Porphyry less in demand - quarry files for insolvency

The Rochlitz porphyry has been used for buildings far beyond Saxony - but now the quarrying company for the unique natural stone has filed for insolvency. Klaus Kalenborn, Managing Director of Vereinigte Porphyrbrüche auf dem Rochlitzer Berge GmbH, blamed a lack of orders for the move. "The crucial point is that we suddenly had significantly fewer orders," he told the "Freie Presse" newspaper.

A year ago, the Managing Director had still spoken of a good situation in terms of demand and sales. The company had orders until spring 2024. At that time, the company from Mittelsachen had five employees, including the managing director. Reinhard Klose was appointed as the provisional insolvency administrator. This can be seen in the official insolvency announcements.

Acknowledged as a natural stone

The Rochlitz porphyry is used in gardening and landscaping, for gravestones and monuments and in the construction sector. For example, the fertility fountain in Berlin or the grave of Immanuel Kant in Königsberg (Kaliningrad) were created from the reddish volcanic stone.

Since 2022, the Rochlitz porphyry has also been able to call itself a "Heritage Stone", awarded by the International Union of Geological Sciences. The porphyry tuff is the first German natural stone to receive this award.