ENCI quarry Maastricht

The ENCI quarry is a wonderful example of how an industrial area has been returned to nature. Since 1926, lime has been excavated in the ENCI quarry to be made into cement in the nearby factories. This created a huge hole in the landscape, with older underground marl quarries disappearing. During the excavation of the seventy-million-year-old limestone, mainly formed during the 'Maastrichtian' era, ENCI employees came across special fossils. Because the chalk layers originated in a shallow subtropical sea, these were mainly remains of marine animals such as sea urchins and shark teeth. The Maas lizard, or Mosasaurus, also swam here. Several bones of this beast, one of the last species from the age of the dinosaurs, have been recovered. You can admire them in the Natural History Museum in Maastricht.
The ENCI, the First Dutch Cement Industry, was of national importance. For ninety years, it was a major supplier of lime for the production of cement. In addition to the extraction of lime, the semi-finished product 'clinker' and the final product cement were also made. It wasn't until 2018 that the last lime was extracted. After that, the quarry was redeveloped into a nature reserve thanks to Natuurmonumenten. Now you can enjoy the view over the Meuse valley, the quarry and the surrounding forests from a spectacular vantage point. Via 215 stairs you descend into the quarry, past the various chalk layers back in time. Finally, you will walk across the former bottom of the Cretaceous Sea.

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