Messel

Messel Pit Fossil Site
UNESCO-World Heritage since 1995

The Messel Pit Fossil Site, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995, holds some of the richest deposits of mammalian fossils in the world. To date, geoscientists have unearthed approximately
40,000 individual finds from the former volcanic crater lake (or "maar") that was formed around 47 million years ago.

The finds include mammal predecessors (including a relative of the horse), fish, insects, reptiles, amphibians and plants. The unique feature of this site is the preservation of fully articulated skeletons, skin, hair, unborn foetuses and stomachs containing the animals' last meal.

There are museums in Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Messel where fascinating exhibits from the Messel pit are on display and preserved for future generations. A new gallery is scheduled to open by no later than 2007, which will give visitors a fascinating insight into the research activities and other areas of interest at Messel. This window on the past is situated approx.

10 km east of Darmstadt, just south of Messel in the forests of the Messel hills and can be reached from Frankfurt in around 30 minutes by car or by train via Darmstadt and Messel.

Route Suggestion
From Messel via Würzburg to Bamberg