Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord
February 22 2005
In between sessions here at EntwicklerCamp,
I am squeezing in a bit of local sightseeing. Yesterday, at the suggestion
of vowe's friend Haiko,
I drove west to Duisburg to visit Landschaftspark
Duisburg Nord. This
is a former iron ore blast furnace and mill, converted into a public park.
It's not the best time of year for a visit -- the trees are bare,
the grass is brown -- but it also made for a quiet sojourn.
The highlight of the visit was the climb to the top of the blast furnace.
I almost missed the staircase -- in the US, the entrance would have
been guarded by signs with legal disclaimers, kluged-in "safety"
precautions, and queues. Here, it was just a small narrow staircase,
that just kept going up and up and up. (Note: this picture is from
the one I was climbing across to the other one...same general idea)
It was definitely awe-inspiring to climb in and among the old blast furnace, walk along the abandoned rail tracks, and envision the mill operating at full steam. The view from the top was cool, too -- and a little scary, climing a staircase welded to the side of a steel skeleton.
There is some discussion in Chicago now of taking the old Acme Steel mill and doing something similar with it -- preserving the industrial age for those who never lived it. Having spent a few hours walking through the past, I am strongly behind the preservation thought -- it will be as enriching for our children as visiting log cabins and archeological digs was for us.
I shot a whole roll of black-and-white film while there, in addition to some color and digital -- I'll be posting a full album in the next few days.
Post a Comment
- 2
Philip Storry http://www.not-so-rapid.com | 2/22/2005 7:27:56 AM
A pit museum? Luxury! We didn't have pit museums in my day...
When I were a lad, if we wanted to go to a pit museum, first we had to build a pit. Then we had to run it for a while, kick-starting our very own industrial revolution. It were 'ard work, I can tell yer.
Then, when yer pit 'ad run for a while - not too long, just a few decades - you 'ad to go and invent something to replace t't coal with. Natural gas were popular. Or oil! Or them fancy glow-in-t't-dark newclear thingies. I never did understand those...
Anyway, you 'ad to ruin your own industry. Throw away everything you'd worked at for decades! Me mam were furious! She never forgave me!
Then, after a few riots from yer workers, mass redundancies, and a decade or two o' neglect, you could get a lottery grant and do t't pit up like.
THEN you can have yer pit museum.
It were worth it, though. Best day out I'd 'ad for aaages...
;-)
- 3
Stephan H. Wissel http://www.wissel.net | 2/22/2005 9:07:53 AM
Hi Ed,
are u hanging around in Germany after the camp? I'm on my way to Munich. Any chances our ways would cross?
;-) stw
- 4
Tim Latta | 2/22/2005 9:53:20 AM
Of course you could always take a closeby trip to the south side of hometown Chicago to the Museum of Science and Industry if coal mine is on your agenda. Somehow, it was much more exciting as a child than I've experienced as an adult in recent years.
- 5
Ulrich "eknori" Krause http://www.eknori.de | 2/22/2005 10:24:18 AM
Hi Ed,
thank you for visiting my hometown. ;-)Hope that you enjoy your stay in Germany. Here are some impressions for a meeting with some members of the german Notes Forum ( www.atnotes.de ) in 2004. We visited "Zeche Zollverein" and the "Deutsche Bergbaumuseum" ( pit museum ) in Essen and Bochum. ( { Link } ) Since 2001 "Zeche Zollverein" belongs to the UNESCO world heritage ( { Link } )
- 6
Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/22/2005 12:35:09 PM
@3 - I am going to Munich tomorrow morning, will be there until Sunday. I'm speaking at Edcom's event (www.edcom.de). Send me mail ed@edbrill.com ...
Looks interesting.
If you ever get a chance when in the UK, we have a Coal Mine museum that's well worth a visit if you feel like finding out what life down a pit was like.