CoalHeritage

Is this industrial culture or can it go? This is not only a question that arises in former German coal regions such as the Ruhr area, but is also becoming increasingly significant internationally. The CoalHeritage project therefore aims to protect the heritage of the coal era. Together, the partners from Greece, Poland, France, Slovenia and Germany want to build an interregional network that promotes the development of former mining regions. The results of the cooperation - such as business models and after-use concepts - are to be incorporated into the EU's Just Transition Plan.

The project will run until the summer of 2025 with funding from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). The complete project title is: „CoalHeritage – Conservation and promotion of the Coal Mining Heritage as Europe’s cultural legacy”.

Transition with strategy: The new network designs after-use concepts for regions where coal was once mined. The experience gained in the Ruhr area in dealing with industrial heritage is particularly helpful here. (Picture credits: Landschaftspark Nord, Duisburg © Thomas Berns)

Within the network, it is the role of the scientists from the FZN to develop strategies for the preservation of disused mines. Among other things, they are investigating the processes required to declare the former industrial sites as national cultural heritage. This includes identifying, inventorying and upgrading the assets of selected coal mines. The European partners benefit above all from Germany's extensive experience in dealing with industrial heritage.

In the next step, the network partners develop a visual map journal that bundles and documents the results. In the long term, this web-based geodatabase is to be integrated into the European Route of Industrial Heritage. In addition, the partners want to pass on the acquired knowledge in workshops. Overall, this should also motivate interest groups to visit the historic sites of coal mining and to engage with their preservation.