RiesCraterMuseum Nördlingen

Website: https://www.rieskrater-museum.de

Management

Prof. Dr. Stefan Hölzl

Museum

About 15 million years ago, an asteroid with a diameter of about 1 km collided with the earth. The result of this cosmic encounter is the Nördlinger Ries, a striking terrain formation in the Swabian-Franconian Alb. The approximately 25 km large, almost circular impact crater is one of the best preserved craters of this size. The ejecta blanket of the Ries crater with the two most important rock formations, Suevite and coloured breccia (Bunte Brekzie), is excellently exposed and already served the Apollo astronauts as a training area for their moon missions.

The RiesKraterMuseum is a natural science museum with one central topic: the formation and significance of impact craters, especially the Nördlinger Ries. In a lavishly renovated medieval barn building dating back to 1503, the Ries event is presented in six rooms, with its planetary roots and its earthly effects, which continue to have an impact today.

Contact

Eugene-Shoemaker-Platz 1
86720 Nördlingen
Tel.: 09081 84710
Fax: 09081 84720
rieskratermuseum@noerdlingen.de