Trainingsbergwerk Recklinghausen

Useful Information

Location:	Wanner Str. 30, 45661 Recklinghausen. (51.5618381, 7.1818468)
Open:	Tours are offered all year. See online booking for exacta dates and times. Online booking mandatory. [2026]
Fee:	Schnupperführung: Adults EUR 17, Children (0-16) EUR 15. Aktivführung: Adults EUR 22, Children (0-16) EUR 17. Erlebnisführung: Adults EUR 26, Children (0-16) EUR 24. Lok und Aktiv: Adults EUR 28, Children (0-16) EUR 22. [2026]
Classification:	Coal Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	L=1,400 m.
Guided tours:	Schnupperführung: D=2 h. Aktivführung: D=3 h. Erlebnisführung: D=3 h. Lok und Aktiv: D=3 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Trainingsbergwerk Recklinghausen e.V., Wanner Str. 30, 45661 Recklinghausen, Tel: +49-2361-3038910. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1869	waste rock from the shafts of the Recklinghausen I & II collieries is dumped on Wanner Straße.
The Second World War	air-raid shelter for the miners is built in the spoil heap.
1975	used as a training mine.
2018	End of hard coal mining in Germany, end of its use as a training mine for miners.
2018	Guided tours of the training mine organised by the Trainingsbergwerk e.V. association.

Geology

As this is a mine replica there is no geological background.

Description

Trainingsbergwerk Recklinghausen (Recklinghausen Training Mine) is a rather odd name for a show mine, training mines were originally run by mining companies to train miners. We have listed several that were later converted into show mines, which makes sense, as the mine is designed to illustrate working life as comprehensively as possible within a small space. And indeed, this mine was used to train miners from 1975 until the end of coal mining in Germany in 2018. Specialist knowledge was also taught here, for example on the mine rescue training course. Here, the rescue of people under difficult conditions was simulated. At the same time, there was an office building in front of the tunnel where 44 mining-specific training courses were offered for skilled workers and technicians, including IT training. With the end of mining operations, miners are no longer needed, and training has shifted to post-mining professions, such as industrial clerks and environmental technologists. Nevertheless, to this day, RAG trainees still visit the Recklinghausen training mine as part of their introduction. RAG had already been using the mine not only for training and further education purposes, but also as a venue and marketing tool, devotions and church services were held at the statue of Saint Barbara. Nevertheless, its use changed dramatically in 2018: as a show mine, it began offering guided tours of varying lengths and levels of detail, there are now a multitude of underground events, an escape room, and, since 2022, the training mine has also been an official wedding location for the city of Recklinghausen. Furthermore, it is now a stop on the Route of Industrial Culture.

But it gets even stranger, because this mine isn’t actually a mine. It is, in fact, a spoil heap that has since become overgrown with woodland. It was built up from 1869 onwards, but is rather unspectacular compared to other spoil heaps. The tunnel was not built until the Second World War as the air raid shelter ‘Wanner Straße’ tunnel bunker. Presumably because the compacted loose material was easier to work with than natural rock, and also because access was at ground level. It provided space for over 900 people, mainly miners and residents of the Dreieck housing estate. It was also equipped as a military hospital, infirmary and maternity ward, and was regarded by the local population as particularly safe. After the war, it was abandoned and began to fall into disrepair until it was converted into a training mine by RAG in 1975.

In principle, a training mine incorporates all aspects of actual mining within a very small space, even if these are not technically necessary. The drifts were fitted with various types of support, including steel profile support in various technical variations, as well as timber support and hydraulic shield support. Three different longwall faces were set up, equipped with a roller shearer, a planer, a mining hammer and a face conveyor. Three tunnel drives, a shaft and all the infrastructure systems, such as power supply and ventilation, are also in place. All types of mine railways – mine bicycles, power trolleys and diesel trolleys – and even a monorail suspension railway can be found here.

What is particularly remarkable here is that, despite relatively low visitor numbers, a wide variety of tours are on offer. Most involve operating working machinery, one takes place in the dark, using only miners headlamps. One also includes a ride on the mine railway. This is actually quite obvious, as the training mine offers ideal conditions for this. Anyone wishing to take a ‘normal’ guided tour should opt for the Schnupperführung (taster tour), all the others are more challenging. In addition, there are a wide variety of themed tours, such as the Halloween horror tour. Please also note that children under the age of 8 may only be brought along on the standard tours by prior arrangement. However, there is a special children’s birthday tour with a treasure hunt, please enquire about the minimum age for this as well.