White lights pulse in the distance. A beam breaks through the twilight, moments later: Nothing. On, off; on off. Signs point far over the scenery of the eastern Ruhr area.
At the peak of "Halde Großes Holz", the "Impulse" stands like a signpost. It is a work by the Cologne artist brothers Maik and Dirk Löbbert. At the same time an attraction, landmark, and memorial: The 33-meter tall light sculpture symbolizes the future with 14,400 radiant LED lights. The transition from fossil to renewable energy; from a mining to a progressive region. This is what visitors have in mind when they see the light giant on Adener Höhe, the peak of the "Bergkamener Alps".
Although the light giant is not a relic from mining days, it reminds of hard work. Miners toiled here in the Monopol and Haus Aden pits. The extracted material for the 140-hectare dump, where the sculpture has been shining since the year of the European Capital of Culture – 147 meters above sea level, the highest point of Bergkamen, comes from here.
The most exciting way to this viewpoint leads through the corridor park opened in 2009. An artificially created gem with plant and flower splendor. The view stretches over Unna and the Dortmund skyline. A three-kilometer-long serpentine winds its way past meadows, grasses, and fields. Nine blue "lighthouses" along the route catch the eye, even in the dark, steel and plexiglass shimmer. They continue the "Blue Ribbon" of Bergkamen, an artificial watercourse with blue tile mosaics, which connects the pedestrian zone with the town hall district.
Blue frequently appears on the dump: In the beds grow snake heads, ox tongues, perovskites, and lavender. The observation platform "Bastion" is surrounded by stone baskets filled with blue glass. To the north of the dump, needle-like green dominates: Nature-loving visitors should head to the tree plateau with pines and conifers. There used to be a forest here before the dump, called Großes Holz. Not far away lie the Datteln-Hamm Canal, a mountain bike trail, and the nature reserve Beversee. From below, there is only the view back. The light giant still shows the way.
