ɪnˈɪʃəli ɐ skˈuːl fɔːɹ pˈɪtmɛn ænd smˈɛltɚ wˈɜːkɚz, ɪt wʌz ɹˈeɪzd tə ðə stˈæɾəs əvə mˈaɪnɪŋ kˈɑːlɪdʒ baɪ ðə wɛstfˈeɪliən mˈɪnɪstɚ kˈaʊnt hˈænz vˈɑːn bˈuːloʊ ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd tˈɛn.
Initially a school for pitmen and smelter workers, it was raised to the status of a mining college by the Westphalian minister Count Hans von Bülow in 1810.