Moresnet

Under the municipality of Moresnet runs a vein rich in zinc. After the sand was transformed into sandstone millions of years ago, deep cracks appeared in that rock. Warm volcanic water was able to penetrate into it. That water contained all kinds of chemical elements. One of them was zinc. There were many small cracks, but also one large crack, just below the municipality of Moresnet. And it is in that crack that Smithsonite, zinspar or zinc carbonate was deposited. Early inhabitants discovered near Moresent that the stones had curious properties. Romans used the material to make alloys and smear it on their skin as medicine for inflammation and ailments. They describe it as Pharmacopoeia. The fabric was called cadmia or lapis calaminaris in Latin. The Germanic peoples corrupted this into galmei or kelmis. And that's how the village of Kelmis got its name.

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