Saar Polygon, Steel monument on Duhamel spoil tip in Ensdorf, Germany.
Saar Polygon is a steel monument on a former spoil tip in Ensdorf, Germany, with two slanting towers connected by a bridge at 30 meters height. The two pillars lean in opposite directions and form changing geometric shapes depending on where the viewer stands.
The structure was unveiled in 2016 to remember more than 250 years of coal mining in Saarland after the last pit closed in 2012. Berlin architects Katja Pfeiffer and Oliver Sachse won the competition organized by the Bergbauerbe Saar association.
The name refers to the structure's plan, which forms a "Z" and reads as a non-planar polygon, so it shows a different outline from every direction: rectangular arch, triangle, cross with a bar. Donors paid 1000 euros to symbolically buy a step inside, and each carries a plaque with the donor's name.
The climb follows 132 steps that lead to the viewing platform and offer a wide view over the Saar Valley reaching into France and Luxembourg. The path to the top is open without charge but requires steady footing and reasonable fitness for the stairs.
The viewing platform alone weighs around 60 tons, while the whole steel lattice reaches 27.55 metres. In 2022 a maths problem about the Saar Polygon appeared in the Abitur exams of several German states, including Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
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