Purchase of a collection

Fossils prove crocodiles in Upper Austria

Palaeontologists Erich Reiter and Julia Wöger with Governor Thomas Stelzer (right)(Bild: Peter C. Mayr)

Crocodiles existed in the time of the dinosaurs, i.e. in the Mesozoic Era - also in Upper Austria. A lord of a castle in the Hausruckviertel region was obsessed with collecting the remains of these reptiles, as well as other fossils that tell us who once grazed or swam in the land above the Enns. The province of Upper Austria has now acquired this valuable collection.

Herbert Schaffer (1936-2019) was a paleontologist and passionate collector: he amassed around 50,000 fossils in his Würting Castle, in the municipality of Offenhausen in the district of Wels-Land, which he acquired in 1975.

In addition to the "classics" among the fossils, the ammonites, there are also remains of crocodiles that lurked in the middle of the Land ob der Enns at the time of the dinosaurs, waiting for prey. The collection also includes fossil toothed whales, fish and the remains of a Deinotherium, a giant elephant. Everything comes from various sites in Upper Austria and other provinces.

Like the dinosaurs, ammonites - cephalopods - died out around 65 million years ago(Bild: Peter C. Mayr)

Several competitors showed interest
After Schaffer's death, a race began for his incredible collection. There were several interested parties, including OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH. Now, five years later, the bid was successful: for around 200,000 euros, the "treasure" will become the property of the state and thus remain in Upper Austria.

During an on-site inspection at Würting Castle, Governor Thomas Stelzer was impressed: "We are proud to now have this extensive collection in the possession of the province. Both the quality and the quantity are amazing."

Over the next few months, everything will be retrieved from the castle, digitized, transferred to new containers and transferred to the museum depot. Local and international researchers will process the fossils.