Former Bochum hard coal colliery whose surviving listed Malakowturm now houses the Medizinhistorische Sammlung of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Zeche Julius Philipp was a hard coal colliery in the Wiemelhausen district of Bochum, tracing its origins to the Julius-Philipp-Erbstollen first applied for in 1783 by the mine official Julius Philipp Heintzmann and brought into operation in February 1839 in the Lottental. In 1863 the drift colliery Julius Philipp Erbstollen was consolidated with the neighbouring Zeche Glücksburg and the concession area Friedrich II to form the new Zeche Julius Philipp. By 1873 the combined operation was extracting 80,000 tonnes of domestic and coking coal annually with 260 workers, making it one of the largest drift collieries in the Ruhr.
The transition to deep shaft operations began around 1873–75, and the surviving Malakowturm was erected over the new Schacht 1 in 1877. The colliery reached its peak of around 300,000 tonnes per year with 1,100 workers by the end of the nineteenth century. In 1904 the field was acquired by the Arenberg'sche Actiengesellschaft für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, which halted coal winding in 1905.
Surface structures were demolished in the 1920s, but the Malakowturm was retained as a ventilation shaft for Zeche Prinz Regent until 1962. It was listed as a protected monument in 1987 and taken over by the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in 1973, with the Institut für Medizinische Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin and its Medizinhistorische Sammlung of more than 10,000 items installed after conversion in 1989–90.
The earliest documented prospecting in what would become the Zeche Julius Philipp coalfield began in 1766, when a concession was sought for a seam formerly known as Alte Mißgunst. In 1767 approval was given for the driving of a deep level, the neuer Glücksburger Stollen. In 1783 the mining overseer Chr.
M. Friedrich applied for the Julius-Philipp-Erbstollen in the Lottental, named after the Prussian mining official Julius Philipp Heintzmann (1745–1794), but the application was initially refused by the mining authority. A fresh application was lodged in 1833, and on 30 July 1838 the concession areas Dicker Michael and Mathildenglück together with the Erbstollengerechtigkeit were formally granted. In February 1839 the Julius-Philipp-Erbstollen was brought into operation from the Stiepeler Bach, driving northwards over a total length of approximately 1,200–1,251 metres.
A horse-drawn tramway connection was laid to join the existing tramway of Zeche Glücksburg leading to the Ruhr, where a coal depot was maintained. Production from the Erbstollen commenced in 1842. By 1847 between 32 and 58 workers were employed, and by 1850 annual output was 13,109 tonnes.
The stollen reached its greatest recorded output of around 90,085 Prussian tonnes in 1855 with 116 workers. By 1860 the coal reserves above the stollen floor were exhausted; the Egmont Erbstollen of the neighbouring Zeche Glücksburg had by that point driven into the field from the west and provided access to deeper reserves. Recognising the interdependence of the two operations, the Gewerkschaft Julius Philipp consolidated with the Gewerkschaft Glücksburg and the concession area Friedrich II in 1863 to form the Zeche Julius Philipp.
The old shafts of Glücksburg — Schacht Anna and Schacht Heintzmann — became the winding shafts of the new combined colliery. The Schacht Anna at Eichenweg had been sunk in 1855 and taken into production in 1856 with a steam winding engine; the ventilation and access shaft Christine had followed in 1857, and the seigere Schacht Heintzmann was sunk in 1860 and began production in 1861. By 1869 the colliery had its own railway connection, a narrow-gauge horse tramway running 3 km to the Bahnhof Laer of the Bergisch-Märkischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft; the route serves today as a footpath.
The colliery mined domestic and coking coal and operated 50 coke ovens. Shortly after the consolidation the Zeche Gottes Segen was also incorporated, extending the combined field across large parts of Wiemelhausen and Querenburg. By 1873 output had reached a maximum of 77,993–80,000 tonnes from a workforce of 260, making Zeche Julius Philipp one of the largest drift collieries in the Ruhr at that date.
The Gewerkschaft der Zeche Julius Philipp was among the founding members of the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Kohlen-Syndikat. As the coal reserves above the stollen levels approached exhaustion, the transition to deep shaft working was begun around 1873. Tiefbauschacht 1 (later Schacht I) was sunk from 1874 and the transition to deep working completed around 1875.
Over this shaft the Malakowturm was erected in 1877, built to allow extraction from a depth of approximately 670 m; coal winding from the new shaft commenced approximately three years after its completion. A second shaft (Schacht II, also used as a ventilation shaft) was sunk in 1885 to become the main winding shaft, and a further ventilation shaft was added in 1891 alongside the Malakowturm. The colliery also received a coke works and a briquette factory during the later period of development.
Around 1900 the surface installations were renewed despite disappointing exploration results in the fourth underground level; a new winding engine with an iron headframe was erected over Schacht II, together with a new coal preparation plant and briquette factory. At this time around 1,000 miners were producing over 300,000 tonnes of coal annually. Maximum output of approximately 300,000 tonnes and maximum employment of 1,100–1,153 workers were reached at the end of the nineteenth century.
The extraction of coal on Schacht Anna and Christine was halted in 1878; Schacht Heintzmann continued as a ventilation shaft for Zeche Julius Philipp until 1892. In 1904 the entire coalfield was purchased by the Arenberg'sche Actiengesellschaft für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, who retained the shafts in use but halted coal winding in 1905, preferring the commercial benefit of the Kohlensyndikat quota over active production. This closure was part of the first widespread wave of colliery closures across the Ruhr following the turn of the century, and many Wiemelhausen miners were left to seek work elsewhere.
The surface installations of Zeche Julius Philipp were demolished in the 1920s; the Tiefbauschacht (Julius Philipp Schacht 1) was backfilled in 1926. Only the Malakowturm of 1877 over Schacht I was left standing. After its last operational function as a ventilation shaft for Zeche Prinz Regent ended in 1962, the tower stood unused and deteriorating.
Following a call to preserve the structure published in the journal Bauwelt in 1969, the Ruhr-Universität Bochum took over the tower in 1973 as part of industrial heritage rescue measures. The tower was listed as a Denkmal in 1987. Between 1989 and 1990 the tower was carefully converted to house the Institut für Geschichte der Medizin and the Medizinhistorische Sammlung of the Ruhr-Universität, which opened in 1990 to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the university.
In 2005, following the appointment of Professor Jochen Vollmann, the institute was enlarged and renamed the Institut für Medizinische Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin. The Medizinhistorische Sammlung today numbers more than 10,000 individual items. The Malakowturm of Zeche Julius Philipp is one of fourteen surviving Malakowtürme in the Ruhr, four of which stand on Bochum city territory.
The maschinenhaus of Schacht Anna at Eichenweg, constructed in 1855, also survives and is likewise a listed monument (Denkmalschutz), though it had been converted to residential use and was reportedly in a deteriorated condition as of 2022.