http://www.abenteuer-bergbau.de

This page is very interesting, as well. You can take part in a virtual trip going underground in a German colliery, during this you will see photos taken underground and get good explanations. Additionally there is a collection of links, news and lots of other things.

For this homepage I can hardly find the words to describe: The owner collected very detailed data about lot of collieries and presents ancient postcards to show how the collieries looked like. By the way: He is looking for more old cards showing German collieries. You really should not miss visiting this page !!!!

http://www.zeche.org

This website is really worth visiting: Here you can find a very large number of very good photos in different categories. Among them there are lots of mining related pictures, showing for example different collieries underground and at the surface, impressions from the Ruhr area, of industrial culture, from big cities etc.. As I mentioned before: I am sure that everybody will discover something interesting.

http://www.revierkucker.de

Revierkucker („watcher of the Ruhr area“) is another website with lots of interesting photos from the Ruhr area (Germany). For example, Consolidation and Hannover colliery were visited by the owners of this homepage and additionally Zollverein colliery and lots of winding towers are presented. Other interesting places like the port of the city of Duisburg (Germany) and an ancient church in the city of Bochum are shown here, as well. In addition to all of this, the visitors of this website get several pieces of information about the two photographers and they can buy the pictures and books presented here.

http://www.schachtzeichen.de

SchachtZeichen (the correct translation is „ShaftSigns“) in a happening that will take place in the year 2010 when the Ruhr area (Germany) is the European Capital for Culture. Between 22nd and 30th of May in 2010 in the entire Ruhr area large yellow balloons will float above the places of former colliery’s shafts. The intention of the happening is to create a connection between the past and the present and additionally the viewers are reminded of the Ruhr area’s mining history. On these pages there are various pieces of information about the SchachtZeichen.

The RDB is the community of all regional divisions of the German mining engineers and by that the umbrella organization. Here you can find different pieces of information about and links to the local communities. Additionally the RDB publishes a newspaper that can be found and ordered on the pages, as well.

http://www.rdb-bv-niederrhein.de

RDB is the abbreviation for "Ring Deutscher Bergingenieure", the German mining engineers' community. Here you can find various pieces of information about the RDB's local community of the Lower Rhine region, its latest and future activities, the community's board and the honorary members, a news section and a guestbook.

This link leads to another regional division of the German mining engineers' community, this time it is situated in the city of Recklinghausen. On these pages you can read about the community's board and the past and the future events and activities. Additionally you can find the right contact if you want to address to the Recklinghausen regional division.

This page does not give you information about the weather in the Ruhr area (in German Wetter = weather). The working group from Wetter (a city in the Ruhr area) - a member of the Bergbaubistorischer Verein, the link you can find above - is presenting it's activities on these pages. Here you can find different pieces of information about this working group, including photos of ancient collieries, descriptions of various hiking trails along former mining areas etc. - just take a look at this page.

On these pages you can get information about the underground fire brigade of a colliery that is closed, yet: Lohberg colliery in the city of Dinslaken in Germany. Even though the colliery is closed, the community is still very vivid and that can be seen on the websites, as well. In addition to basic information about the underground fire brigade there is a detailed history of Lohberg colliery, a photo gallery, an interesting poem about the subsidies and lots of other things you should not miss discovering.

Here you can find the pages of the (translated) "working group for miners' traditions 1987 - left Lower Rhine e.V.". These pages can provide you with various information about this working group, it's activities, news etc., you can subscribe for a newsletter and, of course, miners' traditions are presented.

This is yet another regional division of the Bergbauhistorischer Verein e.V., this time from Sprockhoevel. The city of Sprockhoevel (Germany) has a very long mining history, from the early mining using tunnels to the large Alte Haase colliery, the Malakoff shaft tower of which is a famous landmark for this city today. Here different information are presented, additionally hiking trails along former mining areas and good photos. Come on to one of the sources of mining in the Ruhr area. These pages are a part of those owned by this working group from Sprockhoevel.

http://www.general-blumenthal.de

These pages are owned and run by the miners' community of General Blumenthal colliery in Recklinghausen (Germany). You can get lots of information about the 132 years lasting colliery's history, the underground fire brigade is presented and a large collection of links can be visited, leading to pages of various content like mining, trade unions etc..

http://www.bergbausammlung-volkshaus.de

Here you can find an exhibition of different items with a relation to the German hard coal mining industry and to Rotthausen. Rotthausen is a suburb of the city of Gelsenkirchen (Germany) in the Ruhr area. The collection contains different tools the miners used in earlier times, the important German mining journals, mining photos and other interesting literature. On these pages you can find several pieces of information about the very interesting kind of "museum", its objectives and some links - you should not miss this website.

http://www.regio-verlag.de

If someone of you is looking for books about the Ruhr area - here you are totally right (they are written in German !). The Regio publishing house prints books about the collieries in the cities of Hamm and Unna (Germany), about the southern Muenster region, about ancient and nearly forgotten Strontianit mines and about various other subjects. All books are filled with a lot of historical data and photos from the archives of the publishing house's owner who also works for the German hard coal company DSK.

