Dortmund

The machine hall with the colorfully glazed Art Nouveau portal is now considered an icon of industrial culture. It is thanks to this building that the entire complex was saved from demolition in the 1960s and industrial buildings achieved the status of monuments. ________________________________________________

The Zeche Zollern II/IV (translated: Zollern II/IV Colliery) is located in the northwestern suburb of Bövinghausen of Dortmund, Germany. The Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG projected Zollern in 1898 as a model colliery.

Ground up construction began in 1898 on a new site. Most of the buildings of the colliery were built in solid brickwork by the architect Paul Knobbe and were completed in 1904 with the central engine house, in which the most up-to-date generators and machinery used in the colliery were housed. The architecture and state-of-the-art technology support the transition from Gothic revival to Art Nouveau and the industrialization of the early 1900s.

Due to deadline pressure, the central engine house was built in iron framework construction with infilling of red brickwork, planned and executed by the Gutehoffnungshütte. The Art Nouveau styled main entrance was designed by the Berlin architect Bruno Möhring, it shows a lead glazing of blue, green and-glass. Counterpart of the main entrance is the big control board of polished marble in brass mounting, with a brass clock hanging from above. Other buildings on the site include administration bureaus, blacksmith's shop and carpenter's shop, first-aid and fire station with stable, pithead baths, tools store and the central gateway.

In 1969, three years after it closed down, the colliery was recognized as Germany's first technical building monument of international importance. Since 1981, it has been the headquarters of the Westphalian Industrial Museum. The museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage. ________________________________________________

Dortmund is the largest city in the Ruhr area. It has a population of 593,000 inhabitants, making it the eighth largest city in Germany. Dortmund was founded around 882. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, and the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League. During the Thirty Years' War, the city was destroyed and decreased in significance until the onset of industrialization. The city then became one of Germany's most important coal, steel and beer centres. The town expanded into a city, with the population rising from 57,742 in 1875 to 379,950 in 1905. Sprawling residential areas like the North, East, Union and Kreuz district sprang up in less than 10 years. Dortmund consequently was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II. The devastating bombing raids of 12 March 1945 destroyed 98% of buildings in the inner city center. These bombing raids, with more than 1,110 aircraft, hold the record to a single target in World War II. Post-war, most of the ancient buildings were not restored, and large parts of the city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. A few historic buildings as the main churches Reinoldikirche and Marienkirche were restored or rebuilt, and extensive parks and gardens were laid out. The simple but successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. ________________________________________________

After visiting the Ruhr area three years ago, I did a revisit, since there was still so much to see. In less than six days I visited six cities, two museums, and I did some extensive car spotting by bicycle. I have hundreds of car spots to share and took photos of the historic or interesting buildings.

The Ruhr area ('Ruhrgebiet') is named after the river that borders it to the south and is the largest urban area in Germany with over five million people. It is mostly known as a densely-populated industrial area. By 1850 there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke, used in blast furnaces, producing iron and steel. Because of the industrial significance, it had been a target from the start of the war, yet "the organized defences and the large amount of industrial pollutants produced a semi-permanent smog or industrial haze that hampered accurate bombing". During World War II, the industry and cities in the Ruhr area were heavily bombed. The combination of the lack of historic city centres, which were burned to ashes, (air) pollution, and urban decay has given the area and the cities a bad reputation.