BERGBAUMUSEUM IBBENBÜREN

Mining has a long tradition in the Tecklenburg Land. Ancient documents mention the use of Ibbenbüren coal about 500 years ago. What initially started with excavations in the neighborhood went on through the centuries with tunnels and shafts. Until the end of 2018, the mining company concentrated its coal production on the valuable anthracite seams that lay at a depth of 1,300 to 1,600 m, representing the deepest coal mine in the world. The mining museum is located on the former factory site.

                  Documentation

The museum's main hall, a former power plant hall, displays witnesses to mining activities from two centuries: machinery, appliances and equipment that supported the miner in his often dangerous work.

Adjacent rooms have written sources and images, traditional costumes and uniforms, models and miner's lamps, minerals and fossils, mining handicrafts, as well as sculptures and paintings. Historical ore mining and further regionela mineral treasures are also presented. Reports of mining festivals of past decades complete the picture.

                  Fascination

Countless machines and tools have retained their functionality. They are set in motion by the museum staff and exude an atmosphere of days gone by. In this sense, the huge steam reel protected as a monument always shows its best form, even though it was more than 100 years old. Every museum visitor can lend a hand upon request and get a very personal impression of the miner's working world with the help of a demolition hammer, hammer drill or other working tools.

                  Ibbenbüren anthracite

Anthracite occupies a special position among hard coals with high heat and luster. From the very beginning it was a sought-after raw material and fuel for industry and domestic use.

Decorated fireplaces were the warm centerpiece of the home in the past. At the Mining Museum, in addition to a presentation of types of anthracite, visitors will find a small fireplace parade. Each one is an ornament.

                  Coal planer and shield ...

... form the basis of modern, mechanical coal mining. The extensive collection of exhibits shows the historical development of this extraction system from its beginnings to the 1980s.

                  Fossils and minerals

As a witness to long-lost worlds, the museum presents a wide range of fossils from the mine and about the geologically diverse area between Ems and Weser. The exhibition

ranges from 300 million-year-old plant imprints to tertiary shark teeth. Especially

The replica of a dinosaur found in copper shale from Ibbenbüren is worth seeing. The mineral collection is also impressive for its variety of colors and crystal shapes.

                  Mining art

Motifs about mining have always been found in painting. The museum has a rich selection of paintings and photographs from mining life. Changing exhibitions, which interpret the mining theme from the artist's point of view, complete the offer.

Film: "Danke Kumpel," 2018

www.rag-anthrazit-ibbenbueren.de/bergwerk/film-danke-kumpel/

(Source: Bergbaumuseum Ibbenbüren)