Tyrolean shale oil is a black, strong-smelling oil found in the stones of

Karwendel The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is located on the Austria–Germany border. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part ...

Mountains, a mountain range of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is also known as Ichthyol. According to legend, it is the blood of the giant

Thyrsus In Ancient Greece a ''thyrsus'' () or ''thyrsos'' (; ) was a wand or staff of giant fennel ('' Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with '' taeniae'' and topped with a pine cone, artichoke, fennel, or by a ...

; hence, it is also called ''Thyrsenblut'' or ''Dirschenblut''. From the "Thyrsenblut" the healing Tyrolean shale oil is extracted. Shale oil reserves are located in the oil shale at Seefeld in Bächen Valley plate and close to Achen Lake. The oil-bearing zones lie at an angle of 51 degrees.

History

The oil shale deposits in Tyrol in Seefeld area were used from 1350 until 1964. In 1902, Martin Albrecht, a collector of minerals, discovered oil shale deposits on the shore of Lake Achen at

Pertisau Pertisau is a small village on the Achensee Lake in the Tyrol region of Austria. Pertisau is in the Schwaz (district). It is located in the Karwendel Alpine Park, one of the oldest, cross-border, protected areas of the Eastern Alps. The town was ...

; his family still exploits and markets the oil. Tyrolean shale oil has always been an integral part of Tyrolean medicine. The shale oil contains bound

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

, which exerts its effect in shale oil. Long before the oil refinery, the oil of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the "black gold", was already used for tar, light oil (naphtha), impregnation of wood fences, as waterproofing for roofs and asphalt roads. Due to the low yield, the oil shale processing was finally reduced to the medical and cosmetic applications.

References

Bibliography

* Michael Unterwurzacher (Ed.), ''Im Reich des Patscherkofel: Sagen und Fakten rund um Innsbrucks Hausberg und das Südöstliche Mittelgebirge'', Books on Demand, 2009 * Michael Forcher, ''Der Riese Haymon'', Haymon Verlag, Innsbruck, 2007

External links

''Steinoel.at''

"Tiroler Steinöl" at ''Alpenherz-hotel.at''

{{Shale gas Oil shale geology Northern Limestone Alps Geology of Austria Geology of Germany Tyrol (federal state)