On Tuesday we visited the Zollverein coal Museum after taking the train through Gelsenkirchen and traveling by, a very crowded, bus. Originally, we had planned to get to the coal museum by bike; however, it had been raining the prior day and that morning and it was decided we would use public transport to get there instead of our bikes. After about 45 minutes of commuting, we arrived to the massive coal mine turned museum and learned that it was a UNESCO world heritage site by the banners that greeted you as you walked it. We went inside to begin the tour and learned how the coal and iron deposits in the area transformed the region economically as the coal provided the energy to mine the iron that was made into machines to mine more coal and so on and so forth. This production gave work to over nine thousand people in the area, and as our tour guide led us through the old parts of the coal washing plant we got to see all of the different intricate steps to processing coal. I thought it was fascinating how the region grew from the coal production and the way that it still shaped the area today. After taking more stairs than I think I’d ever climbed in my life to the top (and then all the way back down again) we arrived at the final part of the tour, which consisted of hundreds of photos and artifacts from the Rühr region portraying the culture and history of the area throughout time from wars to disasters, like water contaminations and land deformations from mining, to large-scale immigration. Overall, the museum helped me to understand the history and culture of the area I am in and help see overlaps with where I am from. -Abigail Jennings
