Petit Granit (also known by a variety of names including: Nero Belga, Granit de Flandre, Pierre Bleue, Blue Stone, Belgian Granite, Belgian Blue Limestone, Arduin) is, despite its name, a grey-bluish

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

, rather than being a true

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

. It is mined exclusively in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, where use of the name Petit Granit is subject to an Appellation d’Origine Locale (Local Appellation of Origin) designation. The stone becomes shiny black on polishing and is considered to be an easily worked and versatile

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled, ground, or other) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. ...

. It has also been used widely in

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, especially in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and other Belgian cities. Petit Granit has been designated by the

International Union of Geological Sciences The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of geology. About The IUGS was founded in 1961 and is a Scientific Union member of the Int ...

as a

Global Heritage Stone Resource The Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR) designation seeks international recognition of natural stone resources that have achieved widespread utilisation in human culture. Details of the “Global Heritage Stone Resource” proposal were first pr ...

Examples

File:Petit granit, carbon limestone - b.jpg File:Arduin petit granit.JPG File:Belgisch-Granit.jpg File:Pierre bleu.JPG

Uses

File:Grand gisant (Michel Smolders).jpg, Sculpture: ''Sun bath'' by Michel Smolders File:Blason-liege-1592.jpg, Sculpture: Crest of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

dated 1592 File:Het treurende ouderpaar - Käthe Kolwitz.JPG, Sculpture: ''The Grieving Parents'' by

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born as Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''T ...

File:Georg Nentwig - Leo Gburek.JPG, Headstones:

Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery The Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery () is on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, England. The cemetery contains nearly 5,000 burials from both the First and Second World War. The burials are mainly German and Austrian nationals with a very small ...

File:Etterbeek - Square Frère-Orban - Eglise Saint-Joseph.JPG, Architecture: St. Joseph Church, Frère-Orban Square, Brussels File:Aachen Basilika St. Michael, an der Jesuitenstraße.jpg, Architecture: St. Michael's Church, Aachen

References

{{reflist Limestone Sedimentary rocks