Ölschiefer#
Oil Shale: shale or silt-stone rich in bitumen, from which "Steinoel" (stone oil), also called "Dirschenoel" has been extracted in Austria since the Middle Ages. The oil was then sold by tradesmen ("Dirscheler") in far-away regions such as the Balkans and the Netherlands. Extraction sites were located in Baechental valley (Achensee) and in Ankerschlag (Seefeld, abandoned in 1964), among others. Today pharmaceutical preparations based on oil-shale (Ichthyol) are still produced at the site of Maximilianhuette in Reith near Seefeld (Tirol). Extraction total in 1993: 195 t.