Oh dear – I am going to be the “party pooper” on this one! Everyone else has loved it. I thought it was “thin” on value and very poorly presented. Ok it is “big”. But so what? Perhaps the fact that I worked my whole career in heavy industry makes me less susceptible to seeing that as a “wow factor”. And a mine you can’t go down the shaft of?? Well it’s “neither use nor ornament” is it. Look at Blaenavon and Wieliczka.

When you arrive, finding out what you can do from among all the options is like pulling teeth. One thing you can be sure of – almost everything costs “extra”! The tours seem designed to ensure that you can’t go on 2 of them on the same afternoon – and they cost an arm and a leg. We decided to go to the Ruhr Museum as it seemed to be the ONLY way we could visit the viewing platform, and paid our 8 Euro pp. This also allowed one to go to an additional section titled the “Portal of Industrial Heritage”. This seemed to consist of a large stairwell in which models of industrial buildings were hanging, followed by a room containing some industrial photos leading to a circular “cinema” with a totally missable 360 degree “propaganda” movie showing happy Ruhrgebieters enjoying themselves cycling, walking etc in their transformed industrial landscape. Whilst we waited for the next showing we decided to fill the time by going up to the viewing platform which we had climbed closer to. Big mistake – the door out turned out to be “one way”, and the only way back was down “n” floors, along and back up “m” floors!

So, into the “Permanent Exhibition” of the Ruhr Museum situated in the “Washery”. Yes it was interesting if you wanted a general museum of the Ruhr and I certainly learned some things about the lives of the people there, but the linkage to Zollverein was only tangental. We also saw some nice carvings from Papua Niugini …… yes PNG!!! This regional museum contains a number of different collections and this aspect dated back to the days of “Kaiser-Wilhelmsland” when the German Empire reached as far as there. There was another exhibit containing some lovely fossils as well. But none of this was what I came for! The fact that it was situated in the “Washery” didn’t per se seem to add a great deal. Oh – I didn’t mention the “Special Exhibition” – another 6 euros. My only involvement with that was when I left the fossils on one floor to find a toilet – which was down the other end of the building on a different floor (The fossil “half floor” is the only one without a toilet!) I discovered that the “temporary exhibition” is inconveniently situated on the other half of the floor which is the same as that containing the fossils – so, unknowingly having gone down to it at the end with the toilets I discovered that one could not go through back to the fossils without the extra ticket (and the staff were rigid on this point!). So, back up a couple of floors – all the way along the building and back down again! German organization?

So – lets go around the site. First, we had to pass by the “artwork” which consisted of water cascading from a great height onto the floor – or onto any visitors who wished to don raincoats which were provided for that purpose and get soaked. Very “arty”! The main “Bauhaus” type buildings were certainly worth viewing – but externally there was absolutely NO explanation about them – Zollverein could usefully learn from its compatriot site at Volklingen where the signage of what the buildings were was infinitely better (as well as being a far better example of viewable preserved industrial heritage). The Boiler House has been turned into the “Red Dot Design Museum” – another 6 Euros! We didn’t bother. Interestingly we noted via some old photos of this complex in the shop that it used to contain a chimney on its central structure so, what one sees today, isn’t strictly “authentic” (photo). Next past the Casino Restaurant – very chic and upmarket – a dessert will cost 11 euros. It too has been converted from some previous use and various boilers etc dot the floor. Lunch was already over – we walked round but didn’t didn’t really find the ambience worth paying for even if the food might have been. On to the Coke Ovens – “the largest in Europe” but all fenced off unless you go on a tour (of which there were no more at this time anyway). At Volklingen there are 2 coke ovens of different eras which can wonder round and fully appreciate from all sides (and I have worked in a coke oven!) There was another “free” artwork of opaque meaning and worth (“Silence, Exile and Deceipt. An Industrial Pantomime”) which allows one into part of the structure - but to little benefit. By this time we were pretty fed up with the whole place and walked back to the car park past various office blocks which had been rented out to design companies or were still “to let”, and had a last look over the site from the viewing platform (our tickets were valid all day for multiple visits!!).

Well – you can take in the external views of Shaft 12 and the associated “iconic” buildings for free and, from what I have seen, that is what I would recommend. We didn’t of course go on the tours but I didn’t really want a lecture on coking etc anyway. This just seems to be a “day out” destination trading on its UNESCO credentials which are pretty hidden among all the associated “attractions”. I haven’t even mentioned the “Cultural workshops doing workshops on creative techniques”, the “Ceramic workshop”, the “printing workshop”, the “Sun Wheel” with 14 gondolas, the “Works Swimming pool”, the “Philharmonia Experience Field”, the “Ice Rink”………………. !! What has all this got to do with tangible heritage OUV? Don’t let me put you off if you prefer to follow the other reviews – but those were our feelings about the place.