http://www.rag-deutsche-steinkohle.de

This is the homepage of the German hard coal mining company, the RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG, running all German collieries. Here you can find information and data about the collieries, actual developments in the RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG and also news concerning mining and energy in general. Very interesting: The so called "Virtual colliery", an animated view of today's coal production in a depth of 1000 metres including very good explanations about the different processes etc..

http://www.rag-stiftung.de

The RAG-Stiftung (translation: "RAG foundation") has two main targets: The first one is to prepare and to control the IPO of the new Evonik Industries AG with its fields chemistry, energy and real estate and the second one is to finish the German hard coal mining industry in a socially acceptable way until 2018. On these pages there are all important information about the foundation like the members of the board, the statutes, a detailed description of the targets etc..

http://www.steinkohleportal.de

The page's name (translation "hard coal portal") really keeps it's promises: This is a real portal about all aspects concerning mining. The visitor receives information about technical aspects, a virtual power plant, lots of graphics with the corresponding explanations and articels, links and general data and facts about the political aspects of energy supply. You must visit these pages !

http://www.gvst.de

GVSt is the abbreviation of an organization that is strongly supporting the German hard coal mining industry by making intensive public relations, for example by publishing very interesting publications. On these pages you can find different pieces of information, facts and figures about the German hard coal mining industry and the GVSt. Additionally there is a large download area with high quality publications.

http://www.kohlenstatistik.de

This is the domain of the German community called "Verein Statistik der Kohlenwirtschaft e.V.". On these pages there are lots of statistical data about the entire coal mining industry, i.e. the brown coal and the hard coal mining industry. This is a very rich source for facts and figures about the German and the international coal mining industry with a large download area.

http://www.zak-hamm.com

The long version of ZAK is "Zukunftsaktion Kohlegebiete", this is an action working for the future of the areas where today coal is produced or has been produced in earlier times. This is a communal pressure group of actual and former cities all over Germany where mining has taken place - so it includes the Ruhr area's cities, as well. On these pages you can find information and arguments about the subsidies for the mining, comments on the EU's so called "Green Book", a presentation of the ZAK and her members, information about the EURACOM etc..

http://www.grubengas.de

"Grubengas" is the German expression for the gas that can be found e.g. in collieries - the so called methane gas. This community represents different companies etc. that produce engines that use methane gas for generating energy and even runs some of these power plants at different former collieries. On the pages you can find different pieces of information about the community's members, the use of methane gas for the generation of energy, the different power plants run by the community, there is a good collection of links and an interesting download area.

These pages are presenting the shaft 12 of the former Zollverein colliery in Essen (Germany). There are various information about this well-known colliery, about actual events and additonally some good photos showing this industrial monument.

http://www.zollverein.de

Not only shaft 12 of Zollverein colliery in the city of Essen in Germany has its own website, but also the entire former hard coal mine. Here is information for two different target groups: At first for the visitors and tourists, who want to know something about the catering trade, the numerous guided tours and the events in order to plan their leisure time. Additionally creative companies can settle down on the former colliery’s area. In the category “Zollverein Business” the owners of such companies can find the relevant information for their purposes.

http://www.bergbauhistorischer-verein.de

This is the homepage of a community that is engaged in caring and presenting locations of ancient mining activities. This community consists of twelve regional units also running a visitors' mine close to Dortmund (Germany). Additonally the mining history is presented and archived, different hiking trails along the former collieries are cared and lots of other activities are done. This is a really good page with various pieces of information, photos and links to the different regional units of this community.

http://www.ruhrkohlenrevier.de

This website is really interesting: The owner has collected various pieces of information about the beginnings and the early times of the hard coal mining industry in the Ruhr area (Germany). Nearly all of the ancient collieries and tunnels are presented here by showing photos and by describing their history. If there have been relations between different collieries, the visitors of this website can get from the one description to the other just by clicking with their mouse. Another very interesting point is that you can see how the former collieries look today, i.e. that photos are shown of what remained of the tunnels etc.. Additionally ancient routes for the transpotation of the hard coal and important entrepreneurs of the mining industry in the Ruhr area are presented and there is a collection of mining related links.

