Wernsbach quarries
Coordinates: 49 ° 10 ′ 27.6 ″ N , 11 ° 4 ′ 57.1 ″ E The quarries of Wernsbach are abandoned quarries near Wernsbach , a district of Georgensgmünd in the Middle Franconian district of Roth in Bavaria .
location
The quarries are located in the Hollerstuben corridor, around 1,100 meters southeast of Wernsbach and 1,400 meters northeast of Mauk .
description
The quarry area represents the largest contiguous area in the entire district of Roth. On the 250 × 500 meter site there are weathered rock fragments , up to eight meters high steep excavation walls, stone arches and artificial tunnels from abandoned sandstone quarries. There are good insights into the different quality of the formerly coveted sandstone . .
The quarries are designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment as geotope 576A001 and have been awarded the official seal of approval “ Bavaria's most beautiful geotopes ”. See the list of geotopes in the Roth district .
history
The Burgsandstein (Löwenstein Formation) was created around 215 million years ago. Coarse-grained and fine-grained sediments settled in channels of flooded alluvial plains . Particularly solid, weather-resistant sandstones were created there, which were often used as solid building blocks.
Castle sandstone was quarried here around 600 years ago, preferably as a sideline and in the winter months for the needs of the surrounding farming communities. The blocks were detached from the wall with the simplest means and then broken to the desired dimensions. The arduous transport of the large stone blocks was a huge drudgery for the horses and oxen, after which the wagons were usually no longer usable. Processing traces from the arduous mining techniques of this era can no longer be found there. The extent of the quarrying was so small that quarries were not recorded there at all in the Bavarian original cadastre from 1808. The first extensive exploratory excavations probably took place after 1865. see. on this: historical map 1808–1864. One tunnel entrance is labeled with the year 1895, which obviously marks the beginning of industrial mining. In the following 30 years, possibly up to a million cubic meters of rock were removed from an area of around a tenth of a square kilometer and the stone blocks were transported to Nuremberg . Within a few decades, practically the entire mountain top had been radically "sawed off" at a height of eight to ten meters. The sawing and drilling marks are still visible after more than 100 years of weathering . The characteristic light-reddish castle sandstone characterizes the image of many villages in the Roth district and in the Nuremberg area. Large steam-powered rock saws, drills and hammers were used to mine . Barracks, tool sheds, emergency shelters and a canteen shed for feeding the workers were built directly on the demolition walls. Secured storage cellars for food, beverages, explosives, medical supplies, etc. were laid out according to plan. The rail connection from Georgensgmünd made transport easier. At the turn of the 20th century, a six-kilometer taxiway via Petersgmünd to Georgensgmünd was planned.
The abandoned site today gives the impression that, in view of the hard times of the First World War , the operators intended to create a hillside fortification well hidden in the forest with a size of 50 × 140 meters (7000 m²) as a "waste product" so to speak. However, the rapid decline in sandstone prices caused all these projects to fail and in the 1930s the quarry was completely shut down.
After the Second World War , it was accepted again for a few years, mainly for the reconstruction of the destroyed historical buildings.
Today the area is used for recreational activities and is a popular destination for hikers , climbers and mountain bikers .
Access
The quarries are freely accessible all year round. In some places there is a great risk of falling.
The area can be reached on foot or by bike via hiking trail number 2 or the circular hiking trail Der Seenländer from Wernsbach or Mauk. There are limited parking spaces in Wernsbach and Mauk.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ BayernAtlas: Location of the quarries (accessed on November 18, 2013)
- ↑ Geotope: Former quarries northeast of Mauk (accessed on November 18, 2013; PDF; 217 kB)
- ↑ Historical quarries Wernsbach (accessed on November 18, 2013)
- ↑ Historical map of the Hollerstube
- ↑ Hiking trail number 2 in OpenStreetMap (accessed on November 18, 2013)