Former coal and ore shaft at Marl, retaining its 1930/31 Koepe headframe as a listed monument housing a local mining museum.
Zeche Auguste Victoria - Schacht IV was a subsidiary shaft of the Zeche Auguste Victoria hard coal colliery at Marl, with the distinctive distinction of having served also as the principal access shaft for underground lead-zinc ore extraction. Sinking of Schacht IV began in 1928 in the Drewer district of Marl. The shaft reached a final depth of around 850 metres and the steel Koepe Strebengerüst over Schacht IV was erected in 1930 and 1931.
Coal output at the Schacht IV/V sub-complex began in 1931 and ceased in 1937, with winding thereafter concentrated at the Schacht I/II works. Lead-zinc ore, discovered accidentally in 1930, was extracted through the Schacht IV/V site from 1936 until 1962, when the operation was closed as uneconomic. By the time the adjacent Schacht V field was shut in 1965, more than seven million tonnes of raw ore, zinc, and silver had been recovered.
The headframe over Schacht IV was listed on the Denkmalliste of the city of Marl in 1995 for its technical-historical significance as an early Vollwandbauweise Koepe headframe. The winding engine house, which retains its 1931 electric winding machine, was converted into a local mining museum that opened in 2005 and is administered by Heimatverein Marl e.V.
The Zeche Auguste Victoria takes its name from Auguste Viktoria, Prinzessin von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, the last German empress. The mine was founded in 1899 by the Düsseldorf merchant and Kommerzienrat August Stein and the engineer Julius Schäfer, who had identified workable coal seams by exploratory drilling in the Hüls district in 1897. The two 100-part Gewerkschaften Hansi I and Hansi II were consolidated into the Grubenfeld Auguste Victoria in 1898, and shaft-sinking began in 1900.
The early history of the main Schacht 1 and Schacht 2 complex was complicated. The original Schacht 1, sunk from 1900, developed a tilt at 40 metres depth in 1901 that could not be corrected and was abandoned in 1903. The shaft then numbered 2, sunk from 1900, was renumbered Schacht 1, and a new Schacht 2 was commenced; the freezing method was employed for the first time in the Ruhr coalfield in continuing the work. Schacht AV 1 commenced coal production in 1905, yielding 1,221 tonnes in its first year; Schacht 2 followed in 1906. In 1908 the so-called Dreibund, an interest group comprising BASF, Bayer, and Agfa, acquired the mine for 17.7 million marks. Auguste Victoria remained within the IG Farben group between 1925 and 1952, and from 1952 the BASF became sole owner.
Schacht IV was sunk from 1928 in the Drewer district of Marl, approximately two kilometres south-west of the Schacht 1/2 complex. According to the Heimatverein Marl source, Schacht IV was taken into operation in 1929; the winding headframe, a two-storey single-strut Koepe Strebengerüst of Bauart Dörnen 2 executed in Vollwandbauweise and standing 48 metres high, was erected in 1930 and 1931. The companion ventilation shaft Schacht V was sunk from 1930 to 1931. The sub-complex Schacht IV/V became an independent operating unit, beginning coal production in 1931. The final depth of Schacht IV was approximately 850 metres.
In 1930, during sinking work in the mine field, workings intercepted an economically significant deposit of lead-zinc ore. The ore was extracted through the Schacht I/II surface complex from 1936 onwards, while the Schacht IV/V site served for man-riding and materials transport. Coal winding at the Schacht IV/V sub-complex was discontinued in 1937, with coal output redirected to the Schacht I/2 surface complex. From 1936 the ore extraction operation, which produced blei-, zink-, and silver-bearing Roherz, gave the Schacht IV/V site the informal designation 'Erzschacht'. The ore operation ran until 1962, when it was closed as uneconomic. At the time the Bergfeld was wound up in 1965, over seven million tonnes of raw ore had been raised. After the end of ore extraction in 1962, Schacht IV served until 1966 for mine ventilation. The shaft was used for water management for a further period before being filled in 1999.
The BASF sold Zeche Auguste Victoria to the Ruhrkohle AG on 1 January 1991. The mine continued to operate at other shaft complexes; the colliery was finally closed on 18 December 2015 after approximately 116 years of coal production at Marl.
Following closure of the Schacht IV/V sub-complex, the 48-metre Koepe headframe and the associated winding engine house with its 1931 electric winding machine were the principal structures to survive. The headframe was entered on the Denkmalliste of the city of Marl in 1995 in recognition of its technical-historical significance as an early example of the Vollwandbauweise construction type. The winding engine house was at one stage threatened with demolition; the Erzschachtfreunde, a working group of Heimatverein Marl e.V., campaigned successfully for its retention. Between 2008 and 2012 the Stiftung Industriedenkmalpflege und Geschichtskultur held the property and carried out repairs to the machine house, including installation of heating. In March 2012 the building was transferred to Heimatverein Marl e.V. A local mining museum, displaying tools, lamps, working clothing, and other objects from various Ruhr mining sites, opened in the lower floor of the machine house on 3 September 2005; the upper floor, which retains the winding machine, is used for exhibitions and cultural events. Outdoor exhibits include locomotives, wagons, and roof supports. An accessible external lift was installed with support from the NRW-Stiftung and opened in July 2016. The site, which lies in a residential district of Marl-Drewer, is also part of the Route der Industriekultur.