In the days when the conveyor belts at Zweckel were running at full speed, the machine hall was known as a main electrical supply station. That’s because inside of the building, countless compressors, generators and converters generated compressed air and electrical energy for the whole mine. In addition, that’s where the pit fans were housed, which ensured fresh air supply to the pit buildings. Today, only a few technical systems are still preserved. But the building’s dimension gives visitors a good idea of how big the machinery pool at Zweckel mine once was. You can also marvel at an Ilgner converter in the main building as well as the two electrical hoisting machines from 1908 in the two wings. The two last-mentioned makes originate from the plants of AEG (electrical) and Thyssen & Co. (mechanical).

The mine produced the first coal in 1911. But another treasure was lying dormant in the depths of the earth that the miners discovered while they were sinking the shafts: a warm salt spring. And so a bathhouse was also built in 1928 which was extremely popular until it was shut down in 1950. In 1925, property rights of the Prussian mining tax authorities (Bergfiskus) were transferred to the newly founded state Bergwerks-AG Recklinghausen. Four years later, Zweckel mine worked in cooperation with the Scholven pit, where coal was produced starting in 1929. Shafts at Zweckel were used for lift cages, materials haulage and underground ventilation. In 1935, the state mining company Hibernia AG in Herne became the new owner of Zweckel mine. Ten years later, the mine operated independently again – coal was still produced at Scholven. At the end of 1951, another merger took place with the Scholven mine, which was decommissioned in 1963 together with the Zweckel mine. But shafts at Zweckel were still used: Until 1995, they served to retain water of the neighboring mines.