http://www.zechenkarte.de

This website is really impressive: One of the owner’s hobbies is geocaching and that is the reason why he is able to present a map with the coordinates of more than 500 (!) shafts and tunnels in the Ruhr area (Germany). Some of the corresponding collieries still produce hard coal and some of them are closed, yet. By clicking on the small winding tower symbols on this map you can get further information and take a look at pictures that show how the shafts and tunnels look today. This homepage is really worth visiting !

http://www.geopark-ruhrgebiet.de

These pages are very informative and worth visiting. Here you can find various pieces of information about the resources and the geology of the Ruhr area (Germany) and about the GeoPark Ruhrgebiet and its targets. The visitors will also find information about some geology and mining related hiking trails, the caves in the Ruhr area and the possibility to integrate earth sciences into the education at school. You really should not miss these pages !

http://www.induruhr.de

After that the owner finished the website ruhrbergbau.de, he started his new project here. On the pages there are lots of high quality photos from the Ruhr area (Germany) and from other regions. Additionally there is a collection of links and a guestbook where the visitors can write down their opinion.

http://www.indugrafie.de

On these pages Bjoern Huehn is presenting numerous very good photos of industrial plants in the Ruhr area (Germany) and other regions. Among them there are several pictures of active and abandoned collieries, as well. Because of the fact that there are different categories, every visitor can look at the kind of photos that he prefers most.

http://www.fotorevier.net

On these pages there are really lots of good photos from the entire Ruhr area in different categories, also presenting numerous winding towers, collieries etc.. They show the Ruhr area at night, during the day, they show how the inhabitants spend their leisure time and they show the football that is very important in this region. You can spent a lot of time on these sites without being bored.

http://www.industriekultur-fotografie.de

Five photographers - one of them is the owner of the Ruhrbergbau.de pages (see the link above) - have joined in order to offer a platform for lovers of industrial culture, monuments and heritage. Here you can find several photos of corresponding places - not just from the Ruhr area, but also from elsewhere in Germany and from abroad. You cannot just take a look at the photos, if you apply for membership in this community, you can comment on them, as well.

http://www.fotogalerie-thomas.de

In Dirk Thomas‘ gallery there are numerous high quality pictures showing different motifs. Among them there are lots of interesting photos of still producing or former German collieries. That is the reason why the link has been placed in this category. I can only recommend you to visit these pages – I have spent a long time there and it was a great pleasure for me to watch the pictures.

http://www.dneuhaus.de

I can really recommend you to visit this page - here you can find various pieces of information about the Ost colliery, how the mining in the Ruhr area developed from using tunnels to today's deep coal mining, etc.. Just everything about mining, a post office for Diddle online cards and many more.

http://www.karl-heupel.de

As the name shows us, this page is run by Karl Heupel from Germany. Here you can find various pieces of information about the mining industry in the most different regions - not only in Germany but all over Europe. Additionally there is a long list of collectors of mining related things like miners' lamps etc.. These collectors come from all over the world so that you can contact people from the region you are interested in - you really have to experience this page on your own.

http://www.dubtown.de

How can I describe the pages correctly ? It is nearly impossible, you just have to experience them. The page's owner shows lots (!) of good pictures from different collieries, coking plants, steel plants etc.. All photos are of a very high quality and create the certain "feeling" of Ruhr industry when looking at them. You must visit these pages ;-).

http://www.minister-achenbach.de

This is another domain named like a coal mine: The name is related to the former Minister Achenbach colliery in Luenen-Brambauer (Germany). On these pages you can find very good pieces of information about that special colliery with the corresponding facts and data, different more recently taken and ancient pictures - some of them were even taken during the sinking of the shafts. Additionally there is a description of the history of Victor-Ickern colliery in Castrop-Rauxel (Germany), of minerals in the Ruhr area, of the Ruhr area in general, the hobbies of the owner of the pages, a guestbook etc. - you really should not miss visiting this website !

http://www.bergwerk-donar.de

And yet another domain named like a colliery: This homepage is about the Donar colliery that is planned in the North of the city of Hamm (Germany). At the moment (03.03.2006) the page is still in preparation, so you should visit it from time to time to see what has changed.

http://www.victor-ickern.de

The next homepage with the name of a colliery: This time it is about the former Victor-Ickern colliery in the city of Castrop-Rauxel in Germany. You should really visit this page because there are lots of photos about the colliery's different shafts - old ones and newer ones, from underground and at the surface - everybody will find photos he or she was looking for !

