The flue gas stack on the Bastenberg in Bestwig-Ramsbeck is a relic from the mining era. The chimney is not accessible to visitors. However, at the foot of the chimney there is a rest area with seating and a good view over the Valmetal.
The chimney is about 20 m high.
During Advent a star shines on its top, during Easter a cross and at the rest of the time a flag flies on the chimney.
Every year on Ascension Day (Father's Day) the fireplace festival is held at the chimney.
The circular hiking trail R2 (from Ramsbeck), the Bestwig panorama trail and the mining trail lead directly past the chimney. A hiking tip is the 12 km long Ramsbeck mining tour.
The environmentally harmful gases that were produced during the smelting of ore were discharged through this brick chimney up to the Bastenberg. The sulfur dioxide contained in the exhaust gases, together with the humidity in the air, turned into sulfuric acid, a substance harmful to the environment. To prevent this from happening, the chimney was built with two flues over a distance of 20 meters to allow as much sulfur dioxide and humidity as possible to condense on the cold walls. This was to prevent "acid rain".
New: a webcam provides current images from the top of the chimney: https://sauerland.camera/?site=webcam&cam=ramsbeck