Roman stone carving
Kunrader stone quarry, Voerendaal
Not afraid of mud, dust, and a bit of noise? Discover the Kunrader stone quarry in Voerendaal. Here, a type of stone is quarried that occurs in only one place in the entire world, shaped by millions of years of primal forces. Come and see how the rock-hard Kunrader stone is extracted from the ground, just as the Romans first did 2,000 years ago.
Kunrader stone is in fact the crème de la crème. The stones are quarried in a traditional, small-scale manner for special projects. For the authentic restoration of a centuries-old farmhouse, but also, for example, for the restoration of the Thermenmuseum. For this purpose, the stones are cut in exactly the same way as the Romans once did.
The baths in Coriovallum (Heerlen) were not the only structures for which the Romans used Kunrader stone. Many villas and farmhouses, such as Villa ten Hove in Furenthela (Voerendaal), were also built from the rock-hard limestone. The crushed stone even formed the foundation of the Via Belgica.
Discover
- Behold Roman stone carving
- Take an excursion into the quarry
- Search for fossils in the Kunrader stone
- Recognize the stone in local architecture
Fun to know
- Foundation of the Via Belgica
- At the Kunrader stone quarry, every part of the stone is used, from block to dust. The Romans were already this sustainable. Large pieces became building blocks, smaller chunks and rubble were processed into mortar (the precursor of cement), and the dust was used to fertilize fields. The gravel (comparable to crushed stone) was used in the construction of roads, such as the Via Belgica.