Halde Zollverein 4/11, Gelsenkirchen

The Zollverein slagheaps are tailings piles in Essen-Stoppenberg and Gelsenkirchen, which were heaped up by the Zollverein colliery directly on the site or nearby. They are among the oldest tailings piles in the Ruhr region and are listed in the Route of Industrial Heritage.

In 1847, Franz Haniel founded the Zollverein Coal Mine Union under mining law. With the start of shaft work, tailings were piled up at various locations from 1848.

At the corner of Haldenstraße and Gelsenkirchener Straße, a pointed cone has been created, the typical shape of the first-generation slag heap. Due to the terrain formation, this tailings pile is not accessible. It is called Halde Zollverein 1/2 and is relatively small at 3.8 hectares.

Between the XII shaft and the coking plant, material was backfilled at a second location. However, the ground here is only elevated a few meters, as the tailings were only temporarily stored here. The edge of the dump is partially walled off. In this area Ulrich Rückriem erected various sculptures from 24 granite blocks in 1991, partly on open ground, partly hidden in the birch forest. This slag heap is accessible from both the coking plant and the colliery and, because of the works of art, is also called Sculpture Park.

At the GelsenTrabPark is the last and with 37 hectares largest slagheap of the Zollverein colliery, called Halde Zollverein 4/11. It is already located on Gelsenkirchen territory at the site of the former Gelsenkrichen-Essen-Rotthausen airfield and is open to the public. Various organizers offer running events. In addition, the trotting track uses training tracks for trotters there. From the top, you have a view of the Gelsenkirchen correctional facility, the Fatih mosque, Revierpark Nienhausen and, of course, the Zollverein coal mine and coking plant.