These pages are owned and run by a second-hand bookshop that has very old books. The shop is situated in Steele, a suburb of the city of Essen (Germany), and that is why it is called "Steele's second-hand bookshop" (this is the word by word translation of the shop's name !). Here a very large number of books about the Ruhr area, mining in that region and other related topics can be found. The pages contain a search engine that makes it easier to find certain books. Additionally there is an interesting collection of links and many other things to discover.

This is the homepage of a book about a certain colliery - Ewald colliery in the city of Herten (Germany). The authors have collected several pieces of information, stories, photos etc. and in that way they present the colliery's history from the beginning until to the shutdown. Additionally they venture a view into the future of the area of the former Ewald colliery. You should really read this book.

http://www.bergbau-mit-spitzer-feder.de

The former German trade union for the mining and the energy industry had its own journal that was used for informing the members about important developments, relevant data and interesting events. In this journal in regular intervals mining related caricatures were published. These caricatures can now be found in Dr. Herbert Paege’s book called „Bergbau mit spitzer Feder“ (translation: “The mining industry seen with a pointed feather”). This book focuses on the drawings that were shown between 1948 and 1995. For further information please click on the link above.

Here you can find the homepage of the pit foremen's community at West colliery in Kamp-Lintfort (Germany). You are provided with general information about this special colliery, the community's activities etc. - just visit it.

I have to admit that I have found this page occasionally - but it is worth visiting. Beautiful pictures of shaft towers from all over the Ruhr area are shown here, some of them including the colliery's data, a house with a certain slope and many other things like a JAVA-page, a guestbook, a collection of links etc., as well.

http://www.andreaskoester.npage.de

Andreas Koester is working in a department of the German hard coal mining company RAG that is responsible for the underground fire brigade and the collieries’ ventilation. At first Andreas was working at Consolidation colliery and then he changed to Lippe colliery. On the pages there are various pieces of information about the interesting department and lots of photos, e.g. of the rescue actions after the underground fire at Prosper-Haniel colliery (Germany) or of excursions and other rescue actions of the underground fire brigade. Additionally the website’s owner has created a page about himself, there is a collection of links and there are lots of other things to discover.

http://www.hans-koester.de

Here you can find the father of the owner of the previous website – his name is Hans Koester. Hans Koester has written different books about the Ruhr area (Germany) and the mining industry in that region – some of them are fiction, but others also describe experiences the author made while working at Holland colliery or in other departments of the mining company. The books mentioned before are presented on this website, you can read about Mr. Koester’s curriculum vitae and find a collection of mining related links.

Michael Szymoniak is working in the public relations department at Walsum colliery in Duisburg (Germany). On his pages he provides us with lots of information about the colliery - including different photos, some of which are ancient. In addition to that Michael shows us more about himself and his hobbies.

http://www.andreas-heiermann.de

This is another private page about the Ruhr area, especially about Herten, a suburb of the city of Gelsenkirchen in Germany. On these websites you can find different pieces of information about this suburb in general, its former collieries, mining and industrial culture in the Ruhr area, Herten's interesting places, cultural activities and lots of other things. You should not miss visiting this homepage.

http://www.klaushardelauf.de.tl

As the name says, this page is run by Klaus Hardelauf, who has been working in the former Niederberg colliery in the city of Neukirchen-Vluyn in Germany - more exactly he has been working in the colliery's blacksmith's shop - and that is exactly what this page with a lot of photos is about. Here you can find different data about Niederberg colliery and its history, some special pages about the blacksmith's shop and lots of different other things. In my eyes these pages are very good and so they are worth visiting.

Here you can visit the homepage of a future mining engineer. The owner of this site attends the RWTH Aachen (Germany) and studies mining. These pages will show you a lot about the job as a mining engineer, what has to be learned during the studies, what can be done after leaving the university and about the owner of this page, for example by presenting corresponding photos.

