Marienfeld

The mine area was named Marienfeld (German: Mary's Field) and landscaped in order to serve as the site of the Catholic Church's 20th World Youth Day in 2005.

An altar was built at the top of the hill, which was christened the Mountain of the 70 Nations by Cardinal Meisner, because little pieces of earth were brought from church delegates of 70 countries.

The name Marienfeld is derived from a Pietà sculpted in 1420 from French limestone that has been a destination for pilgrims seeking to venerate the Virgin Mary for centuries.

However, Grefrath itself was gradually resettled between 1952 and 1965 to make way for the expansion of the lignite mine, so the Pietà was moved again in 1963 to its present location at the parish church of Frechen-Grefrath (2 km from Marienfeld), where it remains on display.

The area used for the World Youth day celebrations should not be confused with the town of Marienfeld in the Gutersloh district of Germany, where the Portugal national football team stayed and which was used as a training area for the team during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and chosen again by it as its base for the UEFA Euro 2024.