An asteroid hit this place 15 million years ago, leaving behind a nine-mile crater. Because of the heat diamonds were formed. Nordlingen was built from the impact stone, so the buildings all over town contain microscopic diamonds.
| Type | Town |
| Year | 898 |
| Location | Donau-Ries district, Swabia, Bavaria, Germany |
| Getting there |
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| Official Web Site | https://www.noerdlingen.de/ |
| Location | Nordlingen, Germany, Europe |
Nordlingen – a town build with millions of tiny diamonds
- The city is very small and can be covered by foot
- Stone buildings in the town contain millions of tiny diamonds, all less than 0.2 millimeters across. The meteorite impact that caused the Nördlinger Ries crater created an estimated 72,000 tonnes of them when it impacted a local graphite deposit. Stone from this area was later quarried and used to build the stone buildings.
- It is one of only three towns in Germany that still has a completely intact city wall, the other two being Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl.
- Near Nordlingen there is Ofnet Caves, a cave that was discovered and that contains 33 prehistoric human skulls. The skulls were dated to 7000 BC.
- The area which includes present-day Nördlingen was part of the Roman province of Raetia. A Roman villa has been excavated in the district of Holheim, and can be visited today.
- The Kriegerbrunnen is an Art Nouveau fountain
- St. George’s Church is one of the largest churches in Germany. The tower is called “Daniel” and is 90 m high.
Nordlingen
