Alexander Pfennig
Word Count- 1990 /PIN-10342
Subtopic 2: Bliss or Misery? — Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress Alexander Pfennig The model that I would like to introduce to all of you is the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH). Some 250 years ago, in the 1750s, Russia founded its first university, Moscow State University. China annexed Tibet and introduced its “closed door policy” vis-à-vis Europe, sealing off its harbors from foreign trade. The United Kingdom expanded its colonial empire in India. These events, developments, and decisions alone would have had a lasting impact. However, the United Kingdom embarked on something that shaped world affairs and, in the words of Friedrich Engels, “at the same time changed the whole of civil society” 1 – the Industrial Revolution. Advances in medicine and a higher birth rate led to a growth in population in the United Kingdom. Agriculture and the textile industry were important pillars of the British economy. British cities became economic hubs as people fled the countryside in hope of a better future, creating large consumer markets and sizeable pools of labor. The answer to the growing demands of the consumers was greater production efficiency by way of technological innovation. In the 1760s, James Hargreaves invented a multi-spool spinning wheel, James Watts introduced major innovations to the pre-existent steam engine, and Richard Arkwright invented the automatic spinning machine. The Industrial Revolution reached its height with the development of the railway in the 19th century. Richard Trevithick built the first locomotive in 1804, and in 1830 the first regular railway line was introduced on the Liverpool-Manchester route. The emergence of the railway in turn gave a boost to heavy industry and mining since metals were required for the construction and maintenance of locomotives, wagons, and tracks. The Industrial Revolution went on to spread from Britain to the European continent and to Canada and the newly independent United States of America. The railway played an important part in linking up the various regions and regional centers in both the Old and the New World. On the European continent, the Industrial Revolution began in Belgium as it was able to rely on factors similar to those in the United Kingdom – deposits of iron ore and coal (in the French-speaking Wallonia region in the south of the country, around Mons and Charleroi) and a strong textile industry. Further to the east, in Germany, progress was hindered by the fact that the country was not yet unified but divided into numerous small states. By the 1830s, though, industrial centers emerged in Germany’s three mining regions: the Saarland (bordering France and Luxembourg), the Ruhrgebiet (close to the Netherlands), and upper Silesia (nowadays part of Poland and the Czech Republic). While these regional industrial centers throughout the continent strengthened the economies of old and new European powers alike provided work for millions of people over several generations, some of those very industries and the jobs they created eventually saw the sun set on themselves during the second half of the 20th century. With the advent of new competitors in other parts of the world, European industry and mining began to lose its competitive edge. 1
Friedrich Engels. Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England (Leipzig: Verlag Otto Wiegand, 1845).
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Alexander Pfennig
Factory and mine closures followed as European economies tried to regain its competitive edge by shifting to high technology and services. But change was not easy, and it did not come without a cost. The “Old Continent” faced rising unemployment – and a plethora of industrial wastelands. What to do? The answer was to preserve Europe’s industrial sites as a legacy for future generations. Europe’s industrial centers had transformed not only landscapes, but also social strata, and the very course of world history. Leaving those grand old halls of production simply to decay was not an option. The obstacles were many and the challenges manifold, but the success stories abound. The idea was not to create theme parks à la Disneyland, but venues with an educational mission that capture the hearts and minds. One example is the Zeche Zollverein, or Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, in north of the city of Essen in Germany’s most populous Federal State of Nordrhein-Westfalen (Northrhine-Westphalia). Essen, Germany’s seventh largest city with a population of just under 600,000, is located in the central south of the aforementioned Ruhrgebiet, an urban area of almost 4,500 km² and a population of more than five million (out of Germany’s roughly 80 million), making it the country’s largest urban agglomeration – about four times the size of Hong Kong. It is also Europe’s fourth largest urban area after Moscow, London, and Paris. The Ruhrgebiet’s geology is characterized by coal-bearing layers, some two meters thick, that lie at a depth of about 700 meters. By the mid 19th century, the Ruhrgebiet boasted almost 300 coal mines, giving rise to the area’s nickname, “Kohlenpott” (Coal Pot). Some of the sites have been replanted as parks and thus been returned to a state similar to before the Industrial Revolution. But not all structures were dismantled and the Zeche Zollverein still stands as a striking example of industrial architecture, Essen’s most famous and widely recognized landmark. Coal mining has a long tradition in Essen. The first proofs of mining in Essen date back as far as the 13th century and the first silver mine was opened in the mid 14th century. Coal was first mentioned in Essen in the second half of the 14th century, but coal mining began only in the mid 15th century. The founding year of the first coal mine on the grounds of the Zeche Zollverein was 1847, and the mine was then in operation from 1851 until its closure in 1986. The Zollverein Coking Plant, constructed between 1957 and 1961, was used somewhat longer than the mine and closed down in 1993. Zeche Zollverein was Germany’s most productive mine by 1890, and in 1937 it had 6,900 employees. Zeche Zollverein regained its leadership role among the German mines after the end of the Second World War by 1953. What about other sites? Of course, Zeche Zollverein is not alone in Europe. In October 2002, less than ten years after the Zollverein Coking Plant closed down, Nordrhein-Westfalen Tourismus e.V., the Tourism authority of the Federal State of Northrhine-Westphalia, became the leading institution of the newly founded European Route of Industrial Heritage. Currently, ERIH has ten partner institutions in three European countries. The ever-expanding ERIH network is not limited to these three European countries though. ERIH encompasses some 845 sites accessible to the public in 29 European countries – two more than there are member countries in the European Union. Out of these 845 sites, 66 have been selected as so-called “Anchor Points” for their outstanding historical and educational value and for their yeararound ease of access even for large numbers of visitors. The Anchor Points demonstrate former factory operations and offer multimedia installations, guided tours, as well as special trails for children.
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At the time of writing, the Anchor Points are located in seven European countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Further Anchor Points will be added in the years to come. The Anchor Points are hubs of the ten European Theme Routes that link the network: Textiles – From fiber to fabric; Manufacturing – Goods for the world; Water – Blue gold; Industrial Landscapes; Mining – The treasures of the earth; Energy – What makes us go; Housing & Architecture; Iron & Steel – The glow of the blast furnaces; Transport & Communication – The tracks of the Industrial Revolution; and Services & Leisure Industry. Altogether there are 575 sites along the European Theme Routes. And then there are the eleven Regional Routes with a total of 188 sites. The Regional Routes denote areas that have either linked several countries in the course of industrial development or left its indelible mark on the history and culture of a large part of a single European country. For the moment, the Regional Routes are to be found in six countries: the aforementioned Ruhrgebiet, the Rhineland Industrial Valleys, the Central German Innovation Region, the Lausitz Industrial Heritage Energy Route, the Euregio Maas-Rhine Region, the Saar-Lor-Lux Region, the Northwest England Industrial Powerhouse, the Heart of England Route, the South Wales Route, the Industrious East England, and the HollandRoute. ERIH has also established and made available to the public a database of more than 100 revised and in-depth biographies of personalities that were the driving forces of Europe’s industrialization. On its website at http://www.erih.net (in Dutch, English, French, and German, with 100,000 visitors each month), ERIH provides 1,300 links to other websites with further information of ERIH sites and relevant regions, including an events calendar searchable by date and country. ERIH realizes that it can and should not be alone in its endeavor and is, therefore, cooperating with 200 archeology and industrial heritage networks and organizations, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A framework for cooperation with The International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) is in the making. Since 2000, TICCIH has been the scientific committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), headquartered in Paris, that advises UNESCO on its World Heritage Sites. ERIH is being recognized and supported by the Interreg IIIB / IVB North West Europe Programs, an initiative of the European Communities to further interregional cooperation in the European Union, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), from 2000 to 2006 and 2007 to 2013. For one year, since February 2008, ERIH has been a registered association. As such, ERIH has five tiers for prospective members on a yearly, renewable basis (October 1 to September 30): Anchor Point (500 Euros), Individual Sites (100 Euros), Corporate Members (500 Euros), Individuals (100 Euros), Friends of ERIH (donation). ERIH held its most recent two-day annual conference, “Industrial Heritage and Tourism – Old Iron is not enough”, in midNovember 2008 in Essen, open to the general public for a conference fee and free of charge for members. The choice of Essen as the venue for ERIH’s annual conference was an obvious one. For a long time, Essen was synonymous for pollution. Now it is one of Germany’s greenest cities. In 2010, Essen will be the European Capital of Culture (awarded by the European Union since 1985), representing the whole Ruhrgebiet, with 150 cultural projects and a budget of 63 million Euros. The German government is investing 18 million Euros for the 2010 European Capital of Culture, the Federal State of Northrhine-Westphalia is providing 118 million Euros. After (West) Berlin in 1988 and Greater Region of Belgium, France, Germany, and 3
Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress
Alexander Pfennig
Luxembourg in 2007, this will be the third time that a German site has held this prestigious title. It is, without a doubt, in recognition of the fact that the Ruhrgebiet has turned the corner. In 2007, Germany finally decided to phase out its coal production. Out of 300,000 mine workers in the Ruhrgebiet, only 20,000 remained – of its 460,000 steel workers, less than 30,000. And yet, those vibrant 53 cities, the “Ruhr Metropolis”, are now home to more than 200 museums, 120 theaters, castles, palaces, and monasteries, and the largest shopping malls in Germany. It goes to show that “Old Europe”, while preserving its past, is right on track for a bright future. With ERIH still being young, there is room for improvement. As a matter of fact, ERIH is still not widely known to the European public. This would have to change. ERIH should reach out especially to young people. More often than not, children and teenagers do not like to learn about history by studying it, but by experiencing it. ERIH has the on-site facilities, but it still needs to move closer to its target audiences. A very simple way to approach young Europeans is through the schools where they all study. As the ERIH network is already wellestablished throughout Europe, a number of sites should be available for daytrips by bus for school classes. These daytrips would probably qualify for public funding from the local to the European level.
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009