Reden Coal Mine

for almost 150 years, black gold has been unearthed at the Reden coal mine. One of the biggest mines in the Saarland, Reden employed nearly 8,000 miners in 1957 plus 450 workers in the colliery´s own coking plant. By the end of the 1980s, however, workforce had diminished to less than 3,000 men, and on December 29, 1995, the Reden mine was closed. On a walkabout of the premises, visitors have the opportunity to relive the different eras of mining in the Saar region with all its technical and social developments: workshops, machine shops, pithead baths, shaft head frames, a large slag heap, a settling pond, and contaminated brownfields all bear witness to the Reden coal mine´s eventful past. Since October 2007, the mining museum has been hosting an exhibition called Charbon - Kohle. On over 2,000 m² of exhibition space, it addresses the following themes: Landscape - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Carbon - Realistic Primeval Carbon Forest, Geology and Fossils of the Saarland, Man in the Era of Coal, Iron, and Steel Industries - Man Beyond, and History of the Reden Coal Mine. Filmmakers, most likely, will find the simulated carbon forest of particular interest, a bog forest with 12 metres tall tree giants and other plants, which create a spectacular scenery with a characteristic light and shadow play. In this forest, lifelike replicas of Carboniferous animals, such as dragonflies, sea scorpions, centipedes, and other amphibians move about. Animal noises and the perfume of swamp in warm and moist air contribute their part to making the carbon forest experience come alive for all senses