Obernholz fossil showroom
The fossils showroom Oberholz is in the cellar alley Oberholz in the market town of Strass im Strassertale in the district of Krems-Land in Lower Austria . It shows fossils from the Tertiary .
history
In a nearby sand pit and during other activities in Obernholz, fossils were repeatedly found, which Gerhard Putzgruber subsequently collected. In 1994, the sand pit was acquired by the community and a publicly accessible showroom was set up in the nearby Obernholz in the Kellergasse to make the scientifically interesting finds accessible. The showroom was officially opened on September 16, 1995 with Abbot Bernhard Naber ( Altenburg Abbey ).
collection
Under the title “A land sinks in the sea” the museum presents the sea surf of the Paratethys , which struck 20 million years ago in Obernholz. The history of the earth can be experienced with the help of numerous fossilized snails and mussels as well as multimedia presentation technology. At the same time, however, the traces of a river that formed the land here 30 million years ago are shown, making a second geological stage visible. Disturbance of this sequence and at the same time the third type of deposit is the river delta of a river coming from the south, which flowed into the sea here 16 million years ago. The collection is open daily and freely accessible.
Horner River
With the help of characteristic clay, sand and gravel deposits, in which petrified wood, leaves and pollen are found, a river can be traced that flowed from Gmünd, via Allentsteig , Horn and Obernholz to Krems, where it flowed into what was then Sea flowed. The sediments of this river, which are finely stratified by the meandering course of the river and traversed by directed gravel and coarse sand, form the lower layers of the sand pit and are free of fossil marine life.
Eggenburg Sea
The rise in sea level brought subtropical sea creatures whose fossil remains can be found in the clayey sea sediments. These are mussel shells, snail shells, shells of sea urchins and shark teeth. Traces of life such as crab structures can also be seen. The sediments themselves are stratified horizontally, but are broken up several times by narrow gravel horizons that indicate severe, catastrophic storms.
Urtraisen
In the eastern part of the sand pit, gravel has been cut into the sea deposits. This gravel consists partly of lime and thus comes from the Limestone Alps, possibly from today's Traisental. Overall, these deposits show a structure that is typically found in river deltas: the gravel is not very structured, so it was never exposed to the currents of a river, but is distributed in fine sands and clays, which must also be of fluvial origin because there are hardly any marine life in them can be proven.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 30 ′ 46.6 " N , 15 ° 44 ′ 42" E