A trip down Friedrich-Heinrich-Allee in Kamp-Lintfort gives the impression of walking down a French avenue, but it is actually the Friedrich Heinrich Colliery. On 14 August 1906, a French banking group, led by the Pariser Industrie- und Handelskreditbank (Industrial and Commercial Credit Bank), acquired a coal district west of the Rhine. It was named after Friedrich Heinrich Freiherr von Diergardt, whose heirs had sold the pits. In the beginning of October, the purchasers founded the colliery Steinkohlenbergwerk Friedrich Heinrich AG, with the Parisian banker Albert de Montplanet as chairman of the supervisory board.

Why the French interest in German hard coal? Although French iron works had their own ore resources, they lacked the coke needed for smelting. In order to avoid continually purchasing expensive coke from abroad, a source of cokeable coal had to be secured.

In 1907, drilling work began in rural areas to sink mineshafts, and colliery buildings, including a coking plant, were erected. Under the direction of mine director Franz Brenner, a twin-shaft system of truly monumental appearance had been created by 1913. Their imposing character was regarded unique in the Ruhr Region as they had been planned right from the start "to later enable large extensions without disturbing the overall picture". Today still, these solid looking brick buildings, almost completely unchanged, form two sides of the avenue. Under the name Bergwerk West, the mine is expected to operate until 2012 by the RAG Deutsche Steinkohle. (KP)