Growing infrastructure, hard work

For centuries, Grauwacke served as an important building material along the rivers Agger, Leppe and Sülz. The construction of the church tower of St Severin from Grauwacke and its consecration took place in 1156. Commercial use at Brungerst can be traced back to 1633. However, the poor road conditions made transportation almost impossible. Only with immense effort could the heavy horse-drawn wagons pass along the old mountain paths. The railway brought a turning point: the closer a quarry operation was to a railway station, the easier and cheaper it was to organise the shipping of the massive products.

With advancing industrialisation, the Prussian Rhine Province was crisscrossed by an increasingly dense network of roads and railways. Grauwacke was now used as packing material, gravel, crushed stone and for paving. The new market promised high profits and quickly led to the establishment of new quarries. Before the First World War, Bergische Grauwacke was in high demand far beyond the borders of the German Empire. However, in the 1920s and 1930s, sales were subject to strong economic fluctuations.

In the quarries, the clearers cleared the rock of shrubs and earth and removed the waste to large heaps. The pounders levered the stone from the steep slopes and with great effort split it into manageable blocks. Explosives, such as black powder, were also used here. The tippers then processed the material into the desired product in front of their open huts. In a 12-hour shift, half a cubic metre of Grauwacke could be processed. The more delicate work was done by the stonemasons. The blacksmiths in their smoky forges took care of the maintenance of the tools.

Italian workers were first recruited for the stone industry in 1890. Later, during both world wars, prisoners of war and forcibly displaced civilians were forced to work in the quarries – often without experience, with poor food, and under inhumane conditions.

Grauwacke also reflects our history.