20 years of the GrenzWelten Geopark – the competition winners have been announced
This year, the GrenzWelten National Geopark marked its 20th anniversary with a whole series of events and activities. In particular, three special lecture events offered a fascinating insight into the Geopark: ‘Volcanism, Landscape and Geology of the Wolfhager Land’, including a presentation of the augmented reality experience featuring the ‘Urhandtier’ in Wolfhagen; the launch of Thomas Pawellek’s book ‘Journeys through Earth’s History – The GrenzWelten Geopark, Western Section’ in Marsberg; and the lecture by Prof. Dr Jörg Fröbisch, ‘The Korbach Fissure: Unique Finds, New Insights and the GrenzWelten Geopark’ in Korbach.
Furthermore, to mark the Geopark’s 20th anniversary, two ‘Geotopes of the Year’ were selected: the Neanderthal site in Buhlen and the Christborn spring in Burgwald. Both geotopes were presented at separate events and were each fitted with new geostations. One special feature that links both geotopes is that they form part of the ‘Archive Soil’, the soil of the Geopark’s anniversary year, 2026.
The highlight of the celebrations was the exhibition ‘Geological History Unites – 20 Years of the GrenzWelten Geopark’, which took place from 26 September to 1 November at the Wolfgang Bonhage Museum in Korbach. Visitors were able to rediscover the GrenzWelten region and marvel at the Geopark’s unique geological and scenic heritage. They also had the chance to take part in a special competition: “Dachshund to go! – The Korbach Dachshund and his friends as digital travel companions”.
The winners of the selfies – or rather, the photo taken against a beautiful landscape featuring the Procynosuchus or one of its friends – have now been announced. The Geopark team rated Michael Pape’s selfie with the Wolfhagen prehistoric animal as particularly successful – it was awarded first prize, a palaeo hamper. The Geopark team awarded second place to Simone Tigges’ selfie with the prehistoric dachshund – with the prize being a jar each of GeoGold and TiefenGlut mustard – whilst Susanne Winzer’s landscape photo featuring the Procynosuchus – with the prize being a jar of GeoGold honey – came in third place. In addition, the Dohle family from Vöhl-Marienhagen received a special children’s prize for their selfie with the Procynosuchus: Charlotte and Vincent each received a Procy soft toy. District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst shared in the winners’ joy and congratulated them on their very diverse and expressive photographs.