Way of the Cross at the Halde Haniel
Map with all coordinates: 
The Way of the Cross on the south side of the Haniel heap leads up the mountain at 15 stations. These consist of mining equipment from the Prosper-Haniel colliery , which allegorically depict Christ's ordeal. Boards with quotes from the world of work connect the history of the Bible with modernity and show the close relationship between mining and the church in the region.
In addition, there is a traditional depiction of the Passion on copper panels at each station. They were designed based on reed pen drawings by the nun and artist Tisa von der Schulenburg .
On Good Friday, April 14, 1995, the Way of the Cross was inaugurated by Bishop Hubert Luthe .
history
For the visit of Pope John Paul II planned on May 2, 1987 , the construction of a cross made of laths was carried out by trainees from the Prosper-Haniel mine . This cross was blessed on Good Friday 1987 by Ruhr Bishop Franz Hengsbach and set up in front of the main shaft building for the Pope's visit. Good Friday 1992, the cross was erected at the highest point of the Haniel dump and inaugurated by the Ruhr Bishop Hubert Luthe and Auxiliary Bishop Franz Grave .
The idea of the mine director a. D. Hanns Ketteler , an avowed Catholic, and his successor Michael Eisenmenger to set up a way of the cross to the Haldenkreuz was implemented in December 1993. It includes 15 stations with pen drawings by the nun Tisa von der Schulenburg etched into copper panels, church quotations from the world of work, and exhibits from the miner's world of work. On Good Friday 1995 the inauguration of the Way of the Cross by Bishop Hubert Luthe took place.
Since then, every year on Good Friday, a procession with the respective bishop of Essen has taken place along the Way of the Cross with a service at the gauge cross.
Stations
Description of the devices at the stations of the Mining Cross Route with quotations from the boards attached. The ordeal of Christ is also associated with the hopes and fears of the buddies for their colliery and jobs. However, when the Prosper-Haniel colliery closed at the end of 2018, coal production in the area ended.
The church's description of the Passion can be found in the article Cross .
I. Pilate washes his hands - the devil bucket
A devil's bucket filled with stones stands at the 1st station of the Way of the Cross. In mining, these vessels are used to lift accumulating rock when building a shaft (depth).
Quote:
"In her preaching and her work, the Church must stand up for human dignity, rights and freedom under all circumstances".
Bishop Franz Hengsbach, October 4, 1981
Statement:
The beginning of the common path. Do not make yourself complicit in the death of the precinct.
II. Jesus takes up his cross - the recovery box
There is a recovery box at the 2nd station . These support boxes made of stacked sleepers were filled with stones (mountains) in the interior. The recovery boxes were piled up from the lying (floor) to the hanging (cover) and formed a “wall” that separated the charred cavity from the rest of the mine building. This type of route separation is no longer common today.
Quote:
"All work, whether physical or mental, is inevitably associated with effort. This labor-associated hardship marks the path of human life on earth and is an announcement of death."
Encyclical Laborem Execens. 1981
Statement:
We cannot avoid tedious tasks either. Bear each other's burden.
III. First case - the plain arch
The sliding bend at the 3rd station was used in mining to expand the route. Due to its semicircular shape, it offers high stability. If the load is too high, the bow is able to give way. The profiles then slide into one another and are not damaged.
Quote:
"Unemployment almost always violates the dignity of those it meets and threatens to upset their lives." World Catechism, 1992
Statement:
Burdens shouldn't overwhelm us. Stand protectively in front of the weak.
IV. Jesus meets his mother - The barrel wagon
A barrel car filled with hard coal is encountered at the 4th station. The rail-bound transport wagons were used to load coal and other bulk goods.
Quote:
"The vital force of the Ruhr area is solidarity. In spite of all the required fairness, respect for the inviolable human dignity must always be decisive, not only for the individual workers but also for their families, not only for the people of today, but for future generations".
Pope John Paul II, May 2, 1987, Prosper-Haniel mine
Statement:
Life consists of exchange and transmission. Buddy, don't give up hope! (Encouragement from miners)
V. Simon of Cyrene - Friction stamp with Van Wersch cap
In longwall of the 1960s and 1970s they sat friction props one with Van Wersch cap. The toothed cast steel struts with joints are called Van Wesch caps. Another support element could be attached to the eyelet with bolts. They served to support the hanging (ceiling) and replaced the expansion with wood and railway tracks. The sliding of the two-part metal stamps into one another was controlled by friction elements. Today only used in exceptional cases. In general, hydraulic rams are used instead of reamers.
Quote:
"Solidarity - that is not a foreign word for the population of the Ruhr area! Responsibility for one another and responsibility before God is still a lived and proven reality here."
Pope John Paul II, May 2, 1987, Prosper-Haniel mine
Statement:
Life consists of mutual help. Help others, others help you.
VI. Veronika holds the handkerchief - The door frame extension
Before there was the arch extension, the door frame extension was used . It is the oldest known form of construction in mining. The trapezoidal construction made of wood or steel supported the ceiling of the tunnel. It is rarely used today.
Quote:
"We don't have to do the extraordinary, but we have to do the ordinary extraordinary".
Bishop Franz Hengsbach, 1983
Statement:
Everyday life carries our life. Hope and faith give security.
