Geopark Owadów-Brzezinki – niezwykłe stanowisko paleontologiczne udostępnione geoturystycznie

The Owadow-Brzezinki Geopark – a remarkable palaeontological site made available for geotourism. A b s t r a c t. The Owadow-Brzezinki Geopark, located in the western margin of the Holy Cross Mountains in Slawno community (Łodź Voivodeship), was established in June 2019 in close vicinity of the Owadow Brzezinki quarry. The geopark consists of palaeontological museum, educational trail and panoramic viewing platform, located along the quarry edge. The palaeontological museum exhibits unique fossils of marine and terrestrial organisms that were excavated in the quarry during the last six years. Among the most important fossils, which can be seen there are: horseshoe crabs, crustaceans, ammonites, insects, actinopterygian fish, turtles, ichthyosaurs, crocodylomorphs and pterosaurs. In addition to the original fossils, the museum presents life-size reconstructions of animals that inhabited the local seas and islands in the Late Jurassic, and plates illustating palaeogeographical and paleoenvironmental history of this site. Thanks to many important palaeontological and palaeobiological discoveries, this geopark has great geotourist and educational potential. The geopark’s design was drawn upon similar palaeontological museums such as the Jura Museum Eichstatt in the Solnhofen region and the Hauff Museum in the Holzmaden in Germany.