Quarries of Ober- and Unterrieden

Quarry wall in the quarry

The quarries of Ober- and Unterrieden are abandoned quarries near Oberrieden , a district of the Middle Franconian town of Altdorf in Bavaria .

geography

The quarries are right next to each other about 600 meters southwest of Oberrieden and one kilometer northeast of Unterrieden . The remains of a lime kiln are located near the two quarries . The concrete loading silo is still clearly visible next to the connecting road from Unterrieden to Oberrieden . The quarry walls have collapsed and the area has overgrown.

The quarries are freely accessible all year round. In some places there is a risk of falling. The site can be reached on foot or by bike from Oberrieden via unsigned forest paths.

geology

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Quarry, December 2013

In the two quarries, the Upper Jurassic limestone and marl limestone of the Oxfordium are exposed. The carbonate rocks known as Werkkalke and Lower Marlkalke are rich in animal fossils .

use

The broken rock was burned to lime in the lime kiln or sold raw. The raw rock and lime were transported to the loading silo via conveyor belts. The rock was used intensively for the construction of the surrounding motorways until the 1960s and especially during the Third Reich .

Today the area is used for recreational purposes and is partially filled with rubble . Several requests have also been made to completely fill the quarries.

Geotopes and memorial

The eastern quarry is designated as a geotope by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment . The former quarry southwest of Oberrieden with an area of around 1500 m² has the geotope number 574A014. The western quarry was designated as a geotope (574A015). To the west of the quarries in the beech forest are the remains of a lime kiln. The kiln, now around 7 meters high, was built from red bricks in 1920. It is designated as a monument D-5-74-112-277 .