http://www.bergwerk-lohberg.de

This is the fifth website that is named like a German colliery - more exactly like Lohberg colliery. Here you can find various pieces of information about the colliery's different shafts, including lots of photos and good explanations. Additionally you can hear different sounds from certain areas of Lohberg colliery, for example from the pit bank, the processing plant and the dressing rooms. At the moment (23.08.2007) this page is still under construction, so you should visit it from time to time to see the changes.

http://www.zechewestfalen.de

This is the homepage of a community that plans how the area of the former Westfalen colliery in the city of Ahlen (Germany) can be used for another purpose and realizes this project, as well. In addition to information about actual and for potential tenants there is an overview of the area including the slagheap. The visitors receive data and facts about the company and the history of Westfalen colliery is presented, as well. I want to draw your attention to the museum about Westfalen colliery's underground fire brigade that makes it possible for the visitors to learn more about the equipment of the rescuers.

http://www.niederberg.de.tl

As the name says, this website is dedicated to the former Niederberg colliery in the city of Neukirchen-Vluyn in Germany. This page is very attractive: In addition to numerous (!) and interesting photos, the page’s owner presents and describes ancient documents, drawings, invitations, the questions of the face workers’ exam from 1977, the colliery’s history and lots of different other things. This website is really worth visiting, because it is very well done.

http://www.lostareas.de

The name tells us a lot about the pages' content: They are about abandoned industrial places. Some of these photographically well documented areas are former collieries in the Ruhr area, but there are others like ancient production plants and railway tracks, as well. Partially - if needed - the photos are explained. The pages are really worth visiting them.

http://www.zechensuche.de

As you can see on my pages, I prefer a vivid German hard coal mining industry. But nevertheless the content of this page is more than interesting: The owner visited the entire Ruhr area and looked for remains of former collieries, took photos of them and publishes them on the web. Buildings, Protego caps, covers of ancient shafts and gates of collieries that have been closed several decades ago - all these things can be found here. You really should not miss visiting this page !

http://homepage.mac.com/keesdejong1/

This is the page of a man from the Netherlands, but it contains lots of photos of German collieries, so that I place the link here. The pictures mentioned before are very interesting and they show different former collieries in the Ruhr area, but also other abandoned places like train stations, factories etc. in the Netherlands, in Belgium and in Germany. Additionally a very remarkable sentence can be found on the pages saying “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footsteps !”

http://www.foerdergerueste.de

Have you ever heard about the former Tulipan colliery or the Iduna colliery or the Veltheim colliery in the Ruhr area ? You did not - take it easy, I did not, either. On these well designed pages there is a very large collection of ancient photos of shaft towers and collieries in the Ruhr area. You have to visit these pages - they are worth it !

http://www.abenteuer-ruhrpott.de.vu

On these pages Oliver Thol - he lives in the city of Duisburg in the Ruhr area - presents lots of different interesting aspects of that region in Germany. For example, you can find several photos from the Ruhr area and from different collieries, a gallery containing pictures of some collieries at night and additionally an underground tour is documented with photos.

http://www.finster-stahlart.de

http://www.scharwacht.de

http://www.kohlenpott.org

http://www.foerderturm-boenen.de

http://www.zeche-koenigsborn.de

This is the homepage of the foundation that has rebuiltKoenigsborn colliery’s former winding tower in such a way that it is today a location for events etc.. The foundation also takes care of the impressive tower now that most of the other preparations have been finished. In addition to data and facts about Koenigsborn colliery (Germany) and its different shafts you can find a virtual guided tour through the tower and various pieces of information about the foundation and its targets on these pages. In my eyes the efforts made by this community are really impressive !

http://www.hammerkopfturm.de.tl

After the tower in Boenen, this is the second winding tower with a website. Here the visitor gets different pieces of information about the history of the winding tower at shaft three of the former Erin colliery in the city of Castrop-Rauxel (Germany), there are numerous ancient and new photos, some videos, a collection of links and lots of other things to discover. A special gimmick is a pattern that be downloaded so that the winding tower can be made by the visitors.

http://www.ruhrgebietsbilder.de

http://www.gosny.net

http://www.schulzeelvert.de

http://www.industriekultur.info

http://www.industriedenkmal.de

http://www.industriekultur.de.vu

http://www.zeche-hugo.com