埃森的关税同盟煤矿工业区

埃森是著名的德国鲁尔工业区中最大城市。这里曾经是德国主要的煤炭生产基地，也是近代德国战争机器的军火工业基地，这里是著名的德国克虏伯公司总部所在地。随着煤炭、钢铁企业的停产，整个城市也在发生着变化，城市大部分工业建筑和地区已得到改造，这个城市有个最大的特点是有很多绿地，在一些区域反而感觉不太象城市，倒是象乡野农村，但路上行驶的有轨电车提醒我们这里的的确确是城市。世界文化遗产-关税同盟煤矿坐落在埃森北部，这个曾经日夜生产的大矿区目前变成了一个城市发展遗迹的展览馆，这里自上世纪八十年代停产，工人逐渐离开，经过改造这里成为了一座展览馆，人们来这里参观，探寻它往昔的风貌，探寻这座城市发展的往昔辉煌。科技在进步，人们的生活方式也随之改变，这个文化遗迹代表着过去，也昭示着未来。

The Ruhrgebiet wsa a central part in German history, goal and steal mines in this area allowed German to develop the way it did. Zollverein Coal Mine is an interesting part of this history. Well maintained it shows the industrial time in Europe.There are two different tours you can take, we did the one into the Zeche, around 9 Euro for adults 6 for Students. They show you how the coal was produced and what they it took above ground. Sadly you cant go down as it is 1000 m deep. Other parts of the mine include art museums, shops, restaurants and convienten centers. The city managed to transform the Zeche Zollverein from its old days into a modern transition. Would recommend it to everyone who is interested in the industrial age or who is in the area to simply take a walk around.

If you like industrials and infrasture areas of the 1920', you will love this place! Zeche Zollverein was the most powerfull coal mine over many decades. The big tower in the middle is the center of 3 great minetunnels.You can take a walk through the whole area of mining & the big shaft tower & coking plant for free. Only for the museum of industry & coal mining in this area, will have to pay admission.But when you visit Western Germany and you will see some great instrials you have to take this point. Its also a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Gives a very deep insight about the work and working conditions in mining. Presents in a very attractive way facts and emotions

I just went there a few days ago. It was great! I brought my student card (I am from Indonesia) and I got student ticket so it was cheaper. The officers were all nice, friendly and helpful. And the most important thing is the museum was so great, you can learn a lot, everything about Ruhrgebiet. If you visit Essen, you have to come here. It is easy (even though the place is far from the city centre, you can simply go here by Tram Line 107)

Even if you don't have any particular intense in coal or the industry there is enough here to entertain most people for a couple of hours. I can see why it's a World Heritage site. The buildings are incredible in a strange and fascinating kind of a way. Massive, now silent, structures which in their day would have been very loud and probably constantly moving. The museum has a good level of English translation which is essential. Worth a detour if you are in the area.

This world heritage is wonderful. My dad used to work in a different mine and it was a great experience visiting this museum with him and listen to all his fascinating stories while actually seeing all the equipment used to mine and wash coal. It was neat seeing videos about the working conditions and learn about the rich history of mining in Westfalia and its economic and social influences. Definitely an impressive sight, beautifully conserved and worth the visit.

Staggeringly enormous but beautifully designed mine and coke washing plant. The escalator that takes you to the top of the coke washing plant which now houses the museums is an experience in itself. We were able to explore the building and visits the various museums, as well as the roof top panorama platform, with helpful people to guide you and give information if we needed it. The exhibitions and museums tell the story of this extraordinary region of Germany, and there is also a wonderful collection of historical exhibits, from geology, through fossils, stone age artefacts, to modern times. We had lunch in the Casino restaurant-the smaller bistros and cafes were not open that day. The food was very good, although higher than average restaurant prices. The 'Red Dot' design museum is well worth a visit. You can handle the exhibits and sit on the chairs!

As a former major coal mine the Zollverein is now world heritage. It shows the history of coal mining in its pure form: all former buildings are intact and accompanied by contemporary, artistic, industries. The exbihitions show the development of the coal mining and its social and economic consequences in Essen and NRW.

