Tárnoki Kőfejtő / Quarry of Tárnok

History of the quarry

Geohistory

The most important rocks in Buda Mountains are the limestone and the dolomite evolved in the Middle Triassic period of geological history. Today’s landscape was significantly influenced by tectonic plate movements beside the creation of sedimentary rocks. In the Triassic period the dolomite and the limestone accumulated in so extremely great volume that it even exceeded 2500m in width at some points in one of the tongue of Tethys, the sinking Paratethys swallow sea. 

The Romans started to mine building rocks by open and closed work methods. They surrounded their ramparts by enforcing walls and bastions made by stone, which required a great amount of limestone (Campona, Aquincum).

During the upcoming centuries an industry-like stone mining emerged here. Most of them were transported by water (pinnace etc) to construction sites (buildings of Pest-Buda, the Parliament and even stones were used for British Parliament and Opera House of Vienna from here).

Viticulture has been run since the times of Celtics and Romans, therefore cellars were needed for maturing wine where temperature is constantly between 12-15 0C  and humidity is around 75-80%. Wineries settled in routes and pits arisen by stone mining where the grapes grown locally and in the surroundings of Buda were processed and matured. This process was only temporarily interrupted by the phylloxera disease broken out in the 1860s and ‘70s. In the neighbouring settlements, Tök, Páty, Etyek the viticulture itself resuscitates, while in Budafok and Tétény the storage and trade of wine has been developing to the leading industry sector of the area.  

History of the quarry of Tárnok

During wars it was used as casemates, then for storing vegetables (potatoes) and producing mushrooms. Movies were also shot here like the cave scenes of Egri Csillagok (Stars of Eger) and the Captain of Tenkes also rode from here.

During the days of councils this cellar system was filled with waste and scraps from system-buildings of which removal has not been finished yet during the last 40 years due to its thousands of m3 of volume. In the 80s I produced 60-80 tons of mushrooms a week for export. First I transported to Austria (Vienna, Graz) then to Germany through various export companies.  Later when I had the chance I purchased the area. Today, movie shooting and concerts take place here.   

Contact

Lajos Onestyak
E-mail: lajos.onestyak@gmail.com