Pretty Ugly Things

A recent visit to the coal mines of Essen have made me pause and think about the great places that don’t seem to get the attention they deserve.

We travel thousands of miles to see palaces, churches, and castles. But what about the mines, the factories, and the bunkers that have been rebuilt into something more beautiful than their original, intended purpose? Can there not be romance or beauty in reinvented function too?

Inspired by a visit to a coal mine in the Ruhr Valley, I present a short list of European sights worthy of some attention.

Essen’s Zollverein 

This was Germany’s ultimate coal mine. Now that it's closed, parts of the industrial sprawl have become event spaces and museums, like the Red Dot Museum. Housed in the Zollverein's deepest mine, the Red Dot is a display of great contemporary design (graphic design, industrial design, product design, you name it).

I’m not sure what the coal miners would make of what became of their workplace, but the juxtaposition is striking.

Off to the coal mine

This part of the Zollverein complex is derelict.

You could get away with calling it Germany's Rust Belt.

Design!

More design! This time rude gloves.

Aliens!

Is she a designer?
Or is she a Bond villain in her lair of design things?

Salt Mines of Wieliczka

The Zollverein wasn't the first mine we visited. The salt mines of Wieliczka, near Krakow, were our first mine. Mined for over 700 hundred years, it has decidedly less Rust Belt ambiance, in part because of the statues and chapels the miners built. These are no doubt are comforting if your job involved long hours working under the threat of noxious fumes, cave-ins, and explosive pockets of methane.

A Polish King.

A church underground. Comforting if you're claustrophobic.

Most of East Berlin

I write a lot about Berlin, but it's been reinvented a few times so it's worth mentioning. Along with erecting a wall in the middle of the city – some sections of which are a gallery – the communists also loved building factories and gas plants in the city centre. Some were torn down to make way for Germany’s ambitious unification building program. Others became electro-dens of sin, with parties going from Friday to Monday morning. Most became a canvas for street art.

Cheerful East Side Gallery.

Dreary East Side Gallery.

The view from Mörchenpark.

Vienna’s Anti-Aircraft Bunker

Believe it or not, it’s pretty hard to demolish a concrete building built to withstand continuous Allied carpet bombing. What’s the alternative? The wily Viennese turned one into an aquarium.

AAA Tower.
Or Awesome Aquarium... something... Tower.

The Tate in London

During my first visit to London I had an afternoon to myself and had dilemma: Do I listen to the history nerd in me and go to the British Museum or do I heed the advice of the art-sy fart-sy nerd in me and hit up the Tate Modern? The Tate won the coin toss.

Can we call people who go to the Tate, Taters?