Saar Polygon

The Saar Polygon (Saarpolygon) in Ensdorf is a walk-up steel landmark on a former coal spoil heap and the best-known monument to the end of hard coal mining in Saarland. Depending on where you stand it looks like a gate, a triangle or a cross. If you want an unusual viewpoint with industrial history, this is the place: you climb the stairs to the platform and look across the Saar valley toward Saarlouis.

The story behind it

Saarland's last coal mine, Bergwerk Saar in Ensdorf, closed in June 2012. A local association then set out to create a landmark honoring the miners, and an international competition drew 147 entries. The winners were the Berlin architects Katja Pfeiffer and Oliver Sachse. The sculpture was built in spring 2016 and opened on September 16 and 17, 2016. It cost about two million euros, paid for by the mining company RAG, the RAG foundation, the state and donors, who could symbolically buy a stair step for 1,000 euros.

What to see

• The structure: It is 27.55 meters high, with a 40-meter span connecting two towers. From above it forms the shape of a Z.
• Viewing platform: About 130 steps lead up on each side; the platform weighs roughly 60 tons.
• Duhamel heap: The heap covers about 50 hectares and rises around 150 meters above the valley, with paths past sculptures and a small vineyard of about 99 vines.
• Photo tip: Sunrise and sunset color the heap, and the polygon looks different from every direction.

Visiting (as of October 2026)

Allow one to two and a half hours for the climb, the platform and the way back. The lower slopes are gentle, but the final stretch is steep and not suited to strollers or visitors who are not fit. According to the operator RAG, the Saar Polygon is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; no admission fee is listed. Because the stairs are open steel, take extra care in wind, rain or darkness. The platform is reachable by stairs only, so it is not wheelchair accessible.

How to get there

Ensdorf lies on the Saar River in western Saarland, close to the town of Saarlouis, and the usual starting point is the RAG office at Provinzialstraße 1. Drive in via the Ostring, where RAG says there is ample parking; the climb begins there, with access points on the west side (Provinzialstraße) and the south side (Am Fußenkreuz). By bus, bus line 402 serves the stop Saarschacht in Ensdorf, about 200 meters from the office. Saarlouis is connected by regional train, so combine the visit with the old fortress town.

Nearby

Saarlouis, with its Vauban fortifications laid out in the 17th century, is right next door and makes an easy second stop on the same day.