Lengenbach quarry
Origin of the name Lengenbach quarry
The site bears the name Lengenbach, which remains unexplained. Several of its minerals honour researchers and figures of the quarry: baumhauerite, hutchinsonite, stalderite, imhofite and ralphcannonite.[1][3]
Founding of Lengenbach quarry
The Lengenbach quarry lies in the Binn valley (Binntal), on the territory of the municipality of Binn. It is cut into dolomite marble formed in the Triassic, some 240 million years ago, then buried at great depth and strongly heated during the formation of the Alps. English prospectors worked it a first time, then the deposit was forgotten. About a century later, foreign scholars recognised its scientific value. The Lengenbach became the best-known mineral site of the valley: some 170 mineral species are recorded there, more than 50 of them first described here.[1][2][3]
History of Lengenbach quarry
1732. English prospectors work the deposit for the first time.[1]
1845. A French scholar describes dufrénoysite, the first new mineral from the Lengenbach.[1]
1900. Valley residents found the Dolomit-Aktiengesellschaft to extract the minerals properly. During this first period, 13 new species are described.[1]
winter 1907-1908. The early death of Franz Jentsch, head of the company, slows activity.[1]
1914. The First World War slows work further. The quarry is abandoned and buried by avalanches.[1][2]
1958. Reopening on the initiative of Josef Imhof and the University of Bern.[1][2]
summer 1972. Safety works on the south face.[1]
1987. The old quarry is filled in and a new one opened further east.[1]
1997. Dissolution of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lengenbach (AGL), financed by natural history museums and private individuals, which had extracted more than 30'000 samples.[1]
1997-2002. The Interessengemeinschaft Lengenbach (IGL) takes over the work for five years. The concrete hall and the geological trail date from this period.[1]
2003. The Forschungsgemeinschaft Lengenbach (FGL) takes charge of scientific extraction, with Ralph Cannon as technical manager.[1]
2016. The geological trail, now the Gesteinserlebnisweg, is renovated.[1]
Historic sites in Lengenbach quarry
Quarry and hall. The new quarry, opened in 1987 east of the old one, is complemented by a concrete hall built between 1997 and 2002.[1]
Gesteinserlebnisweg. Rock discovery trail, laid out as a geological trail between 1997 and 2002 and renovated in 2016.[1]
Sources
- Landschaftspark Binntal, « Mineraliengrube Lengenbach » (P. Roth, R. Cannon, T. Raber, J. Meyer, E. Drechsler), dépliant
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (version allemande du Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse), « Binn » (Alma Treyer, version du 03.05.2004)
- geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Lengenbach)
Other villages near Lengenbach quarry
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change