranked among the largest of their kinds in Europe. Shaft 12, built in the New Objectivity style, was opened in 1932 and is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece, earning it a reputation as the "most beautiful coal mine in the world".[1]
Because of its architecture and testimony to the development of heavy industry in Europe, the industrial complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 14 December 2001, and is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.[2][1]
- ^ a b "European Route of Industrial Heritage". ERIH. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 21 August 2022.