Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Discover

Places to see

Natural Monuments

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Münster District

Ruhr Region

Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis

Hattingen

Stiepel Quarry – Germany’s Oldest Animal Track

Discover

Places to see

Natural Monuments

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Münster District

Ruhr Region

Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis

Hattingen

Stiepel Quarry – Germany’s Oldest Animal Track

Highlight • Natural Monument

Stiepel Quarry – Germany’s Oldest Animal Track

Recommended by 103 hikers out of 129

Save

Location: Hattingen, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Ruhr Region, Münster District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Save

See hikes here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Hikes to Stiepel Quarry – Germany’s Oldest Animal Track

4.6

(399)

1,861

hikers

1. View of Blankenstein Castle – Stiepel Village Church loop from Brockhausen

5.54km

01:27

40m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Easy

4.7

(202)

1,194

hikers

2. Ruhr Meadows – Haus Kemnade loop from Kämpen

13.0km

03:32

180m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.6

(46)

171

hikers

3. Ruhr Riverside Path – Haus Kemnade loop from Hattingen (Ruhr) Mitte

21.1km

05:38

230m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Expert

Tips

Julia

February 26, 2017

There, Germany's oldest animal track was found in the rock.

Translated by Google •

Julia

February 28, 2017

"In this small quarry, a family from Dortmund discovered the fossilized footprints of an animal trail on an exposed rock surface in 2012. The scientific study of the six footprints discovered allowed for the determination as Ichniotherium praesidentis, which thus belongs to an animal that is a link between amphibians It is a predecessor of all terrestrial vertebrates, such as reptiles, dinosaurs, birds and mammals - so far only three such tracks were known from the Ruhr area, but came from slightly younger strata, comparable findings are found in the Saarland, the Zwickauer Karbon in Saxony, from Great Britain and North America

It is in the newly discovered track to the oldest vertebrate track in Germany. Not only because of the age and rarity of such finds, but also because the track plate was still in the original rock formation, the find is of great scientific importance.

As the more detailed investigation of the found layer revealed, the rock is the "fine-woman sandstone". This rock was formed from sand deposits in a former river, which flowed through the forest bogs of today's Ruhr area about 316 million years ago, from which the hard coal was created. The Bochum "Ursaurier" left his hand and foot prints on the wet river bank or on a sandbank in the river.

What the animal that caused the track did not exactly know. Only from the time of the Permian (about 280 million years ago) are skeletons of comparable animals known, which allow a reconstruction. The size of the footprints (20 cm) and the distance between the right and left footprints suggest that the animal was almost the size of a domestic pig.

Since the track plate was endangered by weathering or vandalism, it was salvaged in a complex action. With the help of pre-drilling, the 2 m2 and 2 t sandstone slab was removed from the rock formation and collected on a padded surface. After the preparation and the scientific processing the plate should be exhibited in the German Mining Museum, where also the two geologically slightly more recent track finds from the years 1923 and 1957 have their place. "Source: geopark.metropoleruhr.de/geopark -ruhrgebiet geopark-discover / geotope / quarry-stiepel.html /

Translated by Google •

Silkewandert

October 1, 2023

Anyone interested in geology will find interesting information here

Translated by Google •

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 120 m

Weather

Today

Wednesday 5 November

17°C

11°C

0 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 19.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Hattingen, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Ruhr Region, Münster District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Winding Forest Trail on the Ruhr Hillside

Greenhouses in the Botanical Garden of Ruhr University Bochum

Leinpfad an der Ruhr unterhalb der Isenburg

Blankenstein Lock (Ruhrschleuse Blankenstein)

Meadow Path with View of the Sprockhövelerbach Valley

Katzenstein Trail Descent

Pilgerweg Bistum Essen Extra-Tour

Ruhr Meadows

View of Hattingen and Essen from Katzenstein

Wheat Fields Near Hattingen

Forest Path to Kemnader See

East Shore of Lake Kemnade

Stiepel Quarry – Germany’s Oldest Animal Track

1. View of Blankenstein Castle – Stiepel Village Church loop from Brockhausen

2. Ruhr Meadows – Haus Kemnade loop from Kämpen

3. Ruhr Riverside Path – Haus Kemnade loop from Hattingen (Ruhr) Mitte

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️