Solnhofen
Solnhofen
Coordinates	48°53′0″N 11°0′0″E / 48.883333°N 11°E / 48.883333; 11
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Middle Franconia
District	Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Local subdivisions	3 Gemeindeteile
Mayor	Manfred Schneider
Basic statistics
Area	13.50 km2 (5.21 sq mi)
Elevation	410 m  (1345 ft)
Population	1,807  (31 December 2006)
- Density	134 /km2 (347 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	WUG
Postal code	91807
Area code	09145
Website	www.solnhofen.de

Solnhofen is a municipality in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Franconia in the Land of Bavaria in Germany. It lies within the Altmühl valley.

The Sola Basilica dating from the Carolingian period is one of the finest architectural monuments in Germany.

The local area is renowned in geology for Solnhofen limestone. This is a very fine grained limestone from the Jurassic period which is renowned for its role as a Lagerstätte that preserves detailed fossil specimens. Alois Senefelder used specially prepared blocks of the fine Solnhofen limestone for the process of lithography which he invented in 1798. The quarrying of this lithographic limestone subsequently yielded spectacular finds, including Archaeopteryx, commemorated in the bird's full name Archaeopteryx lithographica. All ten known specimens have come from the Solnhofen area.

As well as celebrating its role as the "hometown" of Archaeopteryx, Solnhofen also commemorates the work of Alois Senefelder with a statue of the inventor.

The Bürgermeister Müller Museum in Solnhofen displays the history of lithography, the story of the limestone quarries and the spectacular fossil finds from the area, including the most recently discovered Archaeopteryx specimen.

[edit] External links

• Solnhofen municipality
• Solnhofen fossils
• Bürgermeister Müller Museum

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