Fersman Mineralogical Museum
Encyclopedia
Fersman Mineralogical Museum is one of the largest mineral museums of the world. Its collections include more than 135,000 items. Among them natural crystal
s, geode
s, druze
s and other kinds of mineral treasures. The museum was named after Alexander Fersman
.
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as a mineral cabinet of Kunstkamera
. As a base for this mineral cabinet a collection of 1195 specimens was bought by Gotvald, a doctor of medicine from Danzig
, at the behest of Tsar Peter the Great
. This collection was enriched by the material from Russian deposits and opened for public view in 1719.
During the reign of Peter the Great mineral collections grew very quickly. They were replenished with specimens which were presented to members of the imperial court or to the tsar personally. For example, in 1718 Charles XII of Sweden
presented to Peter a magnificent example of natural, crystallized "rope" of silver from the royal silver mines
at Kongsberg
in Norway
. This 21 cm long specimen called "Silver Horn" is the oldest specimen in the collections of the Russian Academy of Sciences
.
In 1745 the collection included more than 3000 minerals, fossil
s, gems and rocks. By this time it was already one of the most enviable Europe collections with a great aesthetic and scientific value. This great quantity of material required sorting and cataloging. The first to be appointed to the task of organizing the mineral cabinet was a German scientist Johann Gmelin (1709-1755). Thereafter, Mikhail Lomonosov
, who had just completed his studies in Germany, continued his work. For almost five years, Lomonosov sorted out the collection and compiled a catalogue which was published in 1745.
On 5 December 1747 a great fire destroyed virtually the whole collection. Only the most valuable items were saved, including the "Silver Horn". In 1836 the Kunstkamera was divided into 7 separate museums, including Mineralogical museum which was moved to the new building. In 1898 the museum was significantly expanded and renamed the Geological museum.
In 1912, the name was changed to the Museum of Geology and Mineralogy, dedicated to Peter the Great. The mineral