The Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest at Sigri, Lesvos, is due to have its own pavilion at the World Geoparks Network at the International Tourism Exhibition (ITB), which will take place in Berlin from March 9-13.

The IBT is one of the tourism industry’s most important exhibitions. Visitors to this year’s exhibition will have the chance to learn more about the history of the island’s famous 20 million year-old petrified forest, which is also a UNESCO World Geopark site. The park is spread across some 150,000 square meters.

The petrified forest was created during intense volcanic activity –a characteristic of the northern Aegean region in prehistoric times – spewing  large amounts of lava and ash, covering areas of Lesvos and creating the forest in the process.

The Museum at the site of the petrified forest was established in 1994 to study, research, promote, preserve and protect the site and gain insight into the island’s distant history. The establishment is a founding member of the European Geopark Network which was set up in 2000. In 2004, UNESCO included the park in its World Geopark scheme.