Hondelage oil shale mine

At the Hondelage geopoint, an earth-historical experience point that is accessible to everyone awaits you. In an information hut you will be informed in detail about the origin of the Hondelager Juramulde and the inhabitants of the Ur-Sea 175 million years ago. Here you can find out, for example, what a Belemnit e.m. is and what tropical plant worlds once existed in Hondelage. A profile contains the unique layer structure from the Jurassic period. Only about 1 m of these oil shale layers document several hundred thousand years of earth history. There is also a search heap and a “found pit” where you can search for and dig for fossils yourself. 2 shovels are available for this purpose.

The hondelage geopoint is a marl cave. It is located north of the village. Marl is a soft rock of clay and lime. At that time it was a popular fertilizer among farmers, because its high lime and phosphate content decomposes the natural soil humus and makes its nutrients available to the plants. In addition, the crooked structure of the marl is said to have loosened the heavy honde bearing clay floors. But the marling was not harmless: if one did not provide sufficient nutrient replacement, the soil was soon “emaciated” and caused more weeds to sprout than crops. Today, mermoney fertilization has become rare and replaced by mineral fertilizers.

In 1969, a fossil collector found a 2-metre-long fossil crocodile skeleton (Steneosaurus) in the Mergelkuhle honde camp, which can now be admired in the Natural History Museum in Braunschweig.

The formerly filled and agriculturally used marl cave was developed from a nature conservation point of view. In a nutrient-poor body of water, amphibians can spawn and dragonflies develop. Many heat-loving insect species live on the sun-exposed slopes. Bats use the pit as a hunting ground and rare plant species are promoted by extensive care.

How to get there: Behind Braunschweig Airport in an easterly direction to Hondelage.

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