Lomy Mořina, Limestone quarry in Bubovice, Czech Republic.
Lomy Mořina is a system of open-pit limestone quarries in the Czech Karst near Mořina, linked by underground galleries. The best known are Velká Amerika, Malá Amerika and Mexiko. Velká Amerika is a long, deep cut in pale grey and white limestone with sheer, jagged walls, a flat dusty floor, a narrow strip of water on the left and a reddish dirt path along the base of the right-hand wall.
The deposit at today's Amerika quarries was opened in 1900, after the Kladensko-nučická railway reached the site; the Mořina quarries as a whole date from 1891. The Amerika quarry was split by a fault into Velká Amerika and the Trestanecký quarry, called Mexiko. A forced-labour camp for political prisoners ran there from 1949 to 1953.
The Mexico section of the quarry complex served as a forced labor camp from 1949 to 1953, where political prisoners endured harsh conditions.
The pits are dry and open; the quarry floor is reached by paths, such as the reddish dirt track along the base of the eastern wall. The site lies by Mořina near Karlštejn Castle, and the rims are walked from there. The complex is a significant bat wintering site in central Bohemia, so the lower levels are best avoided in the cold months.
The quarries appear in several Czech films, including Limonádový Joe and Malá mořská víla. The complex is also the most important bat wintering site in central Bohemia, and the area has yielded palaeontological finds.
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