Petrified Forest & Museum of Natural History
Versteinerter Wald / Museum für Naturkunde
Petrified tree trunks buried by volcanic ash 290 million years ago, displayed outdoors in front of the DAStietz cultural center.
When volcanic eruptions during the Permian period buried whole forests in ash, colorful silicified wood formed. Chemnitz is one of the world's most important sites for these fossils. Some giant petrified trunks are displayed free of charge in the courtyard in front of the DAStietz cultural center. Inside, the Museum of Natural History displays fossils of an in-situ forest excavated in Hilbersdorf in 2008, along with plants and animals from the era before the dinosaurs. Adult admission to the museum is about 6 euros. It is in the city center, a few minutes' walk away.
Opening hours
Courtyard open all day; museum 10:00 am–5:00 pm (closed Mondays)
Nearby sights
- Roter Turm
- Markt, Old & New Town Hall
- smac – State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz
- Karl Marx Monument
- Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Museum am Theaterplatz
- Museum Gunzenhauser
- Kaßberg & Kaßberg Prison Memorial
- Museum für sächsische Fahrzeuge