In a time when the air above the Ruhr area was still gray and dusty, the spoil tips appeared as living beings of fluctuating size. Deposits alternated with excavations when the "mountains," the unusable material from the depths, were needed for construction purposes. The Rheinelbe spoil tip in the Gelsenkirchen district of Ückendorf only took on its final shape in 1999, even though its original source, the Rheinelbe coal mine, had already been closed in 1928 during turbulent times of oversupply.
There are still architectural traces of this; a total of four old mining buildings remain as an ensemble. The structural change is especially reflected in the conference hotel in the former machine hall. The winding tower, chimneys, bottling facilities, and the railway harp for transporting the coal have long since disappeared. A landscape has emerged on the spoil site that was initially left to its own devices. Over the years, an "industrial nature" grew up with birch forests, shrub-covered debris fields, and barren quarry surfaces. Numerous plant and animal species can again be found here.
Cobblestone paths today lead across the expansive grounds of the Rheinelbe forestry station, which operates as a project of the state enterprise for the preservation and mediation of industrial nature areas. The idea originated – as with many other industrial culture projects in the Ruhr area – during the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscherpark from 1989 to 1999. Landscape artist Herman Prigann was invited at that time to create something new from the remnants of the industrial age. The work on the Rheinelbe site became Prigann's largest project. The artist from Recklinghausen created the Rheinelbe Sculpture Forest between 1996 and 2005 with several installations. Mostly works that at first glance appear like remnants of industry.
Separated from the Sculpture Forest only by the Emscherpark bicycle path, the spoil tip rises. The barren summit is reached via the spiral path, with the final meters ascending via a concrete staircase that forms the "Heavenly Ladder," created by Prigann in 1999 from 35 large concrete blocks. The wide view from an artificial mountain to a natural one is unique: the 84-meter-high Mechtenberg in Essen is within sight.
Note for visitors: It takes about 15 minutes on foot from the bus stop Halfmannsweg to reach the summit of the spoil tip.
