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Bergstrasse-Odenwald UNESCO Global Geopark, located south of Frankfurt between the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers, preserves over 500 million years of Earth history. The region is marked by the striking contrast between the flat Upper Rhine Plain and the ancient Odenwald mountains, where landscapes, geological formations and human history intersect. One of the Geopark’s most iconic features is the Felsenmeer, or "Sea of Rocks", in the Odenwald. Here, thousands of boulders—some the size of trucks—lie scattered across the slope, formed from granite-like crystalline rocks deep in the Earth’s crust. These rocks were uplifted by tectonic forces during the formation of the supercontinent Pangea (490–250 million years ago) and later shaped by freeze-thaw processes during the last Ice Age. Roman stoneworkers exploited this resource between the 2nd and 4th centuries, leaving behind more than 15 workshops and around 300 unfinished or damaged boulders. Today, visitors can explore the site and its geological history at the Felsenmeer Information Centre. Another outstanding site is the Messel Pit Fossil Site, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995. Located near Darmstadt, this former oil shale and coal mine holds the most significant Eocene fossil deposit in the world, dating back around 47 million years. The exceptionally well-preserved fossils—some with fur and soft tissue—offer insight into the evolution of mammals, including early horses, pangolins, marsupials and bats. Over 1,000 species have been documented, making Messel a global reference for understanding life in a subtropical forest ecosystem during the Eocene.