Former hard coal mine at Neukirchen-Vluyn whose 1986 steel Kastenstrebengerüst over Schacht I survives as a listed monument alongside the original 1923 headframe over Schacht II.
Zeche Niederberg - Schacht I was the primary winding shaft of the Zeche Niederberg, a hard coal colliery at Neukirchen-Vluyn that marked the western boundary of organised Ruhr coalfield working. The Niederrheinische Bergwerks-Gesellschaft mbH was constituted in 1911, and sinking of Schacht I — designated Moers I — commenced in 1912 using the freezing method. Delayed by the First World War, Schacht I reached its initial operating depth in 1917 and began coal production that year.
The shaft was eventually deepened to a final depth of approximately 1,164 metres. An original timber headframe was replaced in 1986 by a steel Kastenstrebengerüst. The mine was the last significant colliery at the western edge of the Ruhr; production ceased on 28 December 2001 and the mine was merged with Zeche Friedrich Heinrich to form Bergwerk West on 1 January 2002. Most surface structures were demolished from 2003 to 2005.
The headframe over Schacht I and the original 1923 headframe over Schacht II, together with the winding engine houses, Zentralmaschinenhaus, and gate lodges, survive as listed monuments and remnants along the Route der Industriekultur.
The history of the Niederberg mining concession reaches back to 1855, when the Grubenfeld Verein was granted to the Bohrgesellschaft Verein. The field, covering 61.5 km², was purchased in 1872 by the Gewerkschaft Verein. Exploratory drilling by Franz Haniel in 1854 had already demonstrated the presence of workable coal seams on the left bank of the Rhine, but the difficult hydrogeological conditions — heavy water-bearing overburden and quicksand — prevented development until the freezing method for shaft-sinking became available. Three individual Gewerkschaften holding fields known as Großherzog von Baden, Ernst Moritz Arndt, and Süddeutschland agreed on 16 September 1911 to exploit their combined holdings through a common subsidiary, the Niederrheinische Bergwerks-Gesellschaft mbH, constituted in Neukirchen with a Stammkapital of 30,000 marks. In 1912 the company joined the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Kohlen-Syndikat. The total Berechtsame encompassed 49.1 km².
Sinking of Schacht I, known as Moers I, commenced on 1 October 1912 in the Dickscheheide between the villages of Neukirchen and Vluyn, using the freezing method in the upper section to manage the water-bearing overburden. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 slowed progress considerably; sinking of Schacht I was completed on 1 October 1917 at a depth of 490 metres. Schacht II (Moers II) was begun on 10 June 1914 and completed on 22 October 1917 at 433 metres. The 1. Sohle in Schacht I was established at approximately 387 metres depth in 1915. Coal production began on 1 October 1917, and the net output in 1918 was 36,521 tonnes. The surface buildings of this first phase — completed in 1917 and 1918 — included the Fördergerüst and Schachthalle over Schacht I, the winding engine house, Kesselhaus, Zentralmaschinenhaus, workshops, ventilation plant, and water tower; the two gate lodges for gatekeeping, token control, and first-aid followed shortly after.
Schacht II received its permanent headframe and Schachthalle in 1923/24, followed by the winding machines, an electric winding engine house, the coal preparation plant, and the Brikettfabrik. The company's legal form changed again in December 1922, when the Niederrheinische Bergwerks-Aktiengesellschaft with its registered office in Neukirchen im Kreis Moers was established. Administration and welfare facilities received a substantial new brick building in 1928. Production grew steadily from around 387,000 tonnes in 1925 to a first peak of 670,935 tonnes in 1929 at a daily rate of 2,214 tonnes.
The economic depression of the early 1930s brought a temporary suspension of operations in 1932, lasting six months before production resumed. Recovery was steady thereafter; annual output regularly exceeded one million tonnes of marketable coal. In 1936 the mine acquired the fields Vluyn, Vluyn 2, and Heinrich from Zeche Friedrich Heinrich, extending the Berechtsame westward. By the end of the 1930s the mine was producing around two million tonnes per year. Wartime brought increased mechanisation in the 1940s and the deployment of forced and foreign labour. Post-war, the mine shifted increasingly to extraction of its Anthrazit reserves and developed a role as a Hausbrandzeche supplying domestic heating coal. The Brikettfabrik, which processed fine coal into briquettes, was central to this operation.
In the 1950s Schacht II was deepened; the 3. Sohle was established at 630 metres depth in 1951. A southern outer shaft, Schacht III, was sunk in Kapellen between 1954 and 1957. A western outer shaft, Schacht IV in Tönisberg, was sunk between 1959 and 1964; the steel Kastenstrebengerüst (Bauart Dörnen/Hoischen) erected at Schacht IV is regarded as the oldest surviving example of this headframe construction type in North Rhine-Westphalia. Schacht V, the new central winding shaft named the Merkelschacht after the retiring director Dr Heinz Merkel, was sunk from 1964 and commissioned in 1969; it received a second four-rope winding machine in 1977. From 1969 the mine passed to the Ruhrkohle AG, and in 1970 the name Niederberg was formally adopted as the official designation of the colliery.
In 1973 Niederberg became the sole Hausbrandzeche in the Ruhrkohle AG network. From the mid-1960s a daily output of 10,000 tonnes was reached, of which around 70 per cent was Anthrazit, making Niederberg the largest Anthrazit producer in Europe at that time. Peak annual output of approximately 2,961,580 tonnes was reached in 1975. The colliery's own power station was closed and demolished in 1985 as it no longer met environmental requirements.
From 1985 to 1987, Schacht I underwent modernisation to serve a new function exclusively for man-riding and materials transport: the original headframe was replaced and new winding machines installed. The replacement headframe, a steel Kastenstrebengerüst, was commissioned in 1986. In 1986 an underground connection was driven to Zeche Friedrich Heinrich on the 4. Sohle, and in 1987 a full Durchschlag was completed, linking the Niederberg mine workings into the existing ventilation network connecting Bergwerke Rheinland, Friedrich Heinrich, and Walsum.
The Brikettfabrik was closed in 1998. On 13 August 1999 methane or coal dust was ignited during repair work on a diesel-powered overhead transport, killing three miners. On 28 December 2001 coal production was ended, as falling market demand and the lower cost of imported coal made continued independent operation unviable. On 1 January 2002, Zeche Niederberg was merged with the Friedrich Heinrich/Rheinland group to form Bergwerk West under Deutsche Steinkohle AG.
From 2003 to 2005 the surface plant of the Niederberg 1/2/5 complex was largely demolished. Retained structures included the headframe over Schacht I (1986), the original headframe over Schacht II (1923), the double winding engine house of Schacht I, the winding engine house of Schacht II, the Zentralmaschinenhaus (1917), the gate lodges (1919/20), the former Grubenwehr building (now serving the methane drainage installation), and a high-bay magazine building. These structures are on the Denkmalliste of the city of Neukirchen-Vluyn and are also listed on the Route der Industriekultur. The headframe over Schacht II with its original Deutsches Strebengerüst in Fachwerk construction is the primary element of the heritage ensemble. The Schacht 5 site has been cleared and the land redeveloped for housing. The Schacht IV site at Tönisberg retains its complete surface plant including the Kastenstrebengerüst headframe, which is also listed.