Once one of the oldest metalworking companies in Oberhausen known, the Altenberg Zinc Factory today for industrial culture in transition. In 1854/55, the Belgian "Société anonyme de Zinc de la Vieille Montagne" built a zinc rolling mill here, well connected by the nearby Cologne-Minden railway and surrounded by coal mines and steelworks. After almost 130 years of industrial excellence, the curtain finally fell on the production site in 1981.
Today, the site presents itself as a socio-cultural center, which was partially taken over by the Rhineland Regional Association in 1984. Since 1997, an exhibition covering more than 3.000 square meters has shown the eventful history of heavy industry on the Rhine and Ruhr. The premises are currently closed for renovation, but the reopening in 2026 promises an innovative permanent exhibition that sheds light not only on the past but also on the future of the industrial age.
The museum, embedded in the last completely preserved factory complex before the First World War in the Ruhr area, is complemented by events organized by SOVAT eV - a place full of creativity, ideal for events and discoveries beyond the mainstream. With its parking spaces and the bus stop right outside the door, getting there is extremely easy.
Closed due to renovation work.
currently closed