Sprockhövel: Discover Mining History and Trails

Sprockhövel combines visible traces of coal mining with historic townscapes and trails along former railway lines. Around Niedersprockhövel, mining heritage and older buildings take center stage; the options also range from a cycling and hiking route about 19 kilometers long to a 57-kilometer circular route through several towns. When planning your stay, it is worth first considering whether local history, activity on a particular route, or both will shape your visit.

Mining Heritage and the Historic Town Center

The site of the Alte Haase mine, which closed in 1969, is home to the striking Malakow Tower and the adjoining Sprockhövel Industrial and Cultural Park. The tower is a prominent landmark of the area’s mining history. The historic center of Niedersprockhövel offers a different perspective: many buildings date from the 17th to 19th centuries, and some are listed as historic monuments. The Protestant church stands out for its Baroque cupola. Together, the mine site, older buildings and church offer different points of interest for anyone interested in the town’s history and architecture.

Another trace of mining is the Schachtpinge Max, a depression that can still be seen today beside a hiking trail in Schevener Holz, about 100 meters east of Schevener Straße. It formed when the former mine workings subsided. Schacht Max was a 111-meter-long, sloping shaft at the Stock und Scherenberg mine in the Mausegatt seam; coal was mined there between 1810 and 1840. The depression makes an earlier form of mining tangible through a specific feature of the landscape.

Cycling and Hiking Routes with Different Highlights

The Glückauf Trail is a popular walking and cycling route in Sprockhövel and Hattingen and is also known as the old coal railway. In Sprockhövel, the Alte Trasse follows a former railway line. It is about 19 kilometers long and designed as a family-friendly cycling and hiking route. The two trails offer different points of reference: the Glückauf Trail is known as an old coal railway and is used by walkers and cyclists, while the Alte Trasse is also notable for its approximate length and family-friendly design.

The Alte Haase Trail also links landscape and mining history, with its two sections passing through different locations. The first runs through the center of Niedersprockhövel and, immediately to its west, along the Hölter Egge ridge between the valleys of the Sprockhöveler Bach and Paasbach streams. The second runs south of the town center through the area where mining at the Alte Haase mine was concentrated between 1950 and 1965. The descriptions thus distinguish the ridge and stream valleys on the first section from the historic mining area on the second.

The Von Ruhr zur Ruhr circular route offers a longer option: it is 57 kilometers long, follows former railway lines and connects Hattingen, Sprockhövel, Gevelsberg, Wetter and Witten. Compared with the Alte Trasse, which is about 19 kilometers long, it is considerably longer and is explicitly described as a circular route. Its length and route type help distinguish the two options without treating their routes as the same.

The routes described differ in length, use and format, offering specific themes to guide your travel plans.

More Experiences in the Ennepe-Ruhr District

The wider Ennepe-Ruhr district also offers its own excursions and experiences. You can hike and jog at the Glörtalsperre reservoir, and during the warm summer months you can swim there in clean, natural water. In Ennepetal, the Kluterthöhle cave is designated a National Natural Monument and a National Geotope; fossils are exceptionally well preserved on its walls. Guided tours are offered several times a day, including physically challenging adventure tours on certain days. There is a fossil workshop and a cave visit for children’s groups.

Discover more destinations: Hattingen, Wetter, Witten, Herdecke, Ennepetal, Breckerfeld, Gevelsberg, Schwelm.

View the wider travel overview: Ennepe-Ruhr District.