Nordstern Park

The beginnings of the Nordstern colliery date back to the middle of the 19th century. Most of the surviving buildings were built around 1930 according to the plans of the same team of architects who also designed pit XII at the Zollverein colliery in Essen. As late as 1955, 4,400 miners were still extracting around 1.2 million tonnes of coal here. Mining operations ended in 1993. Just four years later, a national garden exhibition transformed the industrial wasteland into a sea of flowers. Today, Nordsternpark is a modern service centre, lively residential area and popular leisure park all in one.

Behind the historic brick facades of the washhouse, labour hall, magazine building and workshop are many businesses. The centrepiece of the existing buildings is the former screening plant, the wagon circulation system and the buildings of shafts I and II. This ensemble was converted into the administrative centre of a housing construction company. The spectacular high point is the Nordstern tower above Shaft II, which has been extended by 4 storeys. At a height of 83 metres, there is a panoramic terrace with a monumental sculpture of Hercules by Markus Lüpertz. An exhibition in the historic tower floors illustrates the transformation of the Nordstern site.

Visitors will find plenty of entertainment in the green areas. These range from "Kinderland" with its extensive adventure playground, climbing park and beach volleyball to an adventure farm. In a 63-metre-long mine tunnel, former miners take visitors back to the days of underground mining, and where coal freighters used to be loaded, an amphitheatre now provides entertainment for 6,100 spectators.