Messel: Fossils, World Heritage and Half-Timbered Houses

Messel combines an exceptional glimpse into the history of the Earth with a historic town center and hiking trails that explore a range of landscapes and themes. The Messel Pit was designated Germany’s first UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1995. Its fossil deposits document the history of the Earth’s development 47 million years ago; the preservation, quantity and variety of the finds are unique.

Discover the Messel Pit and its fossils

A viewing platform on the site offers a view into the pit. The freely accessible outdoor area also invites you to marvel, play and linger. The “Time and Messel Worlds” visitor center is the northern gateway to the Bergstraße-Odenwald UNESCO Global Geopark. For a deeper look at the history of the Earth, the Messel Fossil and Local History Museum offers another perspective: it provides information about exceptionally well-preserved fossils, 48 million years old, from lake deposits, and about the living conditions at the time.

You can use your smartphone to access spoken explanations of selected exhibits, especially fossils. Written explanations are also available at the exhibits. This lets you explore individual finds by reading or listening. It is worth checking the current opening hours before your visit.

Half-timbered houses and local history

The listed Historic Town Center offers a different way to get to know Messel. The historic district mainly comprises buildings on both sides of Bruchgasse, Langgasse, Hanauer Straße and Holzhäusergasse. Gable-fronted, two-story half-timbered houses, farmsteads, sandstone posts and steep, red-tiled gabled roofs shape the streetscapes. The settlement’s structure can be traced back to the Carolingian period. In Messel, therefore, the pit’s far-reaching geological history sits alongside a settlement history that can be read in the townscape.

Hiking trails with different highlights

For a longer hike, the easy-to-walk 15.2 km Kranichstein Forest Trail leads from the Messel Pit UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site through the Kranichstein Forest to Kranichstein Hunting Lodge. The easy 11 km Urpferdchen Trail is a circular route that goes around the World Heritage site, passing the Messel Local History Museum and spoil heaps. Its theme is the traces of the early horse. If you would like to combine landscapes with historic points along the way, the Mörsbacher Grund Loop offers extensive forests, meadows and small ponds. The 14.8 km loop is rated very easy; along the way are the Fossil Museum in Messel, a landgrave’s hunting pavilion and burial mounds.

The routes differ both in length and in focus: the Urpferdchen Trail circles the World Heritage site and highlights its well-known animal motif, while the Mörsbacher Grund Loop combines landscapes with several historic stops. The Kranichstein Forest Trail leads through the Kranichstein Forest to the hunting lodge. When planning, you can weigh up whether a circular route connected to the pit or a trail with a named destination better suits your plans.

The easy, 15.4 km Ölschiefer Trail also runs in the vicinity of Messel, with a gentle incline through forests south of the Messel Pit. Along the way are the Naturfreundehaus and a bathing lake. Parking is available at the Messel Pit Visitor Center, Roßdörfer Straße 108, 64409 Messel, for hikes around the pit. The Messel Pit Visitor Center bus stop is also located there; check public transport details before setting off.

Messel in its wider regional context

The wider Darmstadt-Dieburg travel destination includes six natural regions: the Hessian Rhine Plain, the Untermain Plain, the Messel Hills, the Reinheim Hills, the Vorderer Odenwald and the Sandsteinodenwald. Within the district, the Bergstraße forms a striking transition between the Rhine Plain and the Odenwald. An extensive network of well-marked trails makes hiking, walking and Nordic walking possible there. As a regional cycling option, the family cycling route runs for about 40 kilometers across the district, from Erzhausen to Seeheim-Jugenheim. These examples describe Darmstadt-Dieburg as a wider regional context; the pit, museum and historic town center are the specific highlights of Messel.

If the Messel Pit, museum and local hiking trails are your main interests, you can search specifically for accommodation in Messel. If you would also like to take the diverse landscapes of the entire district into account, include Darmstadt-Dieburg as a wider travel destination in your search.

Discover more destinations: Ober-Ramstadt, Fischbachtal, Babenhausen, Seeheim-Jugenheim, Weiterstadt, Dieburg, Bickenbach, Pfungstadt

Back to the wider travel guide: Darmstadt-Dieburg.