The museum displays a massive, 18-meter-long slab of Posidonia Shale featuring a colony of sea lilies.
Many of the fossils on display were discovered in the private quarries owned by the Hauff family.
The preservation quality is so high that some fossils retain remnants of soft tissue and skin impressions.
The local shale formation is internationally famous for 'Konservat-Lagerstätten,' or sites with extraordinary fossil preservation.
The Hauff family has been involved in the excavation and curation of these fossils for over 150 years.
The museum includes a dedicated section on the preparation techniques used to carefully remove rock matrix from fossils.
It holds a rare fossil of a Leptopterygius ichthyosaur that clearly demonstrates the animal's internal skeletal structure during pregnancy.
The Urweltmuseum Hauff is a private natural history museum specializing in the fossilized marine life of the Posidonia Shale. The collection centers on the Lower Jurassic period, specifically the Jurassic period approximately 180 million years ago. Its most significant exhibits include exceptionally preserved ichthyosaurs, marine crocodiles, and crinoids unearthed from the local Holzmaden quarries. The museum houses one of the world's largest collections of fossilized sea lilies, known for their elaborate and delicate structures. Visitors can observe the rare sight of an ichthyosaur mother with embryos inside her body cavity, providing direct evidence of live birth. The display emphasizes the transition from the prehistoric Tethys Ocean to the current Swabian landscape. The museum is a family-run institution that has been in operation for multiple generations. It serves as a primary scientific repository for paleontological finds from the surrounding region.
The expansive wall display featuring the massive sea lily slabs.
Use the provided magnifying glasses near display cases to appreciate the minute detail of fossilized scales and skin.
Check if the on-site preparation workshop is active during your visit to see how technicians reveal fossils from stone.
Read the provided geological maps to understand how the landscape of Swabia has changed since the Jurassic era.
Do not attempt to touch the fossil surfaces, as many are fragile and sensitive to skin oils.
Closed on Mondays throughout the year.
