A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of coal, railroad companies, cultural groups, and watersheds and other geographical considerations. At one time the coalfield designation was an important category in business and industrial discussions. The terminology declined into unimportance as the 20th century progressed, and was probably only referred to by a few small railroads and history buffs by the 1980s. Renewed interest in industrial heritage and coal mining history has brought the old names of the coalfields before a larger audience.
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In this Dossier
Coalfield in the context of Ostrava
Ostrava (Czech pronunciation: [ˈostrava] ; Polish: Ostrawa; Silesian: Ôstrawa; German: Ostrau) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies 15 km (9 mi) from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava, Ostravice and Lučina. Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of both population and area, the second largest city in the region of Moravia, and the largest city in the historical land of Czech Silesia. It straddles the border of the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia. The wider conurbation – which also includes the towns of Bohumín, Havířov, Karviná, Orlová, Petřvald and Rychvald – is home to about 500,000 people, making it the largest urban area in the Czech Republic apart from the capital Prague.
Ostrava grew in importance due to its position at the heart of a major coalfield, becoming an important industrial engine of the Austrian empire. During the 20th century it was known as the "steel heart" of Czechoslovakia thanks to its status as a coal-mining and metallurgical centre, but since the Velvet Revolution (the fall of communism in 1989) it has undergone radical and far-reaching changes to its economic base. Industries have been thoroughly restructured, and the last coal was mined in the city in 1994. However, remnants of the city's industrial past are visible in the Lower Vítkovice area, a former coal-mining, coke production and ironworks complex in the city centre which retains its historic industrial architecture. Lower Vítkovice has applied for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Coalfield in the context of Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Chesterfield is a market and industrial town in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 24 miles (39 km) north of Derby and 11 miles (18 km) south of Sheffield at the confluence of the Rivers Rother and Hipper. In 2011, the built-up-area subdivision had a population of 88,483, making it the second-largest settlement in Derbyshire, after Derby. The wider Borough of Chesterfield had a population of 103,569 in the 2021 Census. In 2021, the town itself had a population of 76,402.
It has been traced to a transitory Roman fort dated to approximately AD 80-100. The name of the later Anglo-Saxon village comes from the Old English ceaster (Roman fort) and feld (pasture). It has a sizeable street market three days a week. The town sits on an old coalfield, but little visual evidence of mining remains since the closure of the final town centre mine nicknamed “The Green Room”. The main landmark is the crooked spire of the Church of St Mary and All Saints.