Der Steinbruch der Lesse - Resteigne

Opposite the castle of Resteigne, on the Lesse’s right river bank, you can see the quarry of Resteigne.

This now abandoned quarry is frequently visited by geology students from universities all over Belgium. It is perfect for field trips and anyone wishing to get a better insight into the field of biostratigraphy. The specific conditions of the milieu have favoured the emergence of pioneer species, among which the rather remarkable (and also extremely rare) Slender Blue-winged Grasshopper (Sphingonotus caerulan).

Man has worked limestone here since the 6th c. AD, but we have no hard evidence of when the locals started exploiting the quarry. It produces a very fine-grained limestone with white speckles. In 1946, the quarry was merged with another quarry (in activity since 1868) that lies a little higher in the village. But the relations with the villagers quickly deteriorated when new mining techniques were employed, causing an increasingly deeper rift between the villagers and the quarry managers. Noise pollution, dust and gas were more and more harmful to village life and, in 1985 the Walloon Region decided not to renew the quarry’s mining permit.

Man has worked limestone here since the 6th century AD, but we have no hard evidence of when the locals started exploiting the quarry.