WHERE HAS POLISH CARRARA GONE?
Princess Marianne of Orange would shed many a tear over the fact that the quarry she founded at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in Stronie Śląskie is no longer in operation. And the material extracted there – White Marianna and Green Marianna marble – has disappeared from the market.
White Marianna is one of the most decorative marbles, compared to Carrara marbles. It is a variety with excellent parametric properties, including resistance to weathering. White Marianna has been used for stone decorations in the interiors of many government buildings, theatres, hotels, cinemas – including the Sejm (Polish Parliament), the National Philharmonic, the Grand Theatre, the European Hotel and the walls of the Central Railway Station in Warsaw. In the past, White Marianna was used for making small accessories: candlesticks, table plates, desk suits, etc.
Green Marianna is a variation hard and difficult to process, very resistant to weathering. Green Marianna slabs were used to line the subways of the Central Railway Station in Warsaw. They were also used in the interior design of the Cracovia hotel in Cracow.
Both White and Green Marianne were used by Princess Marianne of Orange for the interior design of her residence under construction – the palace in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. In the past, both varieties were used to decorate many churches and palaces.
In the sixties of the last century an attempt was made in the Stronie Construction Stone Factory to saw the blocks of Green Marianna on multi-saw gang saws with cast iron sand abrasive. A commission from the association and the research and development centre came to Stronie. The sawing tests were successful. The envoys wanted to share the good news with the management and it was decided to send a telegram. They were astonished when the lady at the post office window, all in a puff, refused to accept the telegram objecting: “But Marianna cannot be cut.” After some explanation the telegram was sent.
Unfortunately, you can no longer rub or cut Marianne, because she there is none…
And one might only ask: is there a better way?
Source: Kurier kamieniarski
Author: Bogusław Skolak | Published: 22 March 2019
