Whoever wants to go to heaven must rise high: This is shown by the sky staircase of the Halde Norddeutschland with its 359 steps. On the south side of the constructed mountain, it leads in the shortest distance to the peak of the hill, crossing several intermediate levels and making its way past trees, bushes, and debris. A slightly swaying walkway loosens the legs after the first of four staircases. However, no one here needs to be afraid of dizziness. The planks laid on the hill safely guide visitors over a constructed wetland with wild-growing reeds.
Upon reaching the top, it is done! After overcoming 52 meters of elevation, the heart of the mountain comes into view. The "Hallenhaus" towers over the backdrop of the Lower Rhine lowlands with its expansive meadows and fields, farms, and forests. The steel structure without a roof and walls is an architectural work of art that evokes associations with half-timbered farmhouses. The Dutch planning group Observatorium built it on the "Thingplatz" in 2006. The skeletal structure with a small prefabricated house is meant to be a symbol for the structural change in the region, along with the sky staircase, emphasizing the triad of history, nature, and industry.
From the Hallenhaus, visitors can take the panoramic path on the southeast side or one of the circular routes that lead to further viewpoints of the largest mountain heap in the Lower Rhine, covering about 90 hectares. The view to the north stops at the headgear of the Rossenray mine and at the Kamp monastery in Kamp-Lintfort. At the foot of the hill towards the west, the headframe and hoist of the former Friedrich Heinrich mine appear, of which the former shaft III was once called Norddeutschland and gave the heap its name. Since 2012, the shaft has long been closed; the construction of the mountain heap ended after almost 50 years in 2001.
Along the route, travelers on nice days encounter athletes and leisure seekers of all kinds. Mountain bikers race with their bikes over the downhill tracks and small side paths, paragliders launch from selected takeoff points for wind rides – the suitable paragliding school Niederrhein is only a few kilometers away. Colorful kites also find the right air up here during family outings, which only becomes noticeably tight for the joggers after the mountain run.
Those exploring the heap in the summer months will land on a weekend at a music festival. Then the plateau becomes the venue for the "Heaven & Hill Festival" or the "Dong Open Air." For the latter, even camping with a tent on the lawns is allowed. The Dong mountain, named so by locals due to the neighborhood "Dong," then unfolds its very own charms of the heap.
