Germany: Solnhofen, Holzmaden and the state heritage laws

German fossils are governed by state (Land) heritage law, not federal law, and in most states fossils are the property of the landowner. The Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria is worked by private quarries: the Blumenberg quarry at Eichstätt, the Mühlheim quarry and others sell day tickets, and the fish, crustaceans, dragonflies and ammonites you split out are yours to keep, and to sell; Archaeopteryx and the rarest vertebrates are the quarry's under the ticket terms, and every quarry states what you may keep. The Jura-Museum and the Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum handle scientifically important pieces.

Holzmaden in Baden-Württemberg is the Posidonia Shale: the Urweltmuseum Hauff runs a pay quarry (Klopfplatz) where visitors keep their ammonites and belemnites. Baden-Württemberg's Denkmalschutzgesetz includes fossils of scientific significance among the state's protected cultural monuments and requires finds to be reported to the state heritage office, which can claim them (the Schatzregal rule); ordinary finds are not affected. Bavaria's heritage law does not claim fossils on private land. Verify locally: the reporting thresholds and which states operate a Schatzregal for fossils.

Messel is a UNESCO World Heritage site and closed; the Eifel Devonian and the Hunsrück slate are mostly private and quarry-run; the North Sea coast and Rügen chalk are open to beach collecting.

Germany's ivory rules follow the EU: trade in raw elephant ivory is effectively banned, worked pre-1947 antiques need certificates, and mammoth ivory is unrestricted but must be identifiable as mammoth.