Solnhofen

Solnhofen
View on Solhofen
View on Solhofen
Coat of arms of Solnhofen
Location of Solnhofen within Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district
GunzenhausenAbsbergAlesheimMuhr am SeeBergenBurgsalachDittenheimEttenstattHaundorfHeidenheimHöttingenLangenaltheimMarkt BerolzheimMeinheimNennslingenPappenheimPfofeldPolsingenSolnhofenTheilenhofenTreuchtlingenWeißenburg in BayernWestheimRaitenbuchPleinfeldGnotzheimEllingenDonau-RiesRoth (district)Ansbach (district)Eichstätt (district)
Solnhofen is located in Germany
Solnhofen
Solnhofen
Solnhofen is located in Bavaria
Solnhofen
Solnhofen
Coordinates: 48°53′N 11°0′E / 48.883°N 11.000°E / 48.883; 11.000
CountryGermany
StateBavaria
Admin. regionMittelfranken
DistrictWeißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Subdivisions3 Gemeindeteile
Government
 • Mayor (2020–26) Tobias Eberle[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total
13.50 km2 (5.21 sq mi)
Elevation
410 m (1,350 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total
1,741
 • Density130/km2 (330/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
91807
Dialling codes09145
Vehicle registrationWUG
Websitewww.solnhofen.de

Solnhofen is a municipality in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Middle Franconia in the Land of Bavaria in Germany. It is in the Altmühl valley.

The local area is famous in geology and palaeontology for Solnhofen limestone. This is a very fine-grained limestone from the Jurassic period Lagerstätte that preserves detailed fossil specimens. Alois Senefelder used specially prepared blocks of the fine Solnhofen limestone for the process of lithography which he invented in 1798. The quarrying of this lithographic limestone subsequently yielded spectacular finds, including Archaeopteryx, commemorated in the bird's full name Archaeopteryx lithographica. All 13 known specimens have come from the Solnhofen area.