What follows raw materials?
From renaturing schemes to culture and pioneering industrial projects, the structural transformation of Germany’s former mining regions takes many different forms.
Rammelsberg: world heritage site, Christmas market and much more
Once upon a time, Rammelsberg mountain in southern Lower Saxony was one of the most important sources of non-ferrous metals in Europe. In 1992, however, it and the city centre of Goslar were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former mine workings were the first former industrial complex in Germany to receive this award. In the adjoining museum, visitors can discover the thousand-year history of mining at Rammelsberg. The World Heritage Site also offers a wide range of events, with highlights above and below ground including a poetry slam, blacksmithing courses and a Christmas market.
Schwarze Pumpe: a modern industrial hub in East Germany
The name of the “Schwarze Pumpe” industrial park in Lusatia means “Black Pump, and it recalls a dark past. According to tradition, villagers painted their pump black during the Thirty Years War to make it look like a warning of the Plague in the hope that marauding soldiers would leave their village in peace. In East Germany in the 1950s Schwarze Pumpe became the largest lignite mind in the world at the time. Today, the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park is looking towards the future, where four of the region’s universities have started developing a centre which will be unique in Europe. The CircEcon centre aims to carry out research and development around technologies for recycling and reusing fibre composite materials, as well as exploring new biogenic materials.
The River Emscher: returning to nature after mining
The Ruhr region takes its name from the river of the same name, but another was much harder hit by the environmental impact of mining and industrialisation: the Emscher. In the past, pollution due to runoff from the mining gave it the reputation of being Europe’s dirtiest river. But that’s a thing of the past now. In 1991, a resolution was passed to return large parts of the Emscher to a natural state, including by building four modern sewage facilities in Dortmund, Bottrop, Duisburg and Dinslaken. With the development in 2021/22 of the Emscher sewer, Europe’s largest sewerage project, the scheme achieved another milestone. Since then, not a drop of water requiring processing has flowed into the Emscher.
