1883Lechner becomes a contractor for the Weisswasser quarry
In 1883 the municipality of Lasa gave Josef Lechner the management of the Weisswasser quarry in Val di Lasa. Lechner also secured some of Ludwig Veith’s rights in the Nesselwand and Jenngraben quarries.
Josef Lechner, who became soon known as "Marmor Lechner”, successfully invested in the best stone processing technologies of the time and exported his products worldwide. In some periods he gave employment to 100 workers.
Success, but especially the fact that many of those working in agriculture found better wages working in his firm, aroused the envy of the farm owners, who were directly affected. The latter had great influence in the City’s administration and soon interfered with Lechner’s contracts. In 1909 the municipality took over the Nesselwand quarry to manage it on its own. After failing to achieve the desired economic success with the quarry, the municipality assigned its management to Matthias Gasteiger, a sculptor from Munich.
