Wales
Thanks to Blaenavon Ironworks and the Big Pit coal mine, a Welsh, once modest village became one of the key players in the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.
Industrial Heritage
Discover Europe's rich industrial heritage with a journey through its historic sites. From towering steel mills to repurposed factories, explore the monuments to innovation and the legacy of the Industrial Revolution.
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United Kingdom
The cradle of the industrial revolution is in Ironbridge, England. Reason enough to visit the village, which owes its name to the first cast iron bridge in the world, built in 1779 over the Severn River.
Wales
This old slate factory in Wales has been unemployed for a century and a half. Slate was only produced for 15 years, a commercial failure in 1850.
Wales
A cable car from 1927 is the only reminder of the Cwym Bychan copper mine in Wales.
Wales
Former miner Glyn Roberts takes us on a tour of Tower Colliery, the coal mine where he worked since the 1960s. He saw one mine after another close in South Wales, and in 1994, the death bells also sounded over Tower Colliery.
Nordrhein-Westfalen
This 240-meter-long and 12-meter-high massive block of concrete once formed the storehouse with ores and coal for the Schalker Verein steel factory.
Ruhr Area
The ruins of the switch building are part of the demolished Schalker Verein steel factory in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Ruhr Area
In 1993, the Kokerei Zollverein coking plant was at the end of its rope: the steel crisis of the 1990s caused the demand for coke to melt away.
Ruhr Area
In the 19th century, the tentacles of the Walloon coal industry in Belgium reached deep into the German Ruhr area.
Ruhr Area
Three striking headframes from three different eras stand in the German Ewald coal mine, which closed its doors in 2000.
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On the occasion of International Art Nouveau Day, celebrated each year on June 10, a look at how this ornate architectural movement found its way into the most unlikely of places like coal mines, power stations, and railway yards and the long, sometimes heartbreaking battles to save what remains.
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