The Location.
The opening of the Dortmund-Ems canal created a new commercial artery for the Ruhrgebiet. Mass goods like coal, ore and building materials could now be directly transported along the canal to the harbours on the North Sea, or brought from there into the Ruhrgebiet. The ship lift was a hive of activity. 40 boats a day were taken up and down in the moving troughs. Nonetheless the boatmen often had to wait several days before they could get through.

The old ship lift served the canal for 70 years before being replaced by a modern ship lift in the immediate vicinity. After its closure the splendid old construction fell into a state of dilapidation until the regional authority decided to take it
over and restore it as one of its sites belonging to the Westphalian Industrial Museum. In 1995 the ship lift was awarded the European Museum prize.