Industriedenkmalpflege und Industriekultur im Saarland

In June 2012, the coal mine Saar was closed down. It had been the last working coal mine of the RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG im Saarland. For over 200 years, coal mining has strongly influenced the history of the Saarland. However, the coal mining industry increasingly lacked local support and acceptance because of subsidence damages and constantly detoriating employment data, and it eventually lost its symbolic meaning among the population. The preservation of industrial monuments and industrial heritage is nowadays confronted with the challenge of raising historical awareness of the important role that mining and steel producing industries have played until recently in the region. The history of the preservation of industrial monuments in the Saarland and the latest measures undertaken to integrate monuments of mining and steel producing industries into sustainable concepts represent the focus of this article