Matenatunnel

The Matenatunnel is a 400-meter passage running beneath the ThyssenKrupp Steel Works with separate lanes for vehicles and pedestrians beneath the active industrial complex. The tunnel walls display original tiles and equipment from its operational years when it served as an active traffic route under the facility.

Built in 1912, the tunnel connected the districts of Bruckhausen and Alsum to facilitate movement through the expanding Thyssen industrial zone. Its construction was integral to the infrastructure that grew alongside the region's steel production expansion.

The tunnel gained recognition as a filming location for the German television series Tatort, where detective Horst Schimanski investigated cases during the 1980s. Visitors can still see original wall tiles and old tramway tracks that remain from that period.

The tunnel has been closed to traffic since 2013 and was filled with industrial slag material in 2017 to preserve its structure. Today it can only be viewed from outside or explored with professional guidance.

The passage follows a curved route that prevents direct sight lines from entrance to exit. This unusual shape was a practical solution to space constraints beneath the existing industrial facilities.