Pauliberg basalt factory – “meteorites” underground in Central Burgenland

Black and mysterious, like messengers from space, the spheres rest in the basalt factory on Pauliberg near Markt St. Martin in Central Burgenland, which was founded in 1949. They are the treasures left behind by a Late Tertiary volcano. “Geologists were able to date its age to about 11 million years,” marvels Dr. The Esterházy estate is once again green with every local inspection.

A short eternity ago, Earth’s volcano stopped spewing lava. And the giant has long been extinct. But he left behind wonderful minerals and rocks that are useful to today’s civilization. “Every year, 450,000 tons of material are mined. It is used for concrete and grit. Basalt crushed stone is also an important component of asphalt. The flour is in turn used in the garden and vineyard to loosen the soil,” Grün explains.

The most impressive volcanic heritage are undoubtedly the basalt spheres that were formed deep beneath the Earth’s surface in ancient times! Their origin: gas bubbles that filled with magma, which then cooled and solidified. The heaviest circular formation ever brought to the surface at Pauliberg weighed a whopping 38 tons. Hundreds of larger and also smaller spheres will probably continue to appear in the future as silent witnesses to Earth’s history. The quarrying, which takes place under the strictest environmental regulations, has recently been extended by the authorities until 2064. In the light of the ancient basalt spheres, just a millionth of a second…