Former hard coal colliery at Essen-Überruhr, closed in 1968, with the steel headframe over Schacht 3 listed as a Denkmal in March 2022 and operating as an active pumping station for the RAG Zentrale Wasserhaltung, preventing groundwater flooding of the Ob
The Zeche Heinrich in Essen-Überruhr was a hard coal mine on the southern margin of the Ruhrgebiet, formed in 1809 by the consolidation of several stollen mines at Überruhr and in continuous operation — with interruptions — until its closure in April 1968. The Gewerkschaft Heinrich was constituted in 1809 through the merger of the Stollenzechen Hoffnung, Wolff, and others; a Förderung stollen was driven into the hillside from 1810 to 1827. After years of legal disputes with neighbouring operators and authorities, permission for underground shaft mining was granted in 1847 and Schacht Heinrich 1 was sunk in that year, taking up production in 1852.
The mine exploited Anthrazitkohle (anthracite coal) seams in the Grubenfeld south of the Ruhr extending from Überruhr to Byfang and Burgaltendorf. Schacht 2 was sunk from 1916 to 1918 alongside Schacht 1, equipped with a brick-built Hammerkopfturm, doubling annual output to approximately 210,000 tonnes with 1,000 employees. In 1929 the Gewerkschaft Heinrich purchased the Bergwerksbesitz of the Adler Bergbau-AG.
A Brikettfabrik entered service in 1926. A new central hoisting shaft — Schacht Heinrich 3 — was sunk from 1957 to 1958 adjacent to Schacht 1 and 2, taking over all coal production from 1960. In 1964 a Förderverbund was established with the Zeche Theodor; despite this, Heinrich Bergbau-AG resolved in 1965 to close the mine fully, and the final closure of all production shafts took effect on 1 April 1968.
The headframe over Schacht 3 and the Wetterschacht Holthuser Tal were retained for mine-water management. The Schacht 3 headframe was placed under Denkmalschutz in March 2022. The pumping station at Schacht 3 raises approximately 2,500 cubic metres of water per hour from 514 metres depth; the water is of drinking-water quality and serves as a Trinkwassernotreserve for the city of Essen.
The origins of the Zeche Heinrich reach back to the pre-industrial mining tradition at Überruhr, south of the Ruhr river, where coal stollen (adits) had been working since the eighteenth century. The Gewerkschaft Heinrich was constituted on 24 July 1809 by the consolidation of the Stollenzechen Hoffnung, Wolff, and presumably also Sandknappen. A Förderung stollen was driven into the hillside from 1810 and was worked until 1827 in Vor- und Rückbau. A Ruhr flood in 1804 had already destroyed an earlier access adit of the Zeche Hoffnung predecessor. From 1827, however, a transition to shaft mining (Tiefbau) became necessary. Multiple applications to the Bergbehörde were rejected on various grounds — including legal disputes with neighbouring operators — until 1847, when the Genehmigung zum Tiefbau was at last granted. In the same year, Schacht Heinrich 1 was sunk at the Langenberger Straße, below the settlement of Überruhr, at a diameter of 5.42 × 3.63 metres. The shaft reached the Carboniferous at 15.7 metres and went into hoisting production in 1852.
The mine exploited Anthrazitkohle from the Grubenfeld extending from Überruhr in the west to Byfang in the south and up to Burgaltendorf in the east. The underground workings were organised into a western Grubenabteilung served by Schacht 1 and an eastern Grubenabteilung that for some years used the facilities of the neighbouring Zeche Vereinigte Charlotte. In 1858 the mine was formally divided into these two Grubenabteilungen; in 1868 the eastern section was permanently leased to Vereinigte Charlotte. In 1884 Schacht 1 received an iron Fördergerüst. By 1895, 352 miners were raising 100,889 tonnes of anthracite annually. A small Wetterschacht was sunk at the Bulkersteig in 1892–93 to provide ventilation for the western Abbaue.
The First World War did not interrupt the mine's upward trajectory. From 1916 to 1918 Schacht Heinrich 2 was sunk alongside Schacht 1; this shaft was equipped with a brick-built Hammerkopfturm and a Dampffördermaschine. Together, the two shafts raised annual output to approximately 210,000 tonnes with a workforce of 1,000. In 1926 a Brikettfabrik was taken into service. In 1929 the Gewerkschaft Heinrich purchased the Bergwerksbesitz of the Adler Bergbau-AG; the majority of the acquired mines were subsequently closed, but the Zeche Charlotte was reopened from 1934 as the Zeche Theodor. The intensification of Aus- und Abbaumaßnahmen drove output further to approximately 500,000 tonnes annually with 1,400 employees.
After the end of the Second World War and the reopening of the mine, the Heinrich Bergbau-AG was constituted in 1952 as the successor to the Gewerkschaft. In the same year the Zeche Alter Hellweg in Unna was acquired as an additional Grubenbesitz. From 1951 to 1954, the Wetterschacht Holthuser Tal was sunk south of the Schacht 1/2 installation to improve ventilation. From 1957 to 1958 the Schacht Heinrich 3 — a new Zentralförderschacht — was sunk adjacent to Schacht 1 and equipped with a modern Koepe-Fördermaschine. Schacht 3 assumed the entire coal production from 1960; Schacht 1 was retained as Seilfahrtschacht while Schacht 2 served only for ventilation. In 1964 a Förderverbund with the Zeche Theodor was established; the combined operation concentrated all hoisting on the Heinrich 1/2/3 installation. The maximum annual production under the combined operation was 965,897 tonnes in 1966, with 3,057 workers — a productivity of 315 tonnes per employee.
Despite this record output, the Heinrich Bergbau-AG resolved in 1965 to close the mine in response to the Kohlekrise. The Stilllegung of all Förderschachtanlagen Heinrich and the Theodorschächte took effect on 1 April 1968. Schacht 1 and Schacht 2 were backfilled; Schacht Heinrich 3 and the Holthuser Tal ventilation shaft were retained to serve the Zentrale Wasserhaltung der RAG. In this capacity, Schacht 3 continues to pump approximately 2,500 cubic metres of Grubenwasser per hour from a depth of 514 metres, draining the overlapping fields of the former Bergwerke Dahlhauser Tiefbau, Pörtingssiepen, Carl Funke, Langenbrahm, and Heinrich; the water is released into the Ruhr. The water is of such quality that the city of Essen classifies it as a Trinkwassernotreserve. The continued pumping also prevents Grubenwasser from flowing northward towards lower-lying areas: since Überruhr-Holthausen lies approximately three metres above the Oberhausen city centre, cessation of pumping would cause the flooding of that area. The Schacht Heinrich 3 Fördergerüst, which commands a prominent position overlooking the Ruhr valley, was formally listed as a Denkmal on the initiative of the Stadtrat in March 2022. Almost all other surface buildings have been demolished; one hall is in commercial use; a senior residential development was built at the Schacht 2 site; the Kauengebäude and former Verwaltungsgebäude at the Langenberger Straße survive and are in continued use after adaptation.