VII. Second case - the pulley
The second case is symbolically represented by a pulley . The grooved wheel was used to deflect the hoisting rope.
Quote:
"Unnatural unemployment becomes a social scandal if the work available is not used to create new jobs for as many as possible."
Pope John Paul II, May 2, 1987, Prosper-Haniel mine
Statement:
There are ways out of darkness to light. Be vigilant and don't let our buddies fall into the deep.
VIII. Weeping Women - The Carriage
The white rail vehicle is a trolley . In such wagons the miners took the mine train to their underground workplaces.
Quote:
"The Christian must not be indifferent to conditions in natural life".
Nikolaus Groß, miner, victim of the National Socialists
Statement:
Determination gives meaning to life. Our task is not passive support, but active help.
IX. Third case - the conveyor cage
The hoisting cage at the 9th station represents the “third case” in the procession in terms of mining equipment. Hanging on the hoisting rope, these frames serve as an elevator with which people, trolleys and materials are transported in the shaft.
Quote:
"Technical progress and restructuring must not be carried out on the back of people. People are not there for the economy, the economy is there for people".
Bishop Franz Hengsbach, 1987
Statement:
Everyone needs support in their life so that they don't fall into the void. Charity and helpfulness is our mission.
X. Robbery - The Picking Hammer
In the past, a pick was used to break the coal out of the wall. The pneumatic pick hammer made this work easier. At the 10th station on the Way of the Cross the tool is stuck in the rock.
Quote:
"Man is worth more for what he is than for what he has".
Second Vatican Council, 1905, The Church in the Modern World
Statement:
Taking senseless is robbery. Often purity is degraded and meanness triumphs.
"We were always there for you, now stand by us!" (Mate's scream)
XI. Nailing - The roller body
The 11th station is represented by a cutting roller . The worm-shaped attachment, equipped with chisels, belongs to a cutter loader . With it, the coal is cut out of the seam.
Quote:
"Our faith, however, is strong, hope is great and hopefully love is so burning that it can move mountains".
Gottfried Könzgen, labor secretary, victim of the National Socialists
Statement:
Hopelessness is always a delusion. Fight evil and stand up for good.
XII. Jesus dies on the cross - cross made of laths
The cross made of laths is the oldest exhibit on the Mining Way of the Cross . It was made in 1987 on the occasion of the Pope's visit by John Paul II and consecrated by them. The heap was erected in 1992. In 1992, at 126 m, it was the highest point of the heap. It was later raised a few meters. Traditionally, a procession with church service takes place there (almost) every year on Good Friday. A trolley with a table top serves as the altar. A plaque commemorates the Pope's visit.
Quote on the altar:
"Work belongs to people. It is an expression of their likeness to God and so an indispensable contribution to human dignity".
Pope John Paul II, May 2, 1987, Prosper-Haniel mine
Quote on the cross:
"Whoever looks up to this cross is not alone in his suffering, in his need, in his fears. Whoever looks up to this cross may go with his cross to the one who himself got to know, carried and suffered the cross of life"
Bishop Hubert Luthe, April 17, 1992
Statement:
Connections run our lives. Just as work belongs to people, the search for truth in the cross also belongs to people.
XIII. Jesus is taken from the cross and placed in his mother's lap - the chain scraper conveyor (tank)
The mother's lap is a red-painted chain conveyor . The devices are also called "tanks". They are mostly used in the mining area. The plow body, equipped with chisels, is pulled along the coal face by means of an endless chain, peeling the coal out of the seam. From the 1950s onwards, chain conveyors replaced the shaking chute.
Quote:
"The only thing I can do for my family in my life is being faithful in everyday things".
A mother from our time
Statement:
Life goes on even in low points. Preserve and promote the good, always and everywhere.
XIV. Entombment - The shield extension
The shield support serves as hydraulic scaffolding and protects the miners from falling rocks. Automation enables more efficient underground mining, as the protective shields no longer have to be installed and moved by hand. The seam is mined from the open side.
Quote:
"Wonderfully secure from good powers, we confidently await what may come. God is with us in the evening in the morning and certainly on every new day".
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Protestant theologian, victim of the National Socialists
Statement:
Security makes life possible. Memento Mori (memory of the dead)
XV. Resurrection - The Gripper
Exceptionally for this Way of the Cross, the Passion does not end at the 14th station. A grapple stands a few meters behind the shield support. As the 15th station, this symbolizes the resurrection. The rock loosened during the sinking of the shaft is loaded into the devil bucket with the grab.
Quote:
"Hold the light of life, the light of your faith, firmly in your heart and hand! Then you don't need to worry about tomorrow. God bless you! Good luck!"
Pope John Paul II, May 2, 1987, Prosper-Haniel mine
Statement:
Seized and lifted. ... and he has his bright light at hand ... (From an old miner's song.)
swell
- Information boards on the exhibits of the Kreuzweg at the Prosper-Haniel dump
- http://www.alfred-ulrich-lindemann.de/Kreuzweg/kreuzweg.htm
Individual evidence
- ↑ De Vanwerschkappen . In: Genealogical website Warsage . ( warsage.nl [accessed August 25, 2017]).
Web links
- Description of this panoramic point as part of the Route of Industrial Culture
- Industrial culture route - panoramas / viewpoints: Halde Haniel Bottrop
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