The town and surrounding area are well known as the source of exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Jurassic period.

1=census results The community is located north of the Bundesautobahn 8, halfway between Ulm and Stuttgart; the next junction is Aichelberg.

Holzmaden also has a primary school, two kindergartens, a community hall with integrally joined forming gym and a sports and leisure facility.

The ground in and around the city contains rich layers of well-preserved fossils (or Lagerstätten) of the Jurassic period.

This locale is important for its frequent preservation of soft tissue, a rarity in fossils.