U Branického pivovaru, Natural monument in Braník, Czech Republic
U Branického pivovaru is a protected natural area on the right bank of the Vltava River in Braník. The site consists of two separate sections with elevations ranging from 198 to 230 meters.
The site began as an essexite basalt quarry that opened in 1870 and closed in 1922. After mining stopped, steppe vegetation grew naturally across the abandoned area.
The name refers to the Braník brewery standing by the site; the quarry opened in 1870, before the brewery was built. The protected area was declared in 1988, and the two sections lie by the railway line from Braník station to Vrané nad Vltavou.
The former quarry floor is concreted and lies inside a fenced compound of Pražské vodovody a kanalizace, so it is not open to the public. The two sections sit by the railway line and the South Link road; the nearest tram and bus stop is Nádraží Braník, with Praha-Braník station nearby.
The rock layers here hold rare graptolite fossils from the Octavites spiralis zone. These ancient remains make this location a key site for paleontological study in the Prague Basin.
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