Mining colonies: Alte Kolonie Niederberg, Neukirchen

In 1911 the owners of several mining concessions in Neukirchen, Vluyn, Niephauserfeld, Kapellen and Moers that had been united as the Grubenfeld Verein in 1857 founded the Lower Rhine Mining Company (Niederrheinische Bergwerk AG) based in Moers. Later the company headquarters moved to Neukirchen.

The first pit to be sunk was situated on the Dickscheheide between the villages of Neukirchen and Vluyn. The site was known as Niederberg (literally the lower hill) after a distinct elevation on the edge of the heath. The colliery was developed on both sides of the railway with the area to the north initially meant as a slag heap. The colliery is located on the site of the Hugen Hof farm (northern part) and the Kamphausen farm. The Bendschenhof farm still exists today and stands just outside of the colliery enclosure along the Ophülsgraben and Bendschenweg.

Work on pit Moers 1 started in 1912. Work on the second pit (named Moers 2) was begun in 1913. It was located next to the first pit. This was also the year that building work started south of the colliery site to provide for temporary workers housing.

As a result of the outbreak of WW1 pit construction was halted. Pit Moers1 reached the final depth in 1917. Production started soon after. The second pit wasn't completed until 1919. In 1921 all lifts and conveyors were in place so production from both pits could start.

Because of economic strains the bituminous coal that this mine produced wasn't in great demand. Thus, mining activities were temporarily suspended in 1932. After six months of cessation, mining could be resumed. After that, the production developed steadily. in the same year a briquette factory was opened that operated on the colliery site. After WW2 the focus shifted towards the production of household fuel from high grade anthracite coal (Anthrazit or Glanzkohle) and the production of chemical compounds.

At the same time that the first pit was completed a mining colony was built directly east of the colliery site. This Alte Kolonie (literally the Old Colony) was situated halfway between Neukirchen and Vluyn and was situated next to the older Plattenkolonie (1915-'16) consisting of wooden barracks between the railway and the Waldstraße. The Alte Kolonie - initially called Kolonie Bergwerk Niederberg - was developed between 1917 and 1925 and consists mainly of terraced houses for mine workers, some semidetached houses for middle management and a few detached villas for upper management. Along the Laukenstraße and Waldstraße semidetached and short terraced rows of three dwellings were erected between 1918 and 1919. These English inspired buildings are now part of the Plattenkolonie. The red wooden barracks were torn down in the 1960s. After WW2 the Glück Auf Siedlung was developed east of the Plattenkolonie. It is now part of Neukirchen South. The Alte Kolonie and Neukirchen South are separated by allotments along a stream (Lorfeldgraben).

The Alte Kolonie (A) has the Weddigerplatz (W) at its heart and is connected to the neighbouring Plattensiedlung (P) by the Hindenburgplatz (H) and a strip of allotment gardens (G) along the Larfeldgraben. Along the railway a row of barracks (B) used to stand. The outbuildings of the former Dickesche Hof farm were transformed into a Casino (community hall). Both farm and Casino no longer exist. The Höfken farm (h) next to the railway still stands. The Londongshof farm was transformed into a small colony: the Londong Kolonie (L). It was replaced by flats in the 1960s. After WW2 the Glück Auf Siedlung was built. This lead to the foundation of a school (S) and a new church (C) that replaced the wooden school buildings and provisionary church building (Notkirche) that stood behind the Dickesche Hof.

The Alte Kolonie fits with the German ideas on social housing. It doesn't follow the garden city principles on layout but shows a more formal distribution of dwellings along long streets with a green open space at its heart and  allotment gardens on the edge. The housing is not socially mixed but separated with the larger semidetached and detached properties in the southern part of the mining colony. The post-war extension (Glück Auf Siedlung) follows the pattern, but the buildings are much less detailed in style and do not reference vernacular architecture (Alte Kolonie) or the cottage style (Plattensiedlung).

The oldest part of the colony is a row of wooden barracks. The second phase fans out from the Hindenburgplatz. The third phase is focused on the Weddigenplatz. The latter is situated along the old route connecting Vluyn with Neukirchen, renamed Ernst Moritz Arndtstraße after the famous poet and patriotic writer. In the third phase The Bendschenweg was extended to the Siebertstraße. In the fourth phase of development the Laukenstraße was extended east and new streets were constructed running of the main route (E.M. Arndt Straße). The Bendschemweg wasn't extended across the Larfeldgraben as the new main route until the second half of the 1960s.This route then became the backbone of further housing developments (Fichte Siedlung).