municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

valley. The local area is famous in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

and

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

for Solnhofen limestone. This is a very fine-grained

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

period

Lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from '' Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These f ...

that preserves detailed fossil specimens.

Alois Senefelder Johann Alois Senefelder (6 November 177126 February 1834) was a German actor and playwright who invented the printing technique of lithography in the 1790s.Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. p 146 Acto ...

used specially prepared blocks of the fine Solnhofen limestone for the process of

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

which he invented in 1798. The quarrying of this

lithographic limestone Lithographic limestone is hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect free to be used for lithography. Geologists use the term "lithographic texture" to refer to a grain size under 1/250 mm. The term "sublit ...

subsequently yielded spectacular finds, including ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

'', commemorated in the bird's full name ''Archaeopteryx lithographica''. All 13 known specimens have come from the Solnhofen area.

Geography

Solnhofen is located on the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. It contains two districts: Hochholz and Eßlingen. It is adjacent to the municipalities

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. I ...

,

Langenaltheim Langenaltheim is a municipality in the Middle Franconian district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Bavaria, Germany with a population of 95,000. Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) A ...

, and

Mörnsheim Mörnsheim, or Moernsheim, is a municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bava ...

.

History

Solnhofen was known as "Husen" in the eighth century. In 750/51

Saint Solus Saint Solus (also Sualo, Sola) (d. c. 790-794) was an English monk, in Germany with St. Boniface. Life Solus was from southern England. In 744, he went to the Monastery of Fulda where he was ordained priest by Saint Boniface, became a monk, a ...

created a church there. His grave church (Sola-Basilika) was later built on the site. In honor of him Husen was renamed "Solnhofen". In 1420 Solnhofen was burnt down during the Bavarian War. It also suffered through the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

. From 1649 to the 18th century there was a glass industry in Solnhofen. In 1785 the St Veit church was erected partly on the ruins of the old grave church. In 1870 the train station was opened. From 1903 to 1905 the Catholic St Sola church was built. In 1970 the

Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum The Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum is a natural history museum in Solnhofen, Germany. In 1954 the mayor Friedrich Mueller brought his private collection to the public. In 1968 the museum was officially founded and opened in 1970. The museum collect ...

was opened.

Sights

The Sola Basilica dating from the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

period is one of the finest architectural monuments in Germany. It is the grave church of

Saint Solus Saint Solus (also Sualo, Sola) (d. c. 790-794) was an English monk, in Germany with St. Boniface. Life Solus was from southern England. In 744, he went to the Monastery of Fulda where he was ordained priest by Saint Boniface, became a monk, a ...

. Close to it is the St Veit church that was built in 1785. As well as celebrating its role as the "hometown" of ''Archaeopteryx'', Solnhofen also commemorates the work of

Alois Senefelder Johann Alois Senefelder (6 November 177126 February 1834) was a German actor and playwright who invented the printing technique of lithography in the 1790s.Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. p 146 Acto ...

with a statue of the inventor by The

Bürgermeister Müller Museum Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

in Solnhofen displays the history of lithography, the story of the limestone quarries, and the spectacular fossil finds from the area, including the most recently discovered ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen. The Catholic St Sola church, built in early Gothic style of Jurassic limestones, was opened in 1905.

Notable people

*

Richard Arauner Richard Arauner (19 April 1902 in Solnhofen – 1 November 1936 near Tabarz) was an ''Oberführer'' in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) and agricultural functionary. Richard Arauner was born into an Evangelical quarry owner family and completed his far ...

(1902-1936), Oberführer in the Waffen-SS *

Hermann von Meyer Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer (3 September 1801 – 2 April 1869), known as Hermann von Meyer, was a German palaeontologist. He was awarded the 1858 Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London. Life He was born at Frankfurt am Ma ...

(1801-1869)

References

External links

*
Solnhofen fossils

Bürgermeister Müller Museum
{{Authority control Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen