Germany Halde Rheinelbe

The Rheinelbe slag heap is located in Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf. The mine of the same name was closed in 1928. Until 1974, the heap was used by other mines, then revegetated in the late 1970s. The heap is burning inside. Stored coal residues had spontaneously ignited due to an unintentional supply of oxygen. The smoldering fire in the heap has not yet been extinguished. At the top of the heap is the so-called Spiralberg, a piled-up cone with spiral paths. On the Spiralberg, approximately 100 meters above the ground, the artist Herman Priegann created a sculpture from former mine debris, accessible via a concrete staircase. The entire artwork is called the Stairway to Heaven.

Parking: Leithestraße
(Hövelmannstr)
45886 Gelsenkirchen