The climate was predominantly hot and dry. Clouds rained down on the coastal areas, meaning that little precipitation reached the interior of the country. This resulted in desert-like wastelands on the one hand and swamps and lakes on the other, where the rain fell. Lush vegetation grew in the coastal areas. Oxidized iron colors the soil red over large areas. For this reason, the rocks from this period are collectively referred to as "Rotliegend" (red lying).

The marine deposits of the Rotliegend are rich in unique fossils. Fossilized tracks from the shore areas also tell us a lot about the environment at that time. Particularly spectacular are the roof-skull amphibians, early land vertebrates reminiscent of today's giant salamanders.

The Permian period was marked by severe drought worldwide. Seawater evaporated and large salt deposits formed, which are still being mined today.

Lithographus hieroglyphicus

Here you can see the tiny footprints of insects that walked through wet mud around 295 million years ago. They were probably beetles or cockroaches. Trace fossils whose creators are unknown are given their own scientific name, the trace name (ichnotaxon). This is done in order to describe the traces unambiguously.