Marble from Wattental - dolomite rock in the quarry near Wattenberg
BASIC INFORMATION
ACCESSIBILITY: from the outside
MUNICIPALITY: Wattenberg
ADDRESS: Wattentaler Landstraße
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES: 47.244952, 11.622612
PROVINCE: North Tyrol
DIRECTIONS: You can reach the former quarry via the Inntal motorway A12. Proceed until exit Wattens and then further on the roundabout towards the town centre (1st exit). Follow the signs to Wattenberg. After you reach the Mühle Inn in Wattenberg, proceed for approximately 2 km on the highway, where on your left you will find a dirt road leading to the quarry.
DESCRIPTION
The "Wattentaler Marble" is a light grey dolomite rock and was mined above the road leading to the Wattener Lizum. The quarry near Wattenberg was opened in 1938 and is currently no longer in operation. The fine-grained dolomite rock was mined through blasting and was used as a construction material for the retaining walls of the road to Wattener Lizum, as building stone for private houses in Wattenberg and Wattens and last but not least, as the foundation for the military training area Lizum/Walchen (restricted military area).
A view of the dolomite rock in the former Wattenberg quarry
BIBLIOGRAPHY
M. Unterwurzacher, Tiroler Marmorbaue und bedeutende Vorkommen, Veröffentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum, 87, 205-220, 2007.
AUTHOR: Tobias Bader, 30/04/2020
