People, Mining and Museum
The permanent exhibition in the historic administration building tells the story of the Zollern colliery against the backdrop of technical, economic and political developments.
The exhibition spans the period from construction of the ‘model colliery,’ opened in 1902, to the history of its operation, including topics such as war and forced labour, and its conversion into an industrial museum. Among the outstanding exhibits are pieces of a historic model of the Zollern Colliery (originally made for the 1905 World's Fair in Liège) depicting the machine hall, shaft hall and winding tower.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors encounter photographs and interviews with people who worked at the Zollern Colliery over the past 100 years and helped shape the fortunes of the business – whether as directors, miners, haulers or forced labourers during the war years. The upper floor features an impressive display of 400 personnel cards belonging to forced labourers at Zollern.
As a ‘walkable landmark’, the historic administration building is fully accessible on both floors. During renovation and redesign, the former uses of the building, which contained offices as well as washrooms for the foremen, were kept visible. Thus, traces of paint are on the walls, tiled walls, shower heads and washbasins. The magnificent reception hall now shines again in its original colours.
Two-sense principle
With a floor guidance system, tactile lettering and objects, numerous audio stations and wheelchair-accessible display cases, the permanent exhibition is designed to be inclusive for visually impaired and mobility-impaired visitors.