Industrial Nature at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin

Industrial Nature is a concept that originated in Germany – particularly with the deindustrialisation of the Ruhr (Zollverein for example is a good example of such a site). The term refers to three things – the revegetation of industrial sites by native species, the colonisation of industrial sites (working or abandoned) by species adapted to the new environment created by industry and the deliberate plantings on industrialised sites.

The Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Technical Museum) at the former locomotive workshops and goods yard (Anhalter Güterbahnhof) of Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company. The workshops were closed in 1952 but it is not clear when the goods yard was closed. The Museum began using the site in 1987 – naturally it houses a display of railway locomotives and associated items.

There are two roundhouses around two turntables and if you look at Google Maps you can see gaps in one of the roundhouses which are described as follows

“A group of three overgrown tracks in the first engine shed provide a reminder that the site lay abandoned for thirty years. The plants growing here include the Mahaleb cherry (normally a Mediterranean plant), giant knotweed (a native of Siberia) and the medicinal herbs evening primrose and lady’s mantle.”

This is what they were talking about - the abandoned tracks have been colonised.

Below is another example of a ruined building next to the roundhouse simply being left for nature to colonise.

This is a interesting management technique one that could meet both industrial and nature conservation goals without the “prettying up” of sites that often occurs.

The Museum also preserves trains – this is an example of the V-200 class of diesel hydraulic locomotives in service from 1957 to 1984 and cosmetically restored.

Germany’s Industrial Heritage

One of the advantages of my work is that I get to go to some interesting places. This time Jane and I are going to the TICCHI conference in Freiberg and we have spend the last three days in the Ruhr Valley looking at some industrial sites and museums.

This is a view along one side of a truly huge bank of coke ovens at the Coke works which is part of the Zollverein Word Heritage Site near Essen. The coke works are relatively modern (1958 & 1961)but their size and scale is huge – quite different from the ones I worked on at Bowen.

The view is taken from the cafe where a nice meal and a beef can be had – imagine that on an Australian site.

Zollverein itself consists of the Coke works and two colliery shafts. The main shaft Shaft 12 was constructed between 1928 and 1932 to consolidate a number of other coal pits. The headframe and colliery buildings were designed by some famous architects and so the interpretation has tended to focus on the colliery design rather than anything else. Curiously for a World Heritage site the interpretation is mostly in German. I wouldn't have an issue with this except this is a world heritage site and presumably the visitors might come from the world.

This is the headframe and shaft buildings which are quite stark. I am not sure whether they were always that way or whether this is a result of conservation management.

This is the headframe of Shaft 1/2/8 taken from an elevated conveyor (now a a walkway) over railway sidings. Thee green are trees planted or self sown since the site stopped working. This is a modern headframe on a site that was operating from (supposedly)the 1840’s.