Bentheim sandstone

During many centuries, sandstone was mined in Gildehaus and Bentheim for the construction of the castle and also nearly all old churches or the cathedral at Utrecht. The Romanesque gravestones and fonts are older still. In the beginning the counts granted the right to the mine to individual quarriers. These tenants organised the sales themselves and already in 1543, a Gildehaus entrepreneur owned a depository for sandstone in Zwolle.

During the 17th century, the system of leasing was abandoned. There were contracts with a single well-funded enterprise. The Bentheim sovereign assured the sole right to trade to it. For this, he required a royalty for every cubic foot of sandstone gained, according to use. It ranged from 1/2 and 20 Stüver for one “corpse stone”, a grave stone. The partners paid to the count an advance of about 100,000 guilders for this. A local authorised representative controlled the production of the sandstone, who hired quarrymen for this, while a sovereign miner master controlled the mining.

A variety of profane constructions originated, city halls in Zwolle, Ootmarsum and Enkhuizen, as well as the royal palace in Amsterdam and numerous mansions. It was also prevalent as „Püttstein“ for the construction of well mounts, as a floor, crib, whetstone and as abrasive cleaner. One used its great weather resistance also by the construction of in the construction of floodgates, docks and canal constructions of the 19th century. Thus, the mining of Bentheim sandstone has given work to generations of masons and the transport sector and influenced the industrial development of the country of Bentheim.