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Usage of the Natural Stones in the City of Zagreb (Croatia) and Its Geotouristical Aspect

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Abstract

Natural stones, their origin and usage represent a segment of geoheritage. They not only represent natural value and beauty in their in situ areas but also bring their qualities closer to all of us in the ex situ places, where these stones are used. Knowledge about certain rock types, their age and origin, as well as exploitation methods, can give additional information on their importance and preservation. This knowledge should not be connected only with scientific work or displayed in museums but should be available daily to people of all ages and interests. Croatia is a country rich in sedimentary rocks due to its geological history. Therefore, natural stones represent valuable Croatian geoheritage and Zagreb urban geoheritage. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is a city in which strong connection of the building stones used in the city and geology of the area can be seen from the historical usage of local rocks, mainly from the quarries in the area of the nearby Medvednica Mt. Other commonly used natural stones include mostly limestones, which are exploited from quarries in southern parts of Croatia (Istria and Dalmatia), like various types of rudist limestones (Veselje unito, Veselje fiorito, Rasotica), oncolytic and stylolithic limestones and Lithiotis limestones. Magmatic stone varieties are not exploited in Croatia, but their beauty, quality and common usage in modern times contribute to the geoheritage in general. This paper presents an overview of varieties of different natural stones, their usage and contribution to Croatian geoheritage and their potential for the promotion of urban geoheritage and geotourism in the City of Zagreb.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Šimun Aščić for photographs, Renata Brezinščak for enthusiastic support of this idea and Katarina Gobo for useful comments. We are grateful to our mentors Jasenka Sremac and Ivan Tomašić for their support. We are thankful to our Faculties for providing analytical support. During the time of review of this manuscript, the City of Zagreb was, on 22nd March 2020, struck by an earthquake with M 5.5, which caused significant damage. Many buildings presented in this paper, including Zagreb Cathedral, were badly damaged, and we hope that information on used natural stones will be of interest for their renovation. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and editor of Geoheritage for constructive and helpful comments on the manuscript.

Funding

We would like to thank Croatian Geological Society and SX Hrvatska for financing the making of the web page: http://geoloskasetnjazagreb.com/ (accessed 18th November 2019) connected to this work.

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  1. Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Karmen Fio Firi

  2. Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, Pierottijeva 6, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ana Maričić

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  1. Karmen Fio Firi
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Correspondence to Ana Maričić.

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Fio Firi, K., Maričić, A. Usage of the Natural Stones in the City of Zagreb (Croatia) and Its Geotouristical Aspect. Geoheritage 12, 62 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-020-00488-x

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