UNESCO Geoparks are regions with significant fossil sites, caves, mines or rock formations. In 2021, UNESCO included eight geoparks in the global network. These include the Thuringia Inselsberg – Drei Gleichen Geopark
The Thuringian Geopark Inselsberg is now one of the 169 UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Thuringian Geopark Inselsberg is now one of the 169 UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - showcase of the earth's history
In mid-April 2021, UNESCO added the National Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg – Drei Gleichen to the UNESCO Global Geoparks network as the seventh German Geopark. This means that the Thuringian Geopark is now one of 168 UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide.
“With the new UNESCO Geopark, we are gaining another model region for sustainable development,” explains Maria Böhmer, President of the German Commission for UNESCO. “Its impressive geological heritage will be preserved for future generations through sustainable use, gentle tourism and projects for education and research. This important award will further strengthen the region.”
Located in the heart of Thuringia, the geopark is one of the smallest of its kind in Germany. Over an area of around 700 square kilometers, rocks and fossils bear witness to the formation, development and disintegration of the supercontinent Pangaea more than 150 million years ago. Between the Thuringian Forest and the Burgenland Drei Gleichen, a showcase of geological history opens up for visitors, revealing the region’s prehistoric flora and fauna. It is also home to one of the world’s most important fossil deposits: the “Bromacker” fossil deposit in the Lower Permian Tambach Formation between the municipalities of Tambach-Dietharz and Georgenthal in the Thuringian Forest.
Bromacker” fossil deposit
Scientists have been unearthing numerous skeletons of prehistoric dinosaurs from the Palaeozoic era here since 1974. The site will continue to play an important role in researching early land vertebrates in the future, as an interdisciplinary research team launched the “Bromacker Project” in August 2020, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The project, which is unique in Germany, is a collaboration between the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research, the Friedenstein Castle Gotha Foundation, the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and the Thuringia Inselsberg-Drei Gleichen National Geopark.
Promising test excavations
For the first time in more than a decade, systematic excavations and geological drilling are taking place again at the Bromacker fossil deposit. The findings of the test excavation, which was carried out in October 2020, were promising: roots, burrows and individual skeletal parts came to light again after around 290 million years. The researchers classify burial structures left behind by as yet unknown Permian animals as a special find.
New excavations until 2025
Researchers will carry out new excavations until 2025, investigating geological, taxonomic, palaeoecological and physiological questions in order to gain a better understanding of life at the Bromacker fossil site in the future. The public is to be involved in the project with new forms of scientific communication. In addition to a visitor platform, digital tours and events such as live preparations, interested parties will be given the opportunity to participate in research tasks themselves.
Read more in RESTAURO 5/2021.