Black Gold - Find out the way of coal

The black gold from the ground has changed the Ruhr area. The way
the coal, from the colliery to the coking plant to the steelworks, was often at first
still long, later the processes were continuously optimized and the transport routes shortened. The RevierRoute Black Gold follows this path and takes visitors to important places of industrial history.

The starting location
The tour starts at the Zollern colliery in Dortmund, one of the most beautiful colliery facilities in the Ruhr area. The colliery is easily accessible by car, but much more difficult by public transport. The S4 stops in Dortmund-Marten.

start of the tour
The Zollern colliery offers a wonderful insight into the working world and the way of life of the miners above and below ground. The permanent exhibition in particular is very instructive. The highlight is the ascent to one of the shaft structures, from where you have a beautiful view of the colliery site and the surrounding area. A beautiful colliery settlement is right in front of the colliery gate. The bike tour then leads to junction 58 and then on past the Revierpark Wischlingen.

The Hansa coking plant
As an important intermediate destination, the Hansa coking plant should definitely be visited. Here the coal was further processed and refined into coke. Today, the compressor hall in particular inspires visitors, and there are also many cultural events of all kinds.

The Emscher way
The route leads south along the Emscher. Here the Emscher has already been lovingly renatured and has become an important habitat for flora and fauna. A slightly longer detour continues along the Emscher to Phoenix West, where the blast furnaces of the former steelworks can be viewed on the extraordinary Skywalk. The coke produced in the coking plant was used in the blast furnace as fuel and as a reducing agent in iron production.

 The Rhenish Donkey
 The route finally leads through the southwest of Dortmund to the Rheinisches Esel, a former railway line that has been converted into a cycle path. Coal and miners used to roll over the rails here, today it's the bicycles on the way down to Witten in the Ruhr Valley.
 Here, too, there is a slightly longer detour to the Nachtigall colliery. An old mining tunnel can be visited here. The circular mining trail through the beautiful Muttental is also very exciting. Otherwise, the Rhenish donkey leads uphill again in the direction of the Zollern colliery.

 Back to the starting point
From junction 18, the route continues along smaller paths to junction 58 and finally back to the work stop, the Zollern colliery in Dortmund.