STEENKOLENMIJN VALKENBURG

Made some time ago, I've decided to release this to the public for the first time.

The 'Steenkolenmijn' in Valkenburg was the last deep mine to be closed in the Netherlands, representing the end of the era of mass commercial coal mining in Western Europe. Today, you can visit limited sections of the mine with a guide - our Flemish -speaking guide was a former worker in this mine. It was a really fascinating tour - despite not understanding much Flemish!

The tunnels in this mine ran up to 800 meters below sea level. The conditions were really harsh, and I don't know how I could survive even one shift in a mine. The workers worked in eight hour shifts round the clock. They all lived in houses around the mine, and today, the area still suffers from the effects of the mass unemployment that affected whole families when the mine closed.

For more information about the Valkenburg Coal mine: http://www.steenkolenmijn.nl/

Warning: heavily edited and heavily dark!!

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• valkenburg
• the
• netherlands
• holland
• coal
• mine
• mining
• dangerous
• work
• environment
• mineshaft
• limburg
• anthracite

[noslen1968]

Great stuff - love the stills you made.

[adamb0000]

different =/

[WrestlenAnimal797]

Awesome.