Halde Sundern, Artificial mountain in Pelkum district, Hamm, Germany

Halde Sundern is an artificial mountain in the Pelkum district built from mining waste materials. The site rises noticeably from the surrounding landscape and forms one of several such hills in the western part of the city.

Halde Sundern is the spoil heap of the Monopol colliery in Hamm-Pelkum, which closed at the end of September 2010. In its final decade the mined rock from the Monopol section of the Ost mine was hoisted at shaft Robert, loaded onto trains and tipped here. The heap has a capacity of 30 million tonnes and was still being built up in 2009, when it reached about 95 m above sea level, some 25 m above the surrounding land.

The name Sundernrücken refers to the ridge-like shape of the dump, which lies in the Pelkum district near the former Monopol colliery. The site is one of the mining dumps that shape the western Hamm landscape, and its ongoing tipping until 2020 means it remains a working industrial terrain rather than a public park.

The site is not currently open to public access as it remains an active dumping ground. You can observe the formation from surrounding areas and nearby vantage points without entering the restricted zone.

Engineers proposed converting this artificial hill into a hybrid energy facility that would combine pumped storage with wind turbines. This concept represents an attempt to repurpose former mining sites for renewable energy generation.