Essen Essen
Closing down of mines:
Already in the 60s many miners were effected by the closing down of ther mines. Especially in 1964 more than 30 large and 20 smaller mines quit working. In Essen more than 10000 miners lost their jobs. In the following years, more and more miners became unemployed. Another, not as important factor were the costs of the dammage of houses and streets caused by mining. Some areas lost about 10m in height due to the sinking of the ground which resulted in tremendous costs. 1976 the last smaller mine of the Ruhr Area was closed. Consequently, more and more poeple began to leave the cities of the Ruhr. In 1978 more than 6000 people emigrated from Essen. Other industries were effected by the mining crisis too, such as the Ruhrgas AG of Essen. They had to almost completely shift from coke gas to natural gas. Slowly but persistently mining moved to the north and left a high number of unemployment in the south. However, this was not the only leftover of the mining industry. Moreover, there were polluted soilds which had to be decontaminated at the expense of the city. Finally, the last working mine in Essen - "Zeche Zollverein" - was closed down in 1986. With this, the era of mining which had boosted the rise of Essen was finished. Yet the city managed to recover completely. Many new jobs were created, particularly in the service sector. Nowadays, many important international companies have their headquaters in Essen.
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