The Rummu quarry is a submerged

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 whe ...

quarry located in

Rummu Rummu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. As of the 2011 census, the settlement's population was 1,088, of which the Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Fin ...

, Vasalemma Parish,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Much of the natural area of the quarry is under a lake formed by groundwater, and is situated next to a

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

. The quarry is close to two former prisons, the nearest being the former Rummu prison.

History and geography

In the late 1930s, the quarry began to be excavated for open mining of

and Vasalemma marble. The latter is a specific kind of limestone with its structure and texture resembling that of marble. During the Soviet era, until the 1990s, excavation was performed as hard labour by Murru and Rummu prisoners, who would excavate and process limestone from the water-drained quarry. When pumping of water ceased, the quarry quickly filled with groundwater, forming a lake, immersing some of the utility buildings and machinery. Next to the lake is the Vasalemma

(

slag heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

). Over time, the spoil tip assumed a unique appearance through erosion by water. The

Rummu Prison Rummu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. As of the 2011 census, the settlement's population was 1,088, of which the Estonians were 288 (26.5%). See also * Rummu quarry The Rummu qua ...

was merged with the

Murru Prison Murru Prison ( et, Murru vangla) was an Estonian prison. It was located in Rummu, Harju County. The prison was established in 1938. Until 1970s, at the prison there operated stone industry. Industry's workers were mainly prisoners. In 1961, pa ...

in 2001, then in 2004 those were merged with the

Harku Harku (german: Hark) is a Populated places in Estonia, small borough ( et, alevik) in Harku Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. As of 2011 Estonia Census, 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 868, of which the Estonians were 539 (62 ...

women's prison. On 31 December 2012, all of these prisons closed permanently. With the closure of the Rummu quarry, the area became a featured location for nature photography, hiking, rafting, scuba diving, as a summer spot, musical and sports events, and as a filming location for its unique layout. The site was depicted in the post-apocalyptic short film ''The Most Beautiful Day'' (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

) by Einar Kuusk ( et). Several of the deserted buildings at Rummu were featured in the video for hit song " Faded" (

) by Norwegian DJ

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a British-born Norwegian music producer and DJ primarily known for the critically acclaimed single " Faded" (2015), which was certified platinum in 14 countries. He has also made several songs including ...

and Jesse Kaikuranta's - 'Vielä täällä' also include scenes from Rummy quarry. Since 2015, Architecture students from

Estonian Academy of Arts The Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonian: ''Eesti Kunstiakadeemia'', EKA) is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in art, design, architecture, media, art history and conservation-restoration. It is based in Tallinn. Ac ...

(EKA) have been discussing ideas and drafting several possible sketches and proposals of what the abandoned area of the quarry could become in the future. As of 2017, the owners of the property are planning a technology park.

Access and Safety

The territory is private property, and belongs to KB Auto Eesti OÜ. The place is practically impossible to access by car, since vehicles are prohibited from stopping near the gate of the road to the quarry. Parking around the Keila–Haapsalu road was problematic during Summer periods, as roadsides were filled with parked cars, making purposeful traffic around them difficult. Jump-diving into the lake off derelict buildings is very dangerous, and professional divers have made public recommendations against this practice, because the lake bed contains pieces of thick concrete, tree branches,

rebar Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or reinforcement steel, is a steel bar used as a Tension (physics), tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid the concr ...

spikes, metal construction (including machinery), and plenty of

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

. In early 2016, the area began to be closed off, because of issues with cars, and because swimming and diving into the lake is dangerous, and the owner has posted relevant warning signs. On 7 August 2014, a 17-year-old girl injured her back when jumping into the water off a derelict building. Then in July 2016, late in the day, a 35-year-old man was found drowned in the quarry.

References

External links

{{Coord, 59.225897, N, 24.197682, E, display=title Lääne-Harju Parish Mines in Estonia Limestone industry Prisons in Estonia