Coral reef aquarium at the Eifel Nature Centre in Nettersheim

Today in Nettersheim, we can collect fossilized remains of a Devonian coral reef. However, it's difficult to imagine what the reef inhabitants once looked like and how they lived.

The aquarium showcases a recent coral reef, inhabited by animals living today, and provides an impression of what our region looked like around 380 million years ago. At that time, the Eifel region was covered by a tropical sea in which a reef formed.

The fossilized remains can be viewed in the "House of Fossils" and in the workshops. Alternatively, you can find them yourself in the fossil field, a station along the nature trail.

The very delicate soft and stony corals were carefully introduced to the aquarium. Sophisticated technology is required to provide the animals with habitat conditions similar to their origin in the Indo-Pacific. The animals are clearly thriving in the tanks alongside coral fish and many other reef inhabitants, and are diligently producing new corals.