Dinosaur plate of Lommiswil

The Dinosaur plate of Lommiswil is a paleontological site displaying fossilized footprints pressed into ancient limestone. The traces reveal how prehistoric creatures once moved across this terrain millions of years ago.

Researchers identified these footprints in 1987 as evidence of massive sauropods walking through shallow marine waters about 145 million years ago. The limestone itself formed during the Jurassic period when this region was covered by ancient seas.

The limestone formation, known as Solothurner Schildkrötenkalk, holds fossils of turtles, sea urchins, fish, crustaceans, and conifer plant remains from the Jurassic period.

Visitors can walk to the site from the Oberdorf-Weissenstein chairlift station or the BLS train stop at Im Holz. The trek takes roughly 20 minutes and allows time to notice the surrounding countryside along the way.

The footprints include horseshoe-shaped front prints measuring 60 by 40 centimeters and oval rear prints spanning 120 by 80 centimeters.