The Revier-Gang is a group of three photographers, all of them running their own Ruhr area-related websites. As the Revier-Gang they do not only show us good photos but make the certain Ruhr area feeling accessible for the pages' visitors. Please do not miss to take a look at the humorous anecdotes presented here !

http://www.ruhrpottfotograf.de

This website is run by a young photographer, who likes to take pictures of former collieries and other ancient industrial plants and presents all these beautiful photos on his homepage. As a consequence, these pages contain lots of different views from various cities in the Ruhr area (Germany) – most of them are explained and all of them are of a very high quality. For that reason you should really take a look at this site.

http://www.ruhrkohle-chor.de

The Ruhrkohle Choir was established in the year 1987 and its target is to cultivate the miners’ traditions and songs. As the name says, it had a close relation to the company that ran the German collieries at that time, the Ruhrkohle AG. Today the choir has about 90 active members. On the pages there are various pieces of information about the Ruhrkohle Choir, some photos of different performances of the choir and links to all companies, communities etc. supporting it.

http://www.knappenchor.org

On these pages the miners' choir of the former Consolidation colliery, also called "Consol" colliery, can be found. There are various pieces of information about the choir, its history, some beautiful photos, a news section and a collection of links. Miners' choires have a very long tradition in the Ruhr area. The Consolidation choir is a good example for that the contact between the miners is kept up even after the shutdown of a colliery.

http://www.werksorchesterconsol.de

This is another website of musicians from the former Consolidation colliery (Germany), but this time it is not the one of the choir, but the one of the orchestra, the members of which can play various titles of different styles and who can be booked for various events, as well. On the website there is information about the orchestra’s history, the latest performances and the possibilities you have when booking it.

This is the homepage of the miners' community called Bergmannsglueck (in English: "miners' luck") from Datteln (Germany). Here you can find various photos showing events in the community's history, news, actual plans and presentations, a collection of links to mining related sites and lots of other things.

http://www.bergbaukolonie.de

The residential areas where the miners lived were called „colonies“ in Germany and they frequently belonged to the collieries where the miners worked. On these pages the miners’ colony Schoenebeck in the city of Essen (Germany) is presented. In addition to some news, several ancient photos that document the miner’ life some decades ago are shown, the activities in the colony are presented and you can get information about the community that organizes and coordinates the different actions.

Here you can find the regional division of the German trade union for mining, chemistry and energy workers, the IGBCE in Marl. This site is well designed and worth visiting. You can get lots of information about the division's activities, their targets etc.. The homepage was recently re-designed and after that placed on the web again. Just visit it if you want.

This web adress contains a message board, owned and run by the Marl division of the German trade union for mining, chemistry and energy workers (the previous link will lead you to them). In this board members and guests can post messages about different subjects like policy, news, reports from the different local divisions etc..

http://www.igbce-angestellten-ortsgruppe-prosper-haniel.de

This is the website of a regional division of the German miners‘ trade union IGBCE. The division is situated at Prosper-Haniel colliery in the German city of Bottrop. On the pages you can find a list of the future events, there are pieces of information for the pensioners and you can also apply for the membership in the IGBCE. Additionally there are some pictures and a collection of links related to the mining industry and the trade union.

http://www.knappenverein-haltern.de

This is another miners’ community, more exactly the one from the city of Haltern in the Northern Ruhr area (Germany). In addition to a presentation of the community and its targets, this website offers a photo gallery that shows that this miners’ community is very vivid, makes excursions, visits other miners or takes part in official events. Other things that can be found here are a list with important future events and a guestbook.  

http://www.knappenverein-hamm-heessen.de

As the name says, this miners‘ community has its origin in the suburb that has the name Heessen and that belongs to the city of Hamm (Germany). On the pages there are various pieces of information about the community’s history, about its managing committee and the future events. Additionally the meaning of Sta. Barbara, the miners’ Patron Saint, is explained and you can find data and facts about Sachsen colliery and its architect Alfred Fischer.

http://www.kv-hammerthal.de

This miners‘ community was established by miners of the former Vereinigte Hammerthal colliery in the city of Witten (Germany) in 1890. On the pages there is information about the history of Hammerthal colliery and of this miners’ community. The visitors are also explained how the hard coal mining industry in the Ruhr area changed during the last centuries and two unnamed collieries in Witten are presented, as well. In addition to what I mentioned before there is an interesting gallery and there are the lyrics of the “Pit Foremen’s Song” that is very famous in Germany.

http://www.landesverband-der-berg-und-knappenvereine-nrw.de

http://www.ibk-ev.de

http://www.untertage-übertage.de

After the previous website this is the second one about the ancient mining industry in the Ruhr area (Germany). Lots of photos of former collieries and tunnels with good explanations can be found here. The same can be said about the mining industry in the city of Ibbenbueren (Germany), that is also very well documented. Other subjects of this homepage are buildings that were used during the Second World War for defending Germany, former air-raid shelters and the so called „Westwall“ – all of this is presented using numerous photos, as well.