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Industrial Revolution
After the decline of heavy industry in Europe, the factories of the Ruhr, such as Zollverein – once described as “the most beautiful mine in the world” – took on the romanticism of a vast ruined Greek folly. It didn’t hurt that the fashion for patina became the dominant esthetic of our post-industrial times. Do the chicly dressed visitors in their designer workers’ boots and miners’ denim picking at their arugula salads in the rusted shell of what was once a burning smelter appreciate the irony? Signoret was onto something: It is truly amazing what we can feel nostalgia for. What this odd turn of events – and what, ultimately, industrial nostalgia tells us – is that you never know what you’ll miss till it’s gone. Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net |
