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Friedrich Thyssen colliery

Friedrich Thyssen colliery

The last remnant of Friedrich Thyssen's coal mine

The steel headframe is all that remains of the Thyssens' mining empire in the German town of Duisburg.

At the end of the nineteenth century, August Thyssen and his brother Josef, both descendants of the famous Thyssen family, were eager to produce their own coal and process it into coke as fuel for their blast furnaces. That is why they acquired an increasing share in the 'Gewerkschaft Deutscher Kaiser' coal mine in Duisburg from the 1880s onwards.

Thyssen's mining empire was renamed Zeche Friedrich Thyssen in 1926, a tribute to their father, Thyssen, who founded the steel company named after him. The coal mine was expanded with coke ovens and mine sites throughout Hamborn, a sub-municipality of Duisburg. However, in 1976, Zeche Friedrich Thyssen's was closed down.

Last remnant

The handful of coal mines of the Thyssens have entirely disappeared and are only preserved in photographs. Only in a park where the mine headquarters 1/6 was located will you still find one relic: the steel mine shaft built between 1903 and 1908.

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