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First-hand Mining (Hi)story
Franz-Josef Möller and Jörg Thiesling explain why they became tour guides at Zollverein. Story by Anna Thelen, Zollverein Foundation.
Franz-Josef Möller: “Working in the mining industry was part of our family tradition - my grandfather, father and uncle went down to the face. That's why I also chose the safe option in 1974 and started working as a fitter at the Emscher-Lippe Colliery in Datteln. For the last 30 years, I have been responsible for staff development in the field of mining technology. After 41 years of mining I retired in 2015, but I couldn't really put mining behind me. Quite the contrary, I have always enjoyed working with people and knowledge transfer has always been a major part of my work. When my daughter told me that the Zollverein World Heritage Site was looking for tour guides for the Zollverein Monument Path, I applied. What fascinates me most about Zollverein is that as an “underground person” I am finally also able to explain the processes above ground. To learn this from the example of the Zollverein Coal Mine and to pass it on to visitors is very exciting.”
Jörg Thiesling: “I'm a miner from the bottom up - I've worked underground for 35 years. I started out as a miner at "Consol" and finally worked as a pit foreman at the Prosper Haniel Coal Mine, where I was responsible for the preparation of mining fields. Now I am in early retirement, but I still don't want to let go of mining. All the better that I now have the opportunity to give people interested in Zollverein an understanding of this topic with all its facets and long tradition. I would also like to share my personal experiences at the coal mine and I am sure that I will tell one or two “Döneken” (yarns). I've already had the opportunity to gather experience in public relations: at Prosper-Haniel, I accompanied one or two groups of visitors on a tour of the coal mine. It has always been nice to watch the effect on the visitors and their impressions."
Every year, up to 155,000 visitors take part in a guided tour of the Zollverein Monument Path. 110 tour guides, some of whom are former miners, explain in up to eight languages the history, functional principles and the change of the originally preserved buildings of the Zollverein Coal Mine and Coking Plant, which has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2001.
Taking a guided tour with a former miner is one of the best ways to explore Zollverein. On the Zollverein Monument Path, miners share their personal stories, anecdotes and facts about life and work in one of Europe's most significant mining sites.
