Geologisch-Paläontologisches Museum Hamburg

The Geologisch-Paläontologisches Museum stands in the basement of the Geomatikum building in Hamburg’s Rotherbaum district. It forms part of the Museum der Natur Hamburg, alongside the Mineralogy and Zoology collections. These three museums were brought together in 2014 under the Centrum für Naturkunde of the University of Hamburg. In 2021 the centre merged with Bonn’s Museum Koenig to create the Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels. The museum’s displays now cover the past 3.5 billion years of life on Earth.

Visitors find fossils from famous sites such as Solnhofen and Messel arranged to show the evolution of living things. Panels explain how shifting geology shaped life and how advancing and retreating glaciers during the ice ages influenced species. The exhibition occupies 900 square metres of floor space. Labels describe the geological development of the planet alongside the emergence of plants and animals. Special cases highlight rare finds that illustrate key moments in evolutionary history.

The museum’s setting in the Geomatikum basement keeps displays cool and stable. Large windows let natural light reach the main hall, where a long central case draws the eye along the timeline. Smaller side rooms hold microfossils and mineralogical specimens. Visitors leave with a clearer picture of how Earth’s crust and climate have guided the story of life.