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All Germany Nördlingen Nordlingen
AO Edited

Nordlingen

A meteorite-bounded town in Bavaria.

Nördlingen, Germany

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ser flac
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  Michiel1972/Wikimedia
  sonya-and-gregory/Flickr
The edge of the crater   H. Raab/Wikimedia
Looking out toward the rim from the Nordlingen church tower (WikiCommons)   Mussklprozz/Wikimedia
  zerega / Atlas Obscura User
  zerega / Atlas Obscura User
  zerega / Atlas Obscura User
There is a walkway at the top of the wall you can walk around the city on top of the wall.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
If you climb the bell tower of St George’s church, you can touch a piece of the meteor.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
There is a bronze Braille map of the city in one of the plazas.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
Storks have built a nest on one of the rooftops. The city named them Hansel and Gretel.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
church tower panorama   yellingBytes / Atlas Obscura User
3km castle wall   yellingBytes / Atlas Obscura User
  zerega / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Nordlingen is a town nearly 15 million years in the making. Although it has only been populated in a modern sense for the last 1200 years, the town is neatly centered in the middle of a crater caused by a giant meteor crashing into the Bavarian countryside.

Scientists estimate the meteor size at around 1.5 kilometers, although the depression it left is nearly 24 kilometers in diameter. Miraculously, the meteor left a perfectly bowl-shaped depression around 100-150 meters into the earth, forming a unique valley for Nordlingen, and the other surrounding villages.

Fully embracing their cosmic past, the residents have incorporated many parts of the meteor into the structures of their town. Parts of the meteor have been mined and used in many of the buildings in the town. The church is even encrusted with meteorites.

Visitors looking for a great view of the surrounding crater edges should climb the Nordlingen church tower or take one of the Ries Crater tours offered via airplane.

Related Tags

Natural Wonders Geological Oddities Cultures And Civilizations Meteorites Geology Nature

Know Before You Go

Nördlingen is part of the Romantic Road and has a train station that also hosts a notable train museum, including workable historic steam engines.

 

Community Contributors

Added By

serflac

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zerega, Allison, atimian, e1savage...

  • zerega
  • Allison
  • atimian
  • e1savage
  • yellingBytes

Published

August 18, 2011

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Nordlingen
Nordlingen
Nördlingen, 86720
Germany
48.850831, 10.489575
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