La Presta
La Presta is a disused asphalt mine in Switzerland in the Val de Travers , between the villages of Travers and Couvet .
history
The only significant natural asphalt deposit in Switzerland was discovered by Eirini d'Eirinis at the beginning of the 18th century . The exploitation of the near-surface deposits in opencast mining began in 1714, initially on the left bank of the Areuse , from 1830 on the right bank at La Presta.
In 1873 the exploitation began at day , the routes and tunnels finally reached a length of over 100 kilometers. At the height of mining in the 19th century, the mine accounted for a fifth of global asphalt production; the bitumen was shipped in blocks via Marseille .
It was not until 1975 that the pit horses were replaced by electric locomotives. The mine was closed in 1986. Today a part of La Presta is open to the public as a show mine . A traditional culinary specialty that is offered in the visitor restaurant is ham cooked in hot asphalt.
On September 21, 2016, an asphalt tanker named Lapresta was put into service and is used on the Westerschelde .
Web links
- Official website
- Marc Weidmann: Asphalt. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Jambon cuit dans l'asphalte in the database of Culinary Heritage of Switzerland
- Jean Meia: Derniers regards sur la Mine d'asphalte de La Presta (Val-de-Travers, Jura neuchâtelois, Suisse) . In: Bulletin de l'Association Suisse des Géologues et Ingenieurs du pétrole . tape 53 , no. 125 , 1987, pp. 47–56 ( e-periodica.ch [accessed on August 3, 2015]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Val-de-Travers: Areuse, Asphalt and Absinth ( NZZ , August 10, 2012)
Coordinates: 46 ° 55 '55.5 " N , 6 ° 39' 40.4" E ; CH1903: 540799 / 198181