Former Gladbeck hard coal colliery preserving two of the oldest surviving steel lattice headframes in the Ruhr over Schächte I and II and a lavishly decorated 1909 Maschinenhalle — a listed cultural and events venue of the Stiftung Industriedenkmalpflege.
Zeche Zweckel was a hard coal colliery in the Gladbeck district of Zweckel, established from 1908 as part of a programme by the Prussian state to expand state-controlled coal production in the northern Ruhr and Münsterland. Originally named Zeche Potsdam and constituted as the Doppelschachtanlage Potsdam, the colliery was consolidated in 1908 and administered in conjunction with the sister installation Scholven in Gelsenkirchen under the Berginspektion 5. Sinking of Schacht 1 began on 1 July 1908; the electric winding machines for both shafts were installed in 1909.
The headframes over Schächte 1 and 2 — single-storey Einstrebengerüste in Stahlfachwerk — were erected in 1910 and are among the oldest surviving headframes of their type in the Ruhr. The first coal was raised in 1911; in the same year a brine source, named Emmyshall, was struck in Schacht 2, leading to the establishment of the Königliche Solbad Zweckel, which operated until the source dried up in 1950. In 1927 state ownership passed to the Hibernia AG.
From 1928 the two installations were operationally merged, and from 1929 Zweckel was operated as an Außenschachtanlage of Zeche Scholven. Coal production continued until 1963, after which the shafts served ventilation and water-management functions until their final backfilling in 1995. The ensemble — headframes, Maschinenhalle, and surviving buildings — was listed as an Industriedenkmal in 1988.
Since 1997 the Maschinenhalle has been a site of the Stiftung Industriedenkmalpflege und Geschichtskultur and serves as a cultural and events venue.
The origins of Zeche Zweckel lie in a programme begun around 1902 by the Prussian state to acquire large coal fields in the northern Ruhr and southern Münsterland and establish state-controlled collieries to supply growing industrial demand. The Bergwerks-AG Recklinghausen was founded with state-majority ownership to implement this programme; from 1905 it was directed in Personalunion with the Hibernia AG of Herne and Berlin. In 1908 the Steinkohlenbergwerk Zweckel was consolidated (alongside the parallel Scholven consolidation) and organised as the Doppelschachtanlage Potsdam in Gladbeck.
The choice of the name Potsdam — alongside Berlin for Scholven — reflected the Prussian state's ownership identity. On 1 July 1908 sinking of Schacht 1 began with a crew of twelve men; this date is recorded as the Geburtsstunde of the Zeche. In 1909 the Maschinenhalle was completed and the double Ilgner-Umformeranlage was installed; the electric winding machines for Schächte 1 and 2, manufactured by the Maschinenfabrik Thyssen & Co., were also installed in that year and remain in the building.
The Maschinenhalle was decorated internally with arches, pilasters, painted ornamental bands, and an ornate gallery with a sweeping staircase — a deliberate expression of state prestige in industrial architecture. In 1910 the two single-storey Einstrebengerüste in Stahlfachwerk were erected over Schächte 1 and 2, and the colliery was renamed Zeche Zweckel; at the same time both Zweckel and Scholven were placed within the Königlich Preußische Berginspektion 5. The first coal was raised in 1911.
In the same year, during further deepening of Schacht 2 on 8 September 1911, a warm brine source was struck. Following an application from the Bergwerksdirektor Bellmann, the Nutzungsrecht was granted and the source, named Emmyshall, became the basis for the Königliche Solbad Zweckel, built in 1928 and popular until the source dried up in 1950, when the bath was closed. From 1911 a garden-suburb-style workers' housing settlement was laid out in sight of the colliery.
In 1925 the state's shareholding passed from the Bergwerks-AG Recklinghausen to the newly founded Bergwerks-AG Recklinghausen (a reconstituted entity). In 1927 the state shareholding was transferred to the Hibernia AG. In that year the colliery was producing approximately 600,000 tonnes annually.
In 1928 the coal-raising operations of Zweckel and Scholven were operationally unified (fördertechnisch vereinigt); from 1929 Zweckel was operated as an Außenschachtanlage of Zeche Scholven, with all coal wound at Scholven. Between 1944 and 1951 the situation was reversed: because Zeche Scholven had been so heavily damaged by Allied bombing that winding there was impossible, Zeche Zweckel took over the output of both installations. This was described as Notförderung; from 1 April 1949 apprentice training was resumed at the installation.
In 1951 formal administrative control passed to the Zeche Scholven. In 1952 an application was made to demolish the Schachthalle, Sieberei, and Kohlenwäsche as no longer needed; those structures were removed. On 1 April 1963 coal production was ended at Zweckel.
Thereafter the shafts remained open as ventilation shafts (Wetterschächte) to support the needs of the continuing Scholven operation. In 1988 the surviving ensemble — the two Einstrebengerüst headframes over Schächte 1 and 2, the Maschinenhalle with its Ilgner-Umformer and both electric winding machines, and the surrounding Grünanlage — was placed under Denkmalschutz as an Industriedenkmal. The final backfilling of the shafts was completed in 1995.
Since 1997 the Maschinenhalle at Frentroper Straße has been a location of the Stiftung Industriedenkmalpflege und Geschichtskultur and serves as a venue for cultural events including the Ruhrtriennale. The two headframes stand directly behind the Maschinenhalle, partially concealed from the street by a Grünanlage completed around 2008 on the site of the former coal-reserve Kohlenhalde. Regular guided tours are offered on the second Sunday of each month at 14:00.
The building is also accessible as part of the Route der Industriekultur and regional cycling routes.