Chronicle
What happens to a quarry when it is no longer profitable to use it economically? This question now arises in the Ludesch quarry, which is around 120 years old. For the operators and the community, one thing is clear: the site should be made accessible and tangible for the population in the future.
The quarry is 120 years old and seven hectares in size. It is run by the fifth generation – the Ludesch quarry is part of the history of the Walgau. The quarry is still officially approved, but in the past ten years limestone quarrying has been used less and less economically. So that this special place is not simply left to nature again, the mining area is to be opened up for new projects under the motto “Stein.um.bruch”.
“Use the space and chances”
A series of events was started in mid-November – the project kicked off in a specially built “rock hotel” at the quarry. The population should propose new usage ideas within the next year.
“Basically, we see an area with the quarry, where up to now it has always been a taboo subject for the general public to enter – because it is simply a quarry and you are not allowed to enter it. And now you are trying to think: What can happen in the quarry in Ludesch in the future?” describes the mayor of Ludesch, Martin Schanung, the process. “I don’t think the topic of resources should be thought of in a one-dimensional way,” says Philipp Tomaselli, the operator of the quarry. “It’s simply a matter of thinking broadly about this space and the opportunities that this quarry offers and taking the first step here.”
Visions for the Ludesch quarry
120 years old, run by the fifth generation and seven hectares in size: the Ludesch quarry is part of the history of the Walgau. Now the mining area is to be made accessible and tangible for the population. The first step is now being taken in a field hotel in the middle of the site, where around 20 events are already planned until December 23rd.
Cultural events, photovoltaics or residential complex?
And there are already quite a few ideas: cultural events, sporting events or club activities are all part of them. But also using the steps of the quarry as an alternative source of energy: “The production of energy is a huge topic today,” says Franz Kaiser, Managing Director of the Bludenz company Transbeton, “we have a perfect alignment of the quarry to the south. That would be possible with photovoltaics”.
But there are already suggestions for a development – for example for a residential complex in a stepped construction. But there are also inquiries from catering establishments who want to build a sun terrace upstairs. “Then we also have the so-called ‘quarry devils’, those climbers who want a wall for their climbing garden,” says Josef Pfefferkorn, chairman of the Ludesch agricultural community. And adds: “We don’t want to close our eyes to these ideas.” What is then actually realized in the quarry is to be fixed after a year of brainstorming.