Welcome to our mineral gallery!
Minerals are the crystalline building blocks of our Earth. They grow together in the rock, as we have seen with granite. It’s different when a mineral can develop freely because there is enough space in cavities. The result is what collectors are after: well-developed minerals with their typical crystal structure.
Here, you’re shown a colorful and large selection of minerals. Not only ones that can be found in our region, but also many others. Around 3,500 different minerals are known. Some are common, such as quartz. Others are extremely rare.
I would like to draw your attention in particular to two minerals that would seem to be completely unrelated: diamond and graphite — the hardest and one of the softest minerals. They have one thing in common: they are both made of carbon. The difference lies in the way the carbon atoms are joined together, in the crystal structure. In fact, graphite can be turned into diamond under high pressure — without any magic.
The raw material graphite, so important for industry, is extracted from the Earth in underground mines just a few kilometers from here in a town called Kropfmühl. You’ll also find graphite here in the Granite Center: around 1,000 square meters of walls and ceilings are lined with it.
Take a look around our mineral gallery and then we’ll take you back up to the surface and back to the present. At the end of the corridor, you can even take the elevator. We’ll meet again at the transition to the time of humanity!