Former hard coal colliery at Bergkamen-Oberaden, active 1943–2001, with the 73-metre steel-lattice headframe over Schacht 2 standing until March 2021 before demolition for the Wasserstadt Aden redevelopment project; the site is now being developed as a wa
The Zeche Haus Aden was a hard coal colliery at Bergkamen-Oberaden in the Kreis Unna, Nordrhein-Westfalen, at the north-eastern edge of the Ruhrgebiet. Its founding shafts — Schacht 2, sunk from 1938, and Schacht 1, from 1939 — were among the last to be established in the northward migration of Ruhr coal mining, exploiting a previously reserved field that only became commercially attractive under the Autarkiepolitik of the National Socialist government. Coal production commenced in 1943.
The mine had the logistical advantage of a direct location on the Datteln-Hamm-Kanal and its own harbour, with the majority of output dispatched by water. A Doppelbockfördergerüst was erected over Schacht 1 in 1938 and a second headframe was built over Schacht 2. In 1955, the mine was significantly modernised to designs by the architect Fritz Schupp.
Peak annual production of 3.9 million tonnes was achieved in 1986 with a workforce of over 4,000. In 1970, the adjacent Grimberg 3/4 complex was absorbed; in 1993 Haus Aden merged with Zeche Monopol to form the Verbundbergwerk Haus Aden/Monopol; and in 1998 the further merger with the Zeche Heinrich Robert created the Bergwerk Ost. Coal hoisting at Haus Aden ended in 2001; Schacht 2 was retained for mine water management.
The 73-metre steel lattice headframe over Schacht 2, erected in 1975, survived until March 2021, when it was demolished to allow construction of the Wasserstadt Aden, a mixed-use urban waterfront development that is planned as a main venue of the Bundesgartenschau 2027.
The Haus Aden coalfield lies in the zone of reserve fields on the northern margin of the Ruhr coalfield, acquired in 1875 but too deep and too costly to work until the late 1930s. The name derives from a nearby former Gutshof (manor). The Grubenfeld was formally Verliehen in 1875 but shaft-sinking did not commence until 1938, when the National Socialist Autarkiepolitik made exploitation economically obligatory. Schacht 2 was the first to be sunk, beginning in 1938; Schacht 1 followed in 1939. Schacht 2 reached a Teufe of approximately 930 metres by 1941. A Doppelbockgerüst was erected over Schacht 1 in 1938. Coal production began in 1943. Since adequate fläche was available from the start, the surface installations were laid out generously and included a direct connection to the Datteln-Hamm-Kanal with the mine's own harbour. No Kokerei was built because it was more economical to route the coal to coking facilities at neighbouring mines. The majority of the output was shipped by water.
In 1950, after wartime delays, the planned daily output of 2,000 tonnes was first achieved, following the erection of a Doppelbockgerüst over Schacht 1. Full mechanisation of underground mining began around 1953. In 1955 the mine was substantially modernised to designs by Fritz Schupp, then one of the leading industrial architects in the Ruhr, whose earlier work included the famous Zeche Zollverein. The modernisation updated the surface plant and processing facilities.
The Hauptförderschachtanlage 1/2 at Bergkamen-Oberaden was the extraction and processing hub for the entire mine throughout its active life. The highest annual production of 3.9 million tonnes was achieved in 1986 with a belegschaft of over 4,000 miners. Cumulative output from the Grubenfelder Haus Aden, Grimberg 3/4, Victoria, and Kurl to the end of April 1988 was approximately 120 million tonnes of coal.
The mine grew through successive consolidations. In 1970 the adjacent Grimberg 3/4 installation — whose shafts dated from the 1920s and 1930s and which had suffered two catastrophic Schlagwetterexplosionen (firedamp explosions) killing 107 miners on 11 September 1944 and 405 miners on 20 February 1946 — was absorbed into Haus Aden, and the shafts were re-designated as Haus Aden 3 and Haus Aden 4. To access new coal reserves in the Nordfeld, three further shafts were sunk from 1977: two ventilation shafts (Schächte 5 and 6) and the Seilfahrtsschacht 7 (Romberg) in Werne-Langern. Schacht 6 was at 1,388 metres the deepest shaft in the Ruhr coalfield when it was commissioned in 1981. Schacht 7 had a distinctive headframe profile described as resembling a golf club; it was equipped with a modern compact hoisting machine in which the drum and drive were an integrated unit. In 1993 Haus Aden merged with the Zeche Monopol to form the Verbundbergwerk Haus Aden/Monopol; in 1998 a further merger with the Zeche Heinrich Robert in Hamm created the Bergwerk Ost. At its maximum extent, the combined field covered 80 square kilometres.
Coal hoisting at the Haus Aden 1/2 shafts ended in 2001; Schacht 1 and the adjacent Funkturm were demolished by explosive charge in 2005. The 73-metre steel lattice headframe (Stahlstrebengerüst) over Schacht 2, erected in 1975 and regarded as one of the most striking headframes in the Ruhr coalfield, was retained for water management purposes: Schacht 2 remained operational to manage mine water for the extended Bergwerk Ost system, pumping water into the Lippe. In 2020 the shaft was backfilled; on 18 February 2021 the Bergkamen Stadtrat voted by majority to demolish the headframe, and the demolition was carried out in March and April 2021. The headframe of Schacht 7 (Romberg) had earlier been relocated in 2001, transported 35 kilometres to Hamm where it served as 'Schacht Lerche' for the Bergwerk Ost until 2011; it is now part of the Route der Industriekultur. The Wasserstadt Aden project — a large-scale waterfront urban development on the former mine site using the former harbour basin — was inaugurated in April 2022 and is designated as a principal venue of the Bundesgartenschau 2027.