Guided tours for groups
We offer group tours on various topics. Please use the enquiry form or call us at +49 (0)2302 93664-28. We kindly ask you to book at least 10 days in advance of your visit. We respond to enquiries Monday to Friday between 8.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. Our office is closed on the weekends.
Underground tours
General information
There are tracks on the floor and the ground is uneven and stony. The ceiling height is only 1.40 metres in some places, meaning that you will not be able to stand upright at times. The average annual temperature is between 10 and 12 degrees. Please ensure you wear appropriate clothing.
- Temperature in the tunnel: approx. 14°C (summer) / approx. 8°C (winter)
- Sturdy footwear required
- Children 6 and older allowed (the “Grand Mine” tour is for children 10 and older)
- Not suitable for people with walking disabilities, walkers or mobility aids
Nightingale Tunnel
Duration: 1 hour
Participants: max. 10
Cost: €45 plus admission
Age: 6 years and older
Gigantic ferns, enormous trees, impenetrable primeval forests – this is what gave rise to hard coal 300 million years ago. During this one-hour guided tour through the Nachtigallstollen tunnel, you will reach a real coal seam and can touch it with your own hands. On site, you will experience first-hand the difficult conditions under which miners extracted the ‘black gold’. We will take you on a journey exploring the geological formation of coal and its importance as a fossil fuel in the past, present and future.
Grand Mine Tour
Duration: 2 hours
Participants: max. 10
Cost: €65 plus admission
Age: 10 years and older
The Grand Mine Tour offers an exciting journey back to the early days of mining in the Ruhr region. During the two-hour tour, you will explore the entire visitor mine, including the Dünkelberg Tunnel. It runs parallel to the Nachtigall Tunnel deep into the mountain. This is where brickworks operator Wilhelm Dünkelberg had the last remaining coal mined in the 1920s. After the closure of the operation, this tunnel remained undiscovered for a long time. Learn interesting facts about industrial development, underground working conditions, infrastructure and innovations of the past. During the final walk through the quarry, you will learn about the geology of this unique place.
Guided tours above ground
Above-ground tours provide a window into the diverse history of the colliery in the permanent exhibitions and on the museum grounds.
Above-ground tours are also suitable for wheelchair users and people with walking disabilities.
From coal mine to brickworks
Guided tour of the permanent exhibition and museum grounds
Duration: 1 hour
Participants: max. 20
Cost: €45 plus admission
Two farmers applied for permission to mine coal in Hettberger Holtz at the beginning of the 18th century – that's how far back the history of the Nachtigall Colliery goes. On our tour, we take you on a journey across three centuries of continuous regional change.
The tour takes us from the beginnings of mining to modern innovations in civil engineering. What was life like for miners and their families? What were the consequences of mining the ‘black gold’? How did coal reach customers? When the mine ceased production at the end of the 19th century, a new chapter in industrial history began. A brickworks and a quarry settled on the site. From within the impressive vault of the ring kiln, you will learn interesting facts about brick production and the hard labour involved in manufacturing bricks.
Experience myriad facets of an industrial age that shaped the region and its inhabitants socially, technically and ecologically. A thrilling journey through time and space.
Path to the depths
Guided tour of the exhibition rooms focused on the ‘Zeche Nachtigall’ (Nachtigall Colliery)
Duration: 1 hour
Participants: max. 20
Cost: €45 plus admission
‘Der Weg in die Tiefe’ (Path to the Depths) takes you back to the time of the first deep mining shafts in the Ruhr region. Miners had to overcome many challenges before they could extract coal far below the earth’s surface. What was necessary to get to the ‘black gold’? How was hard rock traversed and water tamed? How did light and air reach the depths? Meet miners and mine owners from the Ruhr region and immerse yourself in the exciting history of the Nachtigall Colliery.
Guided tours through nature
These offers are aimed at adults and children aged ten and above. Sturdy footwear and weatherproof clothing are recommended for the tours.
Naturally nightingale
Duration: 1.5 hours
Participants: max. 20
Cost: €45 plus admission
On our nature tours, visitors experience the full diversity of animal and plant species that have adapted to the ecological conditions of the former colliery and brickworks site.
Learn about the wild herbs that grow on industrial fallow land, the beneficial properties they have for humans and animals, and how these adapted to changing climatic conditions. Get to know the different trees in our region and learn interesting facts about their value for the environment and health. Join us in observing animals in their different habitats: reptiles on old walls and in the quarry, insects on the wild meadow, birds on roofs and in the woods, and amphibians in the water basin of the collier.
Night safari
Evening tour of the Nachtigall colliery site
Duration: 1.5 hours
Participants: max. 20
Cost: €45 plus admission
Nature has reclaimed the area where coal was once mined. Many species of animals and plants feel at home on the grounds of the Nachtigall Colliery. However, some of them only become active after sunset. An evening tour therefore offers many exciting discoveries: bats and other nocturnal animals, wild plants, mysterious tracks and sounds. As darkness falls and the museum doors close, you will have the opportunity to experience the ecosystem of this reclaimed industrial fallow from a distinct perspective and make interesting observations.
Along the way, you will learn interesting facts about industrial history and the mining technology of this former industrial site. Sturdy shoes and a flashlight are recommended.
This tour is also suitable for blind and visually impaired people, wheelchair users and people with walking disabilities.
Coal era
Excursion to Muttental
Short tour: 2.5 hours, cost: 65 Euro
Long tour: 4 hours, cost: 125 Euro
Participants: max. 30
Follow the trail of coal from its formation 300 million years ago to the present day. How has the Ruhr Valley changed over time? Mining and transportation of coal and other minerals have left their mark on the landscape. How did flora and fauna react to this constantly changing habitat?
Learn exciting facts about the region's geological history at the ‘Geopark Ruhrgebiet’ Information Centre. Afterwards, we will show you how the Ruhr region has undergone continuous change over the centuries. We will guide you through the Nachtigallstollen tunnel to Muttental and back to the Ruhr. The journey takes you from the origins of the coal era to the emerging questions about the future.