Coal industry has long flourished in Osnabrück. Themine was closed in the late XIX century, but sandstone is still mined near MountPiesberg where there is a museum of industrial culture. The main exhibition ofthe Museum of Industrial Culture is about the transformation of Osnabrück froma village of the XVIII century to a modern industrial and commercial center.Some rooms are dedicated to the coal extraction, steam engines, and the firstfactories.
The hall aboutthe coal extraction tells how coal is formed and an interesting collection offossils is displayed. In the machine hall the floor vibrates when the two steamengines- one of 1849 and the other of1916-run. These engines drive the milling and turning machines. Perhaps, it is mostinteresting when the glass elevator takes visitors into the mine. A 300-metertunnel, with a storage room at its end awaits them at a depth of 30m. Theminers’ bath is above it. Nowadays exhibitions are held there.