Glückaufpark Hassel – Park of Change
From the former Hassel coking plant to a new paradise for animals and plants
Green pipelines and strange steel containers mark the entrance to one of the youngest local recreation areas in the Ruhr area. It is located in Hassel, one of the northernmost districts of Gelsenkirchen near the city limits of Herten. The green hills, overgrown with numerous wild flowers that bloom in summer, and the lake hardly give any indication of what used to be here. For almost 50 years, the area was under the influence of a central coking plant with a large coke oven battery with over 250 ovens and the neighboring hard coal power plant. They all belonged to the Westerholt colliery on the other side of the city limits, which was shut down in 2008 as the "Lippe mine".
The heart of the Hassel coking plant can be seen in the historic aerial photograph from the early 1980s. The coke ovens, gasometers, the heap in the foreground and the power plant behind the railway facilities with the numerous freight cars are clearly visible.