natural wonder
Messel Pit
A UNESCO fossil quarry near Darmstadt that yields exquisitely preserved 47-million-year-old Eocene plants and animals.
3 km · about 5 min drive
EuropeGermanyHesse
Messel
Hesse, Germany · Europe
About Messel
Messel is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Kranichstein, 3km from Messel Pit.
Messel is in Hesse, Germany, with about 3,900 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Kranichstein, about 6 km away.
Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
The village is first mentioned, as Masilla, in the Lorsch codex.
Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799. After the extinction of the Groschlag male lineage, the village would haveRead more
passed to the Archbishopric of Mainz but the population refused to accept this transition and paid homage to the daughters of the Groschlag family instead. The minister of the archbishopric, von Albini, consequently occupied the village with a force of 50 hussars. In 1806, the village fell to the Grand Duchy of Hesse.
The nearby Messel pit is an important site for Eocene fossils.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Messel?
Within an hour or so of Messel: Messel Pit (3 km), Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt (9 km), Römer Frankfurt (20 km), Saalburg Roman Fort (39 km).
Are there any good drives near Messel?
The nearest famous roads are Schottenring, Deutsche Weinstraße and Mosel Valley Wine Route.
Where is Messel?
Messel is in Hesse, Germany, about 6 km from Kranichstein.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 3,916
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Germany
- Region
- Hesse
- Timezone
- Europe/Berlin
- Coordinates
- 49.9383, 8.7406
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Germany
ADAC roadside assistance: +49 89 22 22 22. No general speed limit on some autobahn sections but advisory 130 km/h.
Full driving guide for GermanyTags
Worth the detour from Messel
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
A UNESCO Jugendstil artists' colony crowned by the golden 'Wedding Tower' and Art Nouveau villas above Darmstadt.
9 km · about 15 min drive
landmark
Römer Frankfurt
Frankfurt's medieval town hall and its gabled Römerberg square form a postcard-perfect old-town heart amid the skyscrapers.
20 km · about 25 min drive
ancient ruins
Saalburg Roman Fort
A fully reconstructed Roman fort on the Limes frontier in the Taunus hills brings legionary life vividly back to view.
39 km · about 45 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Neroberg
A wooded hill above Wiesbaden reached by a water-powered funicular, crowned by a gold-domed Russian Orthodox church.
40 km · about 45 min drive
museum
Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz
Intimate museum in Carl Benz's last factory in Ladenburg, displaying pioneering Benz vehicles in the very halls where the inventor of the automobile worked until 1929.
53 km · about 60 min drive
castle
Heidelberg Castle
A partly ruined Renaissance castle overlooking the city of Heidelberg, one of Germany's most important Renaissance structures.
59 km · about 70 min drive
landmark
Rüdesheim Drosselgasse
A narrow cobbled lane of wine taverns and music in the Rheingau, the lively heart of Rhine Valley wine country.
59 km · about 70 min drive
Driving roads near Messel
5 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- 40 kmNerobergA wooded hill above Wiesbaden reached by a water-powered funicular, crowned by a gold-domed Russian Orthodox church.
- 60 kmNiederwalddenkmalA colossal Germania statue above Rüdesheim surveys the Rhine vineyards, reached by a cable car over the steep slopes.
- 68 kmSchottenringA German road circuit in the Vogelsberg hills that hosted motorcycle Grands Prix in the 1950s, notorious for its narrow, tree-lined public roads. Still used for historic events and drivable in between.
- 77 kmUpper Middle Rhine ValleyA UNESCO-listed 65-km stretch of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen, lined with over 40 castles, vineyards, and historic towns.
Driving in Germany
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.78/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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