Messel Pit
The Messel Pit is a fossil preservation site in Hesse, central Germany, dated to the Eocene epoch. The fossil-bearing rock unit is a geologic formation named the Messel Formation; its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit.- Protected area
- …is operated by Welterbe Grube Messel gGmbH
- Opening hours:
November 16–March 14: Wednesday–Sunday and public holidays 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
March 15–November 15: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
December 24, December 25, December 26, December 31, and January 1: closed - Description: disused quarry near the village of Messel, paleontological site
- Address: Roßdörfer Straße 108, Messel, 64409
- Email: service@grube-messel.de
- Also known as“UNESCO Weltnaturerbe Grube Messel”“UNESCO World Heritage Messel Pit Fossil Site”
Places of Interest Nearby
Highlights include Bahnhof Messel and Fossilien- und Heimatmuseum Messel.
Bahnhof Messel
Railway station
Bahnhof Messel is a railway station, which is situated 1 km west of Messel Pit.
Fossilien- und Heimatmuseum Messel
Museum
Fossilien- und Heimatmuseum Messel is situated 2½ km northwest of Messel Pit.
Messeler Falltorhaus
Historic house
Messeler Falltorhaus is a historic house, which is situated 2½ km northwest of Messel Pit.
Places in the Area
Nearby places include Roßdorf and Bulau.
Roßdorf
Roßdorf is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg, in Hesse, Germany.
Bulau
Village
Bulau is a village, which is situated 7 km north of Messel Pit.
Messel Pit
This page is based on OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.
Latitude
49.91873° or 49° 55′ 7″ north
Longitude
8.75913° or 8° 45′ 33″ east
Open location code
8FXCWQ95+FM
OpenStreetMap ID
OpenStreetMap feature
tourism=attraction
Wikidata ID
Satellite Map
Discover this place from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Arabic to Waray—“Messel Pit” goes by many names.
- Arabic: “حفرة ميسيل”
- Azerbaijani: “Messel karxanası”
- Basque: “Messelgo aztarnategia”
- Catalan: “Esquists de Messel”
- Catalan: “Jaciment de Messel”
- Chinese: “梅塞尔坑”
- Chinese: “麥塞爾化石坑世界自然遺產”
- Chinese: “麦塞尔化石坑世界自然遗产”
- Croatian: “Messel”
- Czech: “Messelský důl”
- Danish: “Messelgruben”
- Dutch: “Groeve Messel”
- Dutch: “Messel”
- Esperanto: “Messel”
- Finnish: “Messelin kaivos”
- French: “Site fossilifère de Messel”
- Galician: “Pozo de Messel”
- Georgian: “მესელის ორმოები”
- German: “Grube Messel”
- Greek: “Πεδίο Απολιθωμάτων Μέσσελ”
- Hebrew: “בור מסל”
- Hindi: “मेस्सेल पिट”
- Indonesian: “Lubang Messel”
- Italian: “Grube Messel”
- Italian: “Pozzo di Messel”
- Japanese: “メッセル採掘場”
- Latin: “Cavea Messelensis”
- Lithuanian: “Meselio fosilijų radimvietė”
- Macedonian: “Меселска јама”
- Maltese: “Foss ta‘ Messel”
- Norwegian Bokmål: “Messelgruven”
- Norwegian: “Messelgruven”
- Persian: “گودال میسل”
- Polish: “Grube Messel”
- Polish: “Kopalnia Messel”
- Polish: “Kopalnia skamielin w Messel”
- Portuguese: “Messel”
- Portuguese: “Sítio fossilífero de Messel”
- Romanian: “Messel”
- Russian: “Карьер Мессель”
- Slovak: “Nálezisko Messel”
- Spanish: “Sitio fosilífero de Messel”
- Spanish: “yacimiento paleontológico de Messel”
- Swedish: “Messels gruva”
- Turkish: “Messel Çukuru”
- Ukrainian: “Мессельський кар’єр”
- Vietnamese: “Di chỉ hóa thạch Messel Pit”
- Vietnamese: “Hố Messel”
- Volapük: “Messel”
- Waray (Philippines): “Messel”
Notable Places Nearby
Highlights include Weltnaturerbe Grube Messel and Grube Messel Besucherinformationszentrum.
Nearby Places
Explore places such as Bistro and Python.
South Hesse: Highlights
Learn more about Darmstadt and Bensheim.
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
Curious Protected Areas to Discover
Uncover intriguing protected areas from every corner of the globe.