Tagebauaussichtspunkt Düren-Merken

The Düren-Merken viewing point is located at the south-easternmost edge of the Inden open-cast mine and was opened in May 2019. From here, visitors can enjoy an extraordinary panoramic view over the entire mining field - an impressive change of perspective that makes the enormous scale of lignite mining immediately tangible. Unlike the Schophoven viewing point in Inden, the view here is straight across the entire open-cast mining landscape.

Several detailed information boards provide information on five main topics, including the technology of large-scale equipment such as bucket wheel excavators, ongoing recultivation measures and the future of open-cast mining. Special attention is paid to the structural change project "indeland Partner. ich.see.zukunft": After coal extraction, a lake of around twelve square kilometers is to be created in the mining field, which will be roughly the size of Lake Tegernsee. This so-called Indesee will be filled with water from the Rur for many years and will be surrounded by meadows, forests and farmland in future. The Düren-Merken viewpoint thus impressively combines a view of the industrial present with the vision of a new lake and recreational landscape.