LWL Industry Museum Mine Nachtigall

The LWL Industry Museum Mine Nachtigall is an open-air coal mining museum in Witten with accessible tunnels, a machine house, and preserved extraction equipment. The site demonstrates the layered extraction process and the machinery miners used daily.

Horizontal galleries were dug into this site over 300 years ago as surface-level mining began. The shift to deeper vertical shafts like the Neptun shaft in 1832 marked a major change in mining technology.

The place reveals how coal mining shaped daily life and work in the region for generations. Visitors can observe the physical traces of this industry woven into the local landscape and settlement patterns.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and accessible via Nachtigallstraße. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since the site tour involves several changes in elevation.

From 1829, the Muttenthalbahn was one of Europe's earliest railways and used horses to haul coal from here to factories along the Wupper and Ennepe rivers. This line pioneered early rail transport in the region.

Location: Witten

Inception: 2003

Founders: Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe

Official opening: 2003

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible

Operator: Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe

Part of: LWL-Industriemuseum, Route of Industrial Heritage – Early Industrialization, Route der Industriekultur – Geschichte und Gegenwart der Ruhr, Itinero de la Industrikulturo – Kanaloj kaj Ŝiptrafiko, Route der Industriekultur – Bahnen im Revier, Route der Industriekultur – Westfälische Bergbauroute, Route der Industriekultur – Mythos Ruhrgebiet, Route der Industriekultur – Industrienatur, Märkische Straße Technischer Kulturdenkmäler

Address: Nachtigallstraße 35, 58452 Witten

Phone: +492302936640

Email: zeche-nachtigall@lwl.org

Website: https://lwl.org/industriemuseum/standorte/zeche-nachtigall

GPS coordinates: 51.42890,7.31340

Latest update: December 11, 2025 11:09