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This exhibit is all about coal—from the very bottom to the very top. See how coal was mined deep underground and transported to the surface through shafts. Learn how it became a raw material that made industry, energy production, and even our daily lives possible.
Coal mining in the northeastern Ruhr region, particularly in the area around Kamen and Bergkamen, began much later than in the western part of the mining district. This was primarily due to deep mining. The coal seams were located at great depths, which made extraction more difficult and extremely expensive.
The original Monopol coal mine was founded by Friedrich Grillo, an entrepreneur from Essen, who played a key role in the region’s industrial development in the late 19th century. In the decades that followed, several mine shafts were constructed, including the Grillo and Grimberg shafts.
In the 1970s, several older mining facilities, including the Grillo and Grimberg shafts, were merged into a large, modern mining complex and opened in 1981. The new complex was named Neu-Monopol. This was a response to the so-called coal crisis: the goal was to ensure the economic survival of the coal mining industry in Germany through modern technology and the consolidation of operations.
The Grimberg 2 shaft played a central role in this. It was equipped with state-of-the-art mining technology and a new hoisting tower. The facility was considered one of the most modern coal mines in Europe and a flagship operation of the German mining industry. The mine has been a designated historic landmark since 2002. The Grillo 1 shaft continued to be used for transporting materials and supplying fresh air. The integrated facility extended to a depth of over 1,400 meters and featured an extensive network of underground tunnels.
Despite these modernization measures, the decision was made in 1993 to permanently close the Neu-Monopol coal mine. Operations continued for several more years under the name Bergwerk Ost, primarily for dewatering.
Today, only a few industrial buildings from the former coal mining complex remain, notably the striking Grimberg 2 winding tower and the decommissioned coal washing plant. Since 2019, the site has been repurposed under the name Technopark Neu-Monopol. Numerous companies have set up operations here. As a result, the former mining site has been transformed into a modern business hub.
About 300 million years ago, the Ruhr region was covered by dense forests of ferns and horsetails. Dead plants sank into swampy soil, were buried under sediments, and were preserved in an oxygen-free environment. Over millions of years, pressure and heat transformed this plant material into coal. Each layer tells the story of a long-gone geological era. Deep beneath what would later become the Neu Monopol coal mine, these coal seams lay buried. They were valuable sources of energy for industrialization. Mining began in the early 20th century. The formation of coal is a geological process of immense scale and the origin of an entire industrial landscape that has shaped the lives of many generations.
The animation shows how the coal seams beneath Bergkamen were formed.
Coal was not only a fuel but also the basis for many everyday products. After being mined, it was washed, sorted, and processed. In the coking plant, hard coal was turned into coke—a porous fuel needed in blast furnaces for steel production. This process also yielded valuable byproducts: tar, ammonia, and benzene. These served as raw materials for paints, plastics, medicines, and fertilizers. The black rock was transformed into toothbrushes, clothing, and pesticides. The journey from coal to the finished product was technically complex and closely linked to the chemical industry. In this way, coal became the driving force behind the economy, everyday life, and progress.