As a geographer and artist, I have been examining coal mining and the steel and iron industry. I am interested in the history and the interplay between these branches of industry as well as their…
GO: Denise Ritter
Decommissioned
Sound installations with electroacoustic compositions are Denise Ritter’s (*1971 in Rodalben) profession. They are based on audio recordings of real acoustic situations like Field Recordings and Soundscapes, and oftentimes have strong locality associated with them. One of her focal points is the examination of (socio-)historic aspects and cultural landscapes of coal mining or the iron- and steelworks industry – especially in regard to individual and societal placing.
A topic more current than ever, now that Germany is set to say its final goodbyes to the mining industry in late 2018, when the last remaining coal mine in the Ruhr area will be shut down.To find out what happens to the identity of a region without its formerly defining structure, Ritter will interview people and landscapes of the Saarland, where the mining industry was shut down as early as 2012.
Neueste Posts:
Duhamelschacht
The Duhamel Pithead Stocks are the largest in the Saarland. They belong to the Duhamelschacht which is part of the Bergwerk Saar. It commenced operations in 1815 and remained the last in service in the…
Steinkohlen-Distrikt
Ein langes Treffen mit einem Geographen und Bergbau-Experten in Saarbrücken. Stundenlanges Wälzen unterschiedlich alter geologischer Karten und Bergbaukarten. Das Aufrollen der historischen Entwicklung des saarländischen Bergbaus – im Unterschied zur jenen im Ruhrgebiet. Die Frage…
1751 m Depth
In the Saar-Nahe mountains between Lebach and Saarwellingen lies the northern pit of Bergwerk Saar, the last active coal mine in the Saarland. With its 1751 meters, it was the deepest pit in all of…
Mine damage
In Lebach-Falscheid, right next to the Nordschacht, the tunnels extend for over 70 kilometres. The entire village has sunk three metres during the last decade, sometimes involving multiple earthquakes a week. Walking through the village,…
Kaffeeküche
In the Saarland, the mine canteens are called Kaffeeküche – literally Coffee Kitchen. They are a tiled mixture of canteen, pub, newsstand and corner shop, selling washing detergent and canned sausage among other things. After…
The world’s highest headframe
Around the Göttelborner Feld, coal mining can be traced back to the 15th century, with the Göttelborn Pit being one of the most important mines in the Saarland. In 2000, after more than one hundred…
Eternal burden
The Reden pit in Schiffweiler (1846/47) was one of the most important in the Saar-Lothringian mining district. Save the water retention, it was shut down in 1995. Today, next to five others, it is one…
New questions
Today is my last day researching for Ruhr Residence. But not the last day I will spend researching in the Saarland. Over the past weeks I got to meet and talk to geographers, mining experts,…