Attraction

OVS/TVS-gebouw Staatsmijn Wilhelmina

Casinolaan 6
Landgraaf
At Staatsmijn Wilhelmina, at the foot of the slag heap, a site was cleared in 1956 for the construction of a school. It must be a modern 'glass palace' of 800 m², intended for the OVS and TVS. 'OVS' stands for 'Underground Vocational School' and 'TVS' stands for 'Technical Vocational School'.

By offering these vocational training courses, the mine management hopes to bind young workers to the mines. During the Reconstruction, the need for coal is enormous. New staff is needed to continue to meet that need. Personnel who remain loyal to the employer and preferably come from the region.

Moreover, the rapidly modernizing mining company requires solid knowledge of technology, equipment and safety. The school building was completed in 1957. That is a relief, because until then the students are in temporary emergency accommodation and cramped, outdated mining school buildings.

The new OVS/TVS has an elongated floor plan and only has one storey to prevent mine damage. The building has a concrete skeleton with windows that let a lot of light into the classrooms. Of course there is also a gym with changing room and cloakroom, because sports and games are very important for health and team spirit.

The students practice underground work from the age of three in an artificial learning mine, excavated in the slag heap. The entrance to the teaching mine is still visible at the bottom right of the complex. After their training, the OVS and TVS employees are assured of a job in the mine.

In 1969 Staatsmijn Wilhelmina closed its doors. The vocational training courses have already been discontinued. With the exception of the school, the huge above-ground business complex will be completely demolished. Nowadays the OVS/TVS is a workplace that offers new perspectives to people with a distance to the labor market.

The MIJN lunch café is also located at this location in the OVS-TVS building of the Staatsmijn Wilhelmina. This is a social and homely lunch café that is accessible to everyone and a must to taste the mining past in Parkstad Limburg.
This text has been automatically translated using an online translation service.

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