Travelling through the land of maars and volcanoes: from the state spa Bad Bertrich on the Moselle to the Goldberg near Ormont on the Belgian border, a landscape stretches across the western Eifel that is unparalleled anywhere else in Europe, let alone the world. The … Continue readingThe Daun maars
Near the city of Annaberg in the southwestern Ore Mountains in southeastern Germany there is the Scheibenberg with a large outcrop in an abandoned quarry, which cuts in half the summit area of the Scheibenberg and provides an excellent insight into the interior of the mountain. The famous organ pipes of the Scheibenberg are basalt columns of a basalt flow from the Oligocene. Since the 16th century, the hard basalts in the vicinity of the towns of Schlettau and Scheibenberg have been mined for building purposes, worked up as road paving or crushed into gravel. In the 19th century, clays found under the basalts were also mined. Until 1936, basalt columns were broken on the Scheibenberg, before it was put under protection in 1937. The aim was not to further destroy the basalt columns, but rather to preserve them for posterity as an object worthy of special protection. In 2006 the Scheibenberg was raised to the “National Geotope”, an award that was given to a total of 77 geotopes throughout Germany by the Academy of Geosciences in Hannover. In 2019, the geotope was also put under the protection of the UNESCO World Heritage montane region/Krušnohoří. … Continue readingThe Scheibenberg near Annaberg
The Bromacker is a fossil site for early Permian vertebrates, which are preserved here three-dimensionally and often completely. The ecosystem with many herbivores and few predators (similar to today) and the possibility to find trace fossils and their producers next to each other makes this site unique compared to other fossil sites of similar age. This is why it is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark Thüringen Inselsberg-Drei Gleichen and also the subject of ongoing research, which can be visited on site or online. … Continue readingThe Bromacker
In the northern Harz foreland between Ballenstedt in the east and Blankenburg in the west, steep, sometimes meter-high sandstone cliffs form an imposing natural phenomenon over a length of approx. 20 km, which is known as the Teufelsmauer. The rugged, erosion-resistant cliffs are formed by layers of silicified sandstone, the formation of which is associated with the uplift of the Harz Mountains and their overthrust to the northern foreland during the Upper Cretaceous. The Königstein, Mittelstein and Papenstein sections south and south-west of Weddersleben have been under nature protection since 1935. In 2006, the Teufelsmauer was awarded national geotope status and is now an important geopoint in the UNESCO Geopark Harz – Braunschweiger Land – Ostfalen. … Continue readingThe Devil’s Wall at Königstein
If you head to the east from Leipzig, you will encounter one of the largest areas of volcanic rock in Central Europe – the Northwest Saxon volcanic complex. At its southwestern tip lies the Rochlitz mountain, which cleary stands out from the surrounding landscapes with a height of 353 m. … Continue readingThe Gleisberg quarry
The “Lange Wand” is like a window into Earth’s history: from the Ilfeld porphyry (280 million years) to the copper shale and the Zechstein limestone (250 million years). In the mine of the same name, copper shale has been mined since the 16th century. Here, in addition to cobalt ore and barite, you can also admire fish fossils, the so-called “copper shale herring”. … Continue readingThe “Lange Wand” (long wall)
The Schneckenstein is a well-known topaz rich outcrop located in the identically named district of the town of Muldenhammer in Saxony. The outcrop rises 23 metres above the ground in a mostly flat surrounding. With a height of 883 metres above mean sea level, the Schneckenstein is one of the highest points in the Upper Vogtland area. For protection purposes, the rock itself and its surroundings are fenced and can be visited during opening hours. On the 5th November 1938, the Schneckenstein was named a natural monument and added to the Saxon geosite list as number 259. The Schneckenstein is part of a joint geological research project of Topaswelt Schneckenstein, TU Bergakademie Freiberg and the Vogtland Geoumweltpark. … Continue readingThe “Schneckenstein”
Beneath the town of Freiberg in Saxony exists a large underground mining system dating back to the 18th century. During construction work at the Untermarkt in 2018, the so-called family mineshaft (German: “Familienschacht”), which was used to mine silver, was rediscovered. Due to the visit of Alexander von Humboldt, the Familienschacht is also known as the Humboldt Shaft. For safety reasons, the mining system is not accessible to the public. However, a 3D model was created to enable visitors to experience it. … Continue readingThe “Familienschacht”
The Externsteine are a group of spectacular sandstone rocks located within the Teutoburg Forest. The rocks were formed from sediment that accumulated within a marine basin many millions of years ago, which after burial and lithification were tectonically uplifted and tilted. People have visited the rocks for many hundreds of years and they are regarded as a place of worship. Humans have now changed the appearance of the rocks by building bridges and stairs. There are also artificial caves and carvings. … Continue readingThe Externsteine