Ice age and sparkling lights

There is plenty to discover at Zollverein all year round – including during a time that invites you to spend unforgettable moments with your loved ones like no other. The event package for the winter season at the World Heritage Site has been put together and has the right leisure activities for every taste, from various offers to get you in the mood for Christmas to varied cultural formats on and off the stage and popular winter highlights such as the Zollverein ice rink. And by the way: Zollverein also has a lot to offer when it comes to gift shopping …

Pre-Christmas season

The Advent calendar of the Folkwang University of the Arts‘ design department, which can be seen from afar, will provide an extraordinary eye-catcher in the run-up to Christmas: from 1 to 24 December 2024, every day from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, a window of the SANAA building designed by students and teachers will get you in the mood for the approaching Christmas. The Zollverein Foundation is giving away the first Christmas presents on the four Sundays of Advent during the big Advent special on its social media channels at Instagram and Facebook – all the information on how to enter can be found in the respective Advent post.

But of course there is plenty to experience at Zollverein, even apart from the Christmas anticipation: for example, on 11 December 2024, when the travelling cinema of cultures will transform Hall 6 of the former mine into an international cinema to accompany the exhibition „Glückauf – Film ab!“. On 12 and 13 December 2024, PACT Zollverein will open up new perspectives on female bodies with the performance „New Report on Giving Birth“, before photographer Tania Reinicke invites visitors on a photographic exploration tour through the urban landscape of Zollverein in „Lichtung“, an accompanying programme to her exhibition of the same name in the round thickener on 14 December 2024. „The sky is blue“ is the title of a concert one day later, on 15 December 2024, when the JugendJazzOrchester NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia Youth Jazz Orchestra) presents the winners of this year’s composition competition. For those who want to see a bit more of the world heritage site, we recommend taking a guided tour of the Zollverein monument or visiting the exhibition „Zollverein. Architekturfotografien von Bernd Langmack“, which presents a fascinating panorama of change with over 100 photographs from 1994 to 2024.

The highlight of the winter season:

the Zollverein ice rink

The 150-metre-long Zollverein ice rink, which will once again transform the area around the printing press track at the coking plant into a spectacular ice skating paradise from 4 December 2024 to 5 January 2025, makes the winter leisure offer at Zollverein perfect. As the ice rink can also be used with wheelchairs, rehab buggies and gliding aids during regular skating hours, the coolest ice rink in the world really is open to all skating fans. A visit to the Zollverein ice rink is a particularly impressive experience at nightfall, when the light installation by Mark Major and Jonathan Speirs bathes the imposing coke ovens and chimneys of the coking plant in atmospheric light. Anyone who can’t get enough of this should make a note in their diary for 14 December 2024 and 4 January 2025, when the popular ice disco takes place again. The curling team event is also very popular, where small groups of up to 12 people can compete in a sporting competition – a real insider tip, and not just for companies!

Work up an appetite?

No problem: the winter village around the Zollverein ice rink offers cosy street food huts serving hot drinks and delicious snacks to keep you going. deinKult Café has opened its doors in the Zollverein coking plant’s mixing plant just in time for the start of the ice rink season – the former „die kokerei“ café and restaurant will be serving winter hot drinks and hearty Ruhr classics throughout the season. And of course, the catering establishments on the grounds of the former Zollverein colliery, such as „Café Kohlenwäsche“, „Bistro Schacht XII“, „The Mine“ and „Casino Zollverein“, are also looking forward to welcoming visitors. The latter two also have very special offers in store for the holidays: gourmets can enjoy a Christmas brunch in both „The Mine“ and the „Casino Zollverein“ on 25 and 26 December 2024. On both evenings, the „Casino Christmas Evening“ attracts hungry visitors to the industrial-historical setting of the former compressor hall. Would you prefer to experience your festive buffet above the roofs of the world heritage site? Then simply celebrate „Christmas at the Imhoff House“ and book the family Christmas dinner at the Erich Brost Pavilion. The „Casino Zollverein“ offers the perfect culinary end to the year with an exquisite gala dinner on New Year’s Eve.

Christmas time = gift time

So that you don’t end up empty-handed before Christmas because of all the appointments, you can combine leisure activities and gift shopping at Zollverein: All year round, the shops on site offer high-quality manufactured items to give as gifts or make yourself happy, such as the unusual wood and steel furniture from Möbelloft, the distinctive tiles from Golem, the sustainably produced soaps from Sapor or the handmade pieces from the Margaretenhöhe ceramics workshop. The World Heritage Site also has the right Christmas present for all fashion-conscious members of your circle of acquaintances: for example, in the shop of the Grubenhelden fashion label or in the Schmuckprodukt gallery and workshop. A selection of varied Zollverein souvenirs is available from the Walther König bookshop in the coal washing plant. The Zollverein online shop offers the complete range as well as the beautifully designed items from the award-winning ‘Schupp & Kremmer’ product series: At www.zollverein.de, you can also purchase vouchers for many events at the World Heritage Site and in the ticket shop for the most popular Zollverein tours – even on 24 December for those who make last-minute decisions!

Around the public holidays and New Year’s Eve

On 24, 25 and 31 December 2024, many institutions at Zollverein will be closed and the impressive outdoor area with the world’s largest mobile work of art – the Global Gate on Werner-Müller-Platz – is particularly recommended for a contemplative stroll during the Christmas holidays. From 26 to 30 December 2024, many attractions such as the Zollverein ice rink, the Ruhr Museum, the Portal of Industrial Heritage and the Red Dot Design Museum will be open and nothing stands in the way of an extended visit to Zollverein between the years. However, please be aware of possible changes to the opening hours. Despite being closed, the World Heritage Site will bid farewell to the New Year on 31 December 2024 with all kinds of hustle and bustle, as there will of course be a highlight at the end of the year in 2024: the traditional New Year’s Eve run around Zollverein!