Coal Mine Zollverein (Worlde Cultural Heritage)
The plant constructed in 1932 by the Architect Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer, and shut down in 1986, was once the largest pit coal mine in Europe. At the end of 2001 the area was added to the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Zollverein is indeed today the best known industrial memorial in the Ruhr district . The multiple artistic, cultural and leisure activities attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. In addition Zollverein will take on a central role for Essen and the Ruhr district in the year of the cultural city 2010. Many kinds of cultural activities make up the range offered throughout the entire site: congresses, concerts, dance performances and exhibitions. There is also tuition and research in design at the relatively new Zollverein School of Management of Design. This will move into its spectacularly modern new building at the Japanese Architectural office SANAA in the summer of 2006. In addition, the converted coal washer installation will be reopened. In autumn, during the ENTRY2006, 300 exhibits by architects and designers from 20 countries will be on view. At the end of 2007 the Ruhr museum will be moving into these premises. One spectacular feature is the ascent into the new foyer of the coal washery with the longest open air escalator in Europe. This is where the visitor centre will be located in future.
Visitor office ZollvereinGelsenkirchener Straße 181, 45309 Essen-Katernberg
Phone +49 / (0) 201 / 830 36 36
www.zollverein.de
April—October daily 10:00 am—7:00 pm, November—March daily 10:00 am—5:00 pm, Fridays until 7:00 pm