Paläontologisches Museum Nierstein

About the museum

The founder Arnulf Stapf found his first fossil mussels and snails at the age of nine while fishing on the Rhine and over decades gathered a large collection in his free time. In the early 1970s the town provided him a room free of charge in the Old Town Hall on the market square; his father built the first display cases together with a local carpenter. In September 1973 the museum opened with one exhibition room.

A year later a nonprofit friends' association was founded, which today has about 250 members from all over Germany. With its support and state subsidies, further rooms were gradually added. Stapf received the Federal Cross of Merit in 1975, and several newly described fossil species were named after him. After his death in 2019, his son Harald Stapf continues to run the museum and add to the collection.

In four rooms, about 50 display cases show animal, plant and trace fossils from European sites from the Cambrian to the Tertiary, plus finds from the regional Rotliegend and from the Tertiary of the Mainz Basin. Recent additions are Messel fossils from the Krath collection and roof slate finds from the Sterzel collection. The museum deliberately relies on a dense, classic presentation; during opening hours, collectors are available as conversation partners.

Highlights

• About 50 display cases with thousands of fossils from all geological ages
• Finds from the Rotliegend, including very early beetles and a tiny saurian
• Foal of the primitive horse Eurohippus messelensis from the Messel Pit
• Roof slate fossils from the Hunsrück and Taunus
• Marine fossils from the Tertiary of the Mainz Basin

Permanent exhibitions

• Fossilien aus Europa – The first room leads through the geological ages from the Cambrian to the Tertiary with fossils from various European countries.
• Das Rotliegende der Region – Two rooms show fossils from the Rotliegend of the Saar-Nahe Basin, including insects and small reptiles.
• Rheinhessen als Meer – Finds from the Tertiary of the Mainz Basin recall the time when the region was covered by a sea.

Founded

1973

Operated by

Freunde des Niersteiner Paläontologischen Museums e.V.

Director

Harald Stapf

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is not accessible.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the second floor of the Old Town Hall on the market square.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit