middle of the 19th century, the annual quantity of ore delivered by the approximately 60 miners amounted to about 100 to 120,000 quintals (approx. 5,600 to 6,700 t). At that time, mining was only done during the winter, because the ore had to be pulled to the smelting facilities in bags. As of 1863, a rocking Bessemer converter, which made the steel production more efficient, was used in Turrach. In 1865, three converters with a capacity of 35 to 40 quintals and two blast furnaces were available. At that time, the iron smelting facility was Styria's largest and was considered to be one of the most modern in Europe. In spite of the technical innovations, there was soon an economic decline. As of the 1870s, the sales worsened; the production of raw iron decreased from 3,800 to 1,500 t between 1869 and 1885. Besides increasing coal prices, Turrach's disadvantageous location off the major transport routes caused high transportation costs, which were responsible for the decreasing competitiveness of the iron companies. In 1899, the iron smelting facility was leased out, which brought no improvement, so the furnace in Turrach was finally shut down in the spring of 1909. Besides iron mining, copper mining occasionally played a role. Other natural resources are small amounts of high-grade anthracite coal, which was mined until the 1950s and 1960s. The mining of cinnabar at the Kornock can already be proven in the 17th century. A former stone pit at Lake Turrach, as well as a magnesium carbonate and a slate pit, are evidence of the mining activities around Turracher Höhe, which however were entirely given up in the course of the 20th century for economic reasons. Development of tourism In the 19th century, the first housing was built on the pass summit at the Turracher Lake. It served as accommodations, as well as for serving the lumberjacks, stonemasons and miners. Thus, it is known that at the provably oldest inn still existing today on the Turracher Höhe, the "Seewirt", there was already an Alpine public house in operation in 1830. Already at the end of the 19th century, the first tourists came for hiking on the Turrach and shortly before the First World War, the first skiers came for extended ski trips. Little by little, other hotels and inns also opened, among which are the "Jägerwirt" (1905), "Siegel" (1911) and "Hochschober" (1929), which still exist