We did not have a lot of time here so we did not explore too much. We'd been a couple of years ago at Christmas time when everything except the Red Dot Museum (amazing) was closed. This time we visited the Ruhr Museum with its cool orange escalator. It's big as is the machinery that still surrounds many of the exhibits. It was this machinery that interested my husband but it was a dreary day and fairly dark inside so it was very hard to see it. We did not have time to wait for the English tour at 3. We did climb to the panorama viewpoint, 15 meters up from the last elevator floor. Getting there through the machinery was interesting but lighting was dim. We did not realize that, when exiting the viewing platform, that you cannot get back into the main building area until you are at the 24 meter level. So, we missed the movie we'd intended to see. It was not worth finding the elevator again. At 8Euros, not including temporary exhibits, it is not an inexpensive museum. The complex, though, is free and there is a lot to see.

Described as "the most beautiful colliery in the world" (UNESCO?) it is a world heritage site. Now beauty is in the eye of the beholder so its somewhat subjective. There are guided tours available but only having an hour to kill before having to catch a flight its good to walk round and if you can spend time in the visitors centre / museum you get an idea of mine engineering. The panorama deck gives a good all round view of the area and you see the scale of the mining complex. This could be a good half day visit.website: www.zollverein.de

Well, if I'd like to write a full comment about this striking and impressive museum (? it's very hard to call it "a museum") it will take a lot of time and typing. The complex impresses you from the very beginning - the first thing you see is a huge construction that is actually a dominant here. Then goes a long stairs and an escalator. If you want to have fun you can go upstairs on foot (as I did). The museum is a very huge inside, you can get to know about coal mining in the region, see pictures of local population of different periods, take a look at stuffed animals and enjoy fantastic view from the roof. There are lifst here so it won't be a problem to move between the halls. The only thing you should keep in mind is that it's quite cool here, so you shouls take socks (even in summer) if you are wearing sandals and a hoodie if you're wearing a t-shirt. There a lot of exhibitions in the main building. You can sit in a coal carriage and go up to the next building. This summer there were exhbitions devoted to WWI and cultural life in the region. If you'd like you can buy a separate ticket to an exhibition if modern devices (washing machines, bikes, etc.) Here you can touch and try everything. Well, my piece of advice would be the following: be ready to spend more than 3 hours here so it's better to plan a whole day for the visit, in summer take socks and a hoodie to feel warm in large mine halls, take a coal carriage ride, go on a roof to enjoy the view and visit temporary exhibitions. You can also walk a bit in the surroundings and feel "industrial spirit". The bathrooms here comfortable, you can have a snack and sit down to have rest, you can even swim in a pool but you need to put your name in a list in advance. It's easy to get here by tram.

For anyone coming to Essen, Zeche Zollverein is a must. Once Europe's biggest coal mine is now a UNESCO World Heritage, with it's Bauhaus style. At the site you'll find Ruhr Museum, telling the story of the Ruhr region, the mining and migration history, There is also a design museum, where The Red Dot Award is given. The old "locker room" where miners hang there clothes up is turned into a restaurant - in general good quality, sometimes the chefs may have an off-day

Not so quite thrilling to visit something what used to be an old mine complex. Pretty boring. Don't bother visiting.

The Zollverein Coal Mine is a large and very interesting complex offering a lot of history. I really recommend going on the guided tour around the complex including the coke oven plant (which is a bit further from the coal mine).The guided tour takes you all around giving a lot of very interesting information. Also the information giving is supported by animations projecting onto the old machinery and tools (see images attached) to show how they have worked and operated. Very nice solution to get into the way everything worked back when the mine was still operating!Additionally, the tour will take you to places within the building as well as to the roof of the building (and roof of the coke oven plant), which aren't accessible without the tour!The museum inside isn't too interesting (at least for us it wasn't). However, the museum is quite big so bring some time but do this after doing the guided tour (so you're more flexible).