Rochlitz Porphyry Tuff

Already used as grindstone material in prehistoric times, the Rochlitz Porphyry Tuff has been intensively utilized as building and ornamental stone since in the early 12th century. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings and monuments witness the use of this stone in the region of occurrence over all European architectural style periods. Until the 19th century, the use of Rochlitz Porphyry Tuff was limited to the close proximity of the quarries and the adjacent areas. Thus, the conspicuous colour and texture of the stone is a characteristic feature of numerous historic buildings and monuments in the rich cultural landscape of north-west Saxony. The rapid development of infrastructure in the second half of the 19th century facilitated the distribution of Rochlitz Porphyry Tuff far beyond the borders of Saxony. Since then it was used in many cities in all parts of Germany, occasionally also abroad. Iconic buildings with Rochlitz Porphyry Tuff are, among others, the church St Thomas in Leipzig, the domain of the composer J.S. Bach (Renaissance galleries in the interior), the Villa Esche in Chemnitz, designed by Henry van de Velde in Art Nouveau style (1911), and the mausoleum of the philosopher Immanuel Kant in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad, Russia). The material was used for all kinds of construction elements like ashlars, columns, tracery, cladding, but also for sculptures, gravestones, millstones, troughs, weights, and even for cannon balls. Two quarries are still producing stone for construction and restoration purposes as well as for sculptures.