The landmark of Dortmund is the big U on top of a former brewery building. Today the building houses besides others the Museum Ostwall and some exhibition rooms. The windows looking like mosaics are actually movies shown high over the city.
Tag: North Rhine-Westphalia
Pithead bath in Dortmund
A detail I was especially impressed with. At the coking plant Hansa, I saw a pithead bath. In this hall, the workers put their clothes in special frameworks. Each framework is movable up and down by a chain.
Kokerei Hansa in Dortmund
Kokerei Hansa is a former coking plant in Dortmund. Today the plant houses a huge climbing gym named Kletterhalle Bergwerk and the remaining installations can be visited by guided tours.
Sundheimer Huhn at Zeche Zollern
In earlier times German miners used to have a small garden for vegetable and animals behind their homes. While strolling around a mining settlement next to the colliery Zeche Zollern I came across this special breed of chickens. In German they are called Sundheimer.
Lohnhalle at Zeche Zollern
A fascinating building at the colliery Zeche Zollern: The Lohnhalle. It is shaped like a station hall with some cashier’s desks inside. Here, the miners got paid their wages.
Art Nouveau door at Zeche Zollern
A fascinating detail of the Zeche Zollern, a colliery in Dortmund: The door at the machine hall is built in the style of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau). Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation during my visit.
Ruhrtriennale in Bochum
While walking through the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, I came across the bleachers for the Ruhrtriennale Festival. The Ruhrtriennale is an annual music and arts festival in the Ruhr area. Its most famous venues are the Jahrhunderthalle, the Zeche Zollverein, and the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord.
Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum
The Jahrhunderthalle is a venue for such famous events as the Ruhrtriennale. Interesting detail: The hall stands on top of an existing plant. After raising the soil to the level of the new building, the first plant became part of the basement.
Red Dot Design Museum
You find the Red Dot Design Museum in the former boiler house of shaft 12 at the Zeche Zollverein. That is a good place for a design museum as the former industrial plant looks pretty ‘designed’ in its Bauhaus style.
Ruhr Museum in Essen
The former coal preparation plant of the Zeche Zollverein – a coal mine inscribed as a World Heritage Site now – houses the Ruhr Museum. This museum tells about the history of the Zeche and the Ruhr area.
Big Air Package by Christo in Oberhausen
Every year another interesting art project takes place at the Gasometer (a former gas holder) in Oberhausen. In 2013, I visited the ‘Big Air Package’ created by Christo. This time the artist, who is generally known for wrapping huge objects, produced a balloon filling the gas holder.
Gasometer in Oberhausen
The Gasometer in Oberhausen is the largest disc-type gasholder in Europe. Today, it serves as an exhibition hall. Visitors enjoy an excellent view after reaching the top by an elevator or a staircase outside the building.