![Hildburghausen The Chirotherium monument in front of the town hall of Hildburghausen in Thuringia, Germany.](/sites/default/files/page/DE_TH_Hildburghausen.png)
Hildburghausen is a district town in the south of Thuringia. It was the capital of the former Duchy of Saxony-Hildburghausen. In 1834, footprints and traces of extinct terrestrial vertebrates were discovered near Hildburghausen, which are considered to be the first scientifically described trace fossils ever.