In Southern Germany, two examples of travertines of different age and depositional morphology were examined in detail. Travertines are laminated carbonate rocks formed by precipitation from mineral and/or thermal waters. They include characteristic facies types, such as bushy layers (‘shrubs’) referred to calcification of branching microbes (‘Dichothrix’-morphotype), laminar microbial mats, peloidal layers, and gas bubble layers formed within the sediment. In travertines, microbial activity is the most important factor for carbonate precipitation.