Swabian Alb UNESCO Global Geopark

“Few places in the world were ever home to as many volcanoes as the Swabian Alb 200 million years ago”

Celebrating Earth Heritage

The Swabian Alb UNESCO Global Geopark is located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, about 40 kilometers south of Stuttgart and is the only UNESCO Global Geopark in this federal state. Its boundaries correspond with the natural area Swabian Alb. In the northern part the so called Alb escarpment, a steep slope of approximately 400 m in height, and in the southern part the river Danube limit the UNESCO Global Geopark. The Swabian Jura - also called Swabian Alb - is the central part of this chain of the Jurassic highlands between the Swiss and the Franconian Jura. Jurassic rocks dominate the area, but older and younger periods are also represented. Altogether they provide an outstanding variety of geological, paleontological and ecological features. The Geopark is a Karst-foothill with the highest density of caves in Germany. 12 visitor caves and about 40 accessible wild caves are located in the area. The karst landscape has many interesting geosites including dolines, fossil reefs, springs and the highest density of caves in Germany. Of particular interest is the Böttinger Marble, a special limestone with many plant and animal fossils. In some caves of the oldest artworks of humanity were found. Major findings are, for example, “Venus of Hohle Fels” or the so called “Löwenmensch” from the Lone valley. A special highlight is the richness of fossils. Some fossil sites are of world-wide significance such as Holzmaden, Nusplingen or Dotternhausen. Further, the Steinheim Basin in the eastern part of the UNESCO Global Geopark is a meteorite crater. The impact occurred around 15 million years ago. The Steinheim Basin is world-wide unique because of the very well preserved central hill. 350 volcanic vents between Bad Urach and Kirchheim are subsumed under the popular name "Swabian Volcano".

Characteristics

Designation date
2015
Country(ies)
Transnational
No
Area (ha)
619,100
Population
1,400,000
Density
217
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