EGU25-21901, updated on 15 Mar 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21901
EGU General Assembly 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
 The Exceptional Fossil Collection of Herbert Schaffer from Würting Castle: Conservation, Digitalization, and Identification of Fossil from Europe and Northern Africa
Julia Wöger, kerstin zucali, and erich reiter
Julia Wöger et al.
  • OÖLKG Biodiversitätszentrum Linz, Geowissenschaftliche Sammlungen

The Herbert Schaffer fossil collection, acquired in 2024 by the Upper Austrian State Cultural Organization (OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH), represents the most significant private paleontological collection in Austria. By early 2025, the staggering amount of approximately 60 tons of fossil material had been recovered from Würting Castle in Upper Austria. This remarkable collection is unique not only for its size and unusual history but also because nearly all objects remain scientifically unstudied and undescribed. The collection’s breadth and quality offer unparalleled opportunities for paleontological research, making it a treasure of national importance for understanding the geological and biological history of Austria.

Among the most noteworthy objects are the fossils from the site of Traun-Pucking, comprising remains of multiple odontocete individuals. More than 5,000 boxes containing primarily Syngnathidae, Labridae, and other Percomorphaceae from the site of St. Margarethen, Burgenland, were retrieved from the upper floors of Würting Castle in Offenhausen. Also stored in the halls of the castle’s second floor was an unprepared Jurassic crocodile from the clays near Peterborough, UK, as well as a ca. 3.5-meter-long Ichthyosaurus from the world-famous Lagerstätte of Holzmaden, Germany. Furthermore, the Schaffer collection includes fossils from the following localities in vast quantities: Eggenburg, Lower Austria; Nefgraben near Rußbach, Upper Austria; Bad Adelholzen, Germany; Schlaifhausen, Germany; and Weistal near Hallein, Salzburg. A complete list of all fossil sites recorded can be provided by the authors.

Efforts to preserve, catalog, and digitize the collection are currently underway, ensuring its accessibility for scientific study and public engagement. This initiative not only honors Herbert Schaffer’s legacy but also seeks to establish a foundation for interdisciplinary research in paleontology and paleoecology at the Biodiversity Research Center Linz of the OÖLKG. By presenting an overview of the collection and its immense scientific potential, this contribution seeks to highlight its value, raise awareness within the scientific community, and attract researchers to contribute to the study and comprehensive analysis of this extraordinary paleontological treasure.

How to cite: Wöger, J., zucali, K., and reiter, E.:  The Exceptional Fossil Collection of Herbert Schaffer from Würting Castle: Conservation, Digitalization, and Identification of Fossil from Europe and Northern Africa, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-21901, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21901, 2025.