Barbarastollen

About the museum

The Barbarastollen was built in 1932 during the expansion of the University of Cologne as a teaching and demonstration facility for students. Named after Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners, it lies about ten meters below the main building on Albertus-Magnus-Platz. Mining companies provided original tools and machinery, and real coal was fixed to the walls to show working conditions in 1930s hard-coal mining as realistically as possible.

The gallery, about 40 meters long, shows roadway supports, mine cars, signaling equipment and mining technology, and also addresses health hazards such as black lung disease. Its legal status is a curiosity: as a mine working, it is subject to mining law, so the university has only limited say over what happens underground.

During World War II the facility fell into oblivion and was not rediscovered until construction work in 1984; it was restored with the support of Ruhrkohle AG. Under the care of the university's Institute of Occupational Medicine, groups could visit the gallery by appointment, at times also through the Volkshochschule (adult education center). A virtual 360-degree tour was created in 2019. Due to fire safety renovations, the gallery is currently closed to the public; whether and when it will reopen is uncertain.

Highlights

• Replica hard-coal mine roadway, about 40 m long and some 10 m below the university's main building
• Original 1930s mining technology with mine cars and signaling equipment
• The only German university with its own mine gallery
• Virtual 360-degree tour online

Founded

1932

Operated by

Universität zu Köln

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