About Naturstein

Naturstein

Naturstein is the German trade journal for natural stone — the "Fachzeitschrift für Naturstein" published by the Ebner Verlag in Ulm. Under the natursteinonline.de portal — "Naturstein Online" — the journal serves the natural-stone industry and the stonemasonry craft: the monthly (or regular-issue) coverage of the restoration and monument preservation, the stone industry's companies and people, the artistic stone sculpture, and the quarry and production world. The October 2026 issue (Naturstein 10/26) — with the focus "Restaurierung & Denkmalpflege" (restoration and monument preservation) — shows the journal's current program: the Munich Frauenkirche's Gothic tracery renewed in Sellenberger Muschelkalk by Nüthen Restaurierungen, the historic gravestones rescued in Rühn by restorer Boris Frohberg, the Solnhofen stone prepared for historic floors by the SSG Solnhofen Stone Group, the four stone muses restored for Frankfurt's Villa Meister by the Sauer company, and the NKA Naturstein interview with Oliver Schütte after the Holland Graniet insolvency. In the German natural-stone press — alongside the Munich Stein (Georg/Callwey, since 1884) and the international Stone-ideas.com — Naturstein is the Ebner journal: the Ulm trade magazine of the natural-stone craft and industry.

Overview

The journal presents itself as the natural-stone industry's specialist medium: the trade journal that reports on the natural stone's uses, the craft's techniques, and the industry's developments. Its editorial program covers the natural-stone world's full spectrum: the restoration and monument preservation — the historic substance, the planning, the craftsmanship, the sensitive handling; the industry news — the companies, the insolvencies and takeovers, the people; the art — the stone sculpture, the exhibitions (Stefan Rinck's "Alpen-Clan" in Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne, the Brâncuși retrospective in Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie); and the stone world — the quarries, the production sites, the stone database with over 5,200 natural stones (built with the support of the German Natural Stone Archive in Wunsiedel), and the leisure tips (the "Steinreichen 5" cycling route through Langenaltheim, Mörnsheim, Pappenheim, Solnhofen, and Treuchtlingen).

The readership is the German natural-stone professions: the stonemasons and stone sculptors, the natural-stone industry, the architects and interior architects, the restorers, and the monument-preservation specialists. The journal's authority rests on the Ebner Verlag's stone program: the Ulm publishing house — the specialist publisher for the natural stone with the Gesteinskunde textbooks (Friedrich Müller's standard works), the Internationale Natursteinkartei (INSK), and the STEIN journal ("Mineralische Werkstoffe für Architektur und Handwerk") — whose natural-stone publishing has served the craft for decades.

The journal's issue rhythm — the numbered monthly or regular issues (Naturstein 10/26) — provides the industry's regular briefing. The natursteinonline.de portal extends the print journal into the daily industry information: the current projects, the interviews, the stone search, and the shop (shop.natursteinonline.de) with the issue orders (+49 731 88005-7168).

History

Naturstein's history is the Ebner Verlag's natural-stone publishing history. The Ebner Verlag in Ulm — the specialist publisher for the natural stone, the construction, and the craft — built its stone program around the standard works: Friedrich Müller's Gesteinskunde (the textbook and reference work on rocks for building construction, interior architecture, art, and restoration; 7th edition 2005), the Internationale Natursteinkartei (INSK; 3rd edition 1993, compact edition 1997, expanded through 56 supplement deliveries to 2021), and Wolf-Dieter Grimm's Bildatlas wichtiger Denkmalgesteine (2018). The Naturstein journal is the publishing house's trade-journal arm: the Fachzeitschrift für Naturstein that the German natural-stone literature lists alongside the Munich Stein (founded 1884 as Steinmetz und Bildhauer, published by Georg/Callwey since 1951) and the international Stone-ideas.com.

The journal's recent history reflects the natural-stone industry's developments: the restoration boom (the Munich Frauenkirche, the historic floors), the industry consolidation (the Holland Graniet insolvency and the NKA Naturstein takeover), the artistic stone sculpture's exhibitions, and the quarry tourism (the "Steinreichen 5" route). The journal's digital history — the natursteinonline.de portal with the stone database (over 5,200 stones, supported by the Wunsiedel archive), the stone search, and the online shop — added the digital channel to the print journal.

Coverage and Content

The journal's coverage follows the natural-stone professional's world. Restoration and monument preservation form the core: the current projects — the Munich Frauenkirche's Gothic tracery in Sellenberger Muschelkalk, the Rühn historic gravestones, the Solnhofen historic floors, the Villa Meister's four muses; the planning, the craftsmanship, and the sensitive handling of the historic substance — the journal's "Restaurierung & Denkmalpflege" focus. Industry news covers the companies and people: the insolvencies and takeovers (NKA Naturstein after Holland Graniet), the interviews (Oliver Schütte on the challenging months and the team's growing together), and the calls for the industry's closer cooperation.

Art addresses the stone sculpture: the exhibitions — Stefan Rinck's "Alpen-Clan" (the wild armada of figurative stone sculptures between medieval stonemason tradition and contemporary sculpture) in the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Brâncuși retrospective (around 150 works) in the Neue Nationalgalerie — the artistic dimension of the natural stone. The stone world provides the practical dimension: the quarries, the production sites, the stone database (over 5,200 stones), the stone search — and the leisure tips with the stone connection (the "Steinreichen 5" cycling route).

Organization and Ownership

Naturstein is published by the Ebner Verlag in Ulm — the specialist publishing house for the natural stone, the construction, and the craft. The publisher (Verlag): Ebner Verlag, Ulm. The journal's portal: natursteinonline.de ("Naturstein Online"). The shop: shop.natursteinonline.de (+49 731 88005-7168). The journal's program — the print issues, the portal, the stone database (with the German Natural Stone Archive in Wunsiedel's support), the shop — documents the Ebner stone publishing's full service: the trade journal, the reference works, and the digital tools.

The commercial model is that of a B2B trade journal: subscriptions to the stonemasons, the natural-stone industry, the architects, and the restorers; advertising from the stone, tool, and machine industries — and the portal's digital advertising and the shop's issue and book sales.

Digital Presence

The journal's digital home is natursteinonline.de, where the print journal's program extends into the daily industry information. The portal publishes the current projects, the interviews, the art reports, and the leisure tips — the October 2026 issue's "Restaurierung & Denkmalpflege" focus online. The stone database — over 5,200 natural stones with the details, searchable through the Steinsuche — is the portal's reference tool: built with the German Natural Stone Archive in Wunsiedel's support. The online shop (shop.natursteinonline.de) sells the issue orders and the Ebner stone books.

The natural-stone industry's networks — the trade associations, the stone+tec Nuremberg fair, the Wunsiedel training center (the European training center for the stonemason and stone-sculptor craft) — form the ecosystem in which the journal's content circulates. In the German natural-stone press — the Ulm Ebner journal alongside the Munich Stein and the international Stone-ideas.com — Naturstein is the trade journal of the natural stone: the monthly of the craft, the industry, and the art of stone.

The Ebner Stone Program

The journal's position within the Ebner Verlag's stone program gives it its authority: the publishing house that produced Friedrich Müller's Gesteinskunde — the "Steinpapst's" (stone pope's) standard work — the Internationale Natursteinkartei, and the Bildatlas der Denkmalgesteine also publishes the trade journal that the industry reads monthly. The natursteinonline.de portal's stone database — over 5,200 stones with the Wunsiedel archive's support — is the digital continuation of the INSK tradition: the reference work as the searchable online tool, available to every reader of the portal, free of charge. The journal, the books, and the database together form the Ebner stone publishing's full service for the natural-stone professions.