A real diamond city in a meteorite crater (6 photos)

Nördlingen is a Bavarian city famous for being built in center of the meteorite crater. It has one feature associated with its location - it is called "Diamond City". Why its so called?





Nördlingen is a city in a meteorite crater, but the crater itself is much larger

The territory of the impact crater was named Nördlinger Ries and has a diameter of about 24 kilometers. The fall of a huge meteorite scientists attribute to a period of about 14 million years ago.

At the same time, the very fact that we are talking about a meteorite crater, was established by scientists only in the 60s of the last century - and the city built in the 11th century (the first settlement appeared in general in the 9th century).

Interestingly, the builders of the city were generally sure that this is the crater of an extinct volcano. Therefore, we decided that there was enough space convenient, and under the peculiarities of the "vent" they built a round city.

By the way, the walls of Nördlingen were never destroyed, somehow the city was spared this misfortune - no important battles, no bombing and etc.



In the background you can see the wall of Nördlingen, built in the Middle Ages and never destroyed.

Results of the study of the area under and around Nördlingen were published in 1963. Apparently, the study of the material, from which local buildings are built, played an important role in opening.

It was from that moment that the inhabitants of Nördlingen learned that they did not live in the crater of a volcano, but at the site of a huge meteorite fall.

It is assumed that the size of the meteorite was approximately 1 kilometer in diameter - about as much as it now occupies city.

The depth of the formed depression was, according to estimated, about 400 meters - over time, of course, decreased. So later, when people discovered this place, the resulting landscape was considered quite comfortable for life.





The same Church of St. George in Nördlingen

We will not go into details of the formation of diamonds during the fall of meteorites - this is due to the emerging at that moment pressure.

The main thing is that when the new inhabitants of these places decided build their own housing, they mined stone for construction almost from yourself under your feet. Therefore, it turned out that these old houses built from a material that contains millions of microscopic diamonds.

For example, the medieval church of St. George, standing in the city center, contains about 5,000 carats of diamonds.

True, no value in terms of loot and cost diamonds of this size are on the market. Perhaps because of this they still not cleared up...



The same stones from which Nördlingen is built - and a step shining with diamonds

However, this story became a "diamond" for Nördlingen in figuratively, tourism has become a significant part of the income of a small town.

Advertising articles and guides to Nördlingen often you can find quotes like this: "See how the steps shine on Sun? This staircase is made of diamonds!" - and then the story of meteorite and "magic stones" from which the city was built.

Scientists, by the way, were not too lazy and considered that the entire Nördlinger Ries crater contains 72,000 tons of precious stone.

But, of course, there is something to see here without diamonds - nevertheless, there are not so many such old cities, especially since here everything is made for tourists.



Nördlingen - tourist town

By the way, there was a funny thing in one description explanation of why Nördlingen is called the "Diamond City". Allegedly the reason was the painted facades of houses, which resemble diamonds.

Many houses are really decorated very brightly, which was done back in the 19th century - but they are called diamond, of course, not because this.

Nevertheless, tourists go to see them, including – there are about 70 official monuments in the city architecture - the already mentioned church, town hall, market square and etc.

There is now, of course, a museum displaying the contents diamonds stones both "locally produced" and from other craters with all over the world.



Museum in Nördlingen and an example of large stones,used in the construction of the city

But at the same time, the city has a city wall museum, the Bavarian railway museum and much more, completely unrelated to diamonds.