Eisenerz (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪzn̩ˌʔeːɐ̯ts]; "Iron ore") is a market town and old mining town in the Austrian state of Styria, 68 mi (109 km). N.W. of Graz by rail. It is situated in the deep Erzbach Valley, dominated on the east by the Pfaffenstein 1,871 m (6,138 ft), on the west by the Kaiserschild 2,084 m (6,837 ft), and on the south by the Erzberg 1,465 m (4,806 ft). It has a medieval fortified church, a Gothic edifice founded by Rudolph of Habsburg in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 16th century.

At the turn of the past century the Erzberg (Ore Mountain) furnished such rich ore that it was quarried in the open air like stone, in the summer months. There is documentary evidence of the mines having been worked as far back as the 12th century. They afforded employment to two or three thousand hands in summer and about half as many in winter, and yielded some 800,000 tons of iron per annum. During World War II, a subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp was located here. It provided slave labour for local industry. Eisenerz was connected with the mines by the Erzberg Railway, a bold piece of engineering work, fourteen miles (23 km) long, constructed on the Abt's rack-and-pinion system. It passed through the pastoral scenery, before descending to Vordernberg, a center of the iron trade situated on the south side of the Erzberg. Eisenerz then possessed, in addition, twenty-five furnaces, which produce iron, and particularly steel, of high quality. Today, the Erzberg is home to motocross races, called the Erzberg Rodeo.

A few miles northwest of Eisenerz stands Leopoldstein Castle, and near it Leopoldstein Lake. This lake, with its dark green water at an elevation of 2,028 feet (618 m), and surrounded on all sides by high peaks, is not large and has a depth of 100 ft (30 m).

Fossils

There are 2 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.

These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.

Occurrences	2
Youngest Fossil Listed	237 Ma (Middle Triassic)
Oldest Fossil Listed	252 Ma (Permian)
Stratigraphic Units	Unit No. Occurrences Age Werfen - Upper 2 251.2 - 247.2 Ma (Early/Lower Triassic)
Fossils from Region	Click here to show the list.
Accepted Name Hierarchy Age Myophoria fallax species Animalia : Mollusca : Bivalvia : Trigoniida : Myophoriidae : Myophoria : Myophoria fallax 252.17 - 237 Ma Phanerozoic Myophoria costulata species Animalia : Mollusca : Bivalvia : Trigoniida : Myophoriidae : Myophoria : Myophoria costulata 252.17 - 237 Ma Phanerozoic
Fossil Localities	Click to show 1 fossil locality

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenerz
Wikidata ID:	Q284596
GeoNames ID:	7872422

Localities in this Region

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