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The Nordsternpark

The first successful attempt to drill for coal in 1840 marked a turning point in this highly industrial area. But it took another 27 years before mining began in 1867. The new mine in Gelsenkirchen was given a special name, "Nordstern" (lit: Northern Star), because it was the first pit north of the River Emscher. The name also documents the shift of coal mining to the north. A rail link to the colliery was built to connect it to the Cologne to Minden line (completed in 1847) at Altenessen, and after this there were scarcely any barriers to the growth of mining in the area and its effects on the landscape.

1952 marked the climax of a process of industrialisation in the Ruhrgebiet which had set in at the end of the 19th century with such huge force. In the early years the suburb of Horst underwent a huge population explosion. In 1895 there were only 5000 people living here, but by 1910 this had risen to over 20,000. There had been a corresponding rise in the number of housing estates during this period and this was clearly visible from the new network of right-angled streets. Industrialisation pressures meant that the natural course of the River Emscher to the Rhine had to be changed. Starting in 1906 it was straightened up and its banks were strengthened. A dense network of railway lines linked pits to other industrial plants. The Rhine-Herne canal opened in 1914, thereby giving the Nordstern colliery a cheap and convenient access to the waterways.

In 1928 the start of operations at the central coking plant design by the famous industrial architect Fritz Schupp gave a huge boost to industrial growth. Chemical industries developed hand-in-hand with the collieries. In 1939 the "Gelsenberg Benzin AG" became an important building block in the Nazis autarchy policies because it was unable to produce fuel from carbohydrates. After the Second World War the works operated as one of the refineries of the VEBA Oil company, but now on the basis of oil.

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