Bergkristall in Riedenburg im Altmühltal


The Largest Cluster of Rock-Crystal

in Riedenburg in the national park Altmuehl valley



The museum was founded to be home for the huge stone, and the cluster of rock-crystal which weighs 7.8 tons and measures 66 square feet has helped to make the museum famous.
In 1981 the giant quartz stone was found near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Its home is now Riedenburg, and it has literally been the foundation-stone of the museum, the first exhibit.
This miracle of nature surpasses all other rock-crystals as to extent, perfection, beauty, and clarity of the crystal. Therefore it has been entered in the Guiness Book of Records. As remarkable as the cluster itself is the story of its formation in millions of years. The site where it was found is about twelve miles from Hot Springs. There is the huge quartz mine, the Blocker Lead Mine Number Four. In a depth of about 75 feet there is a thick band of quartz in which the cluster was discovered in 1981. Engineers immediately stopped working in order to be able to salvage the cluster. They had to build a difficult construction to prevent the crystal from splitting. The cleft in which it stuck was fortunately filled with fine clay so that the crystals were protected.
Packing up and transporting the colossus was equally difficult. It was sent to Munich via New Orleans and Bremerhaven. In the International Geology Exhibition it was the most splendid item, admired by experts from all over the world. One of the admirers bought it, transported it to Riedenburg and built a museum around it.



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Zuletzt aktualisiert am 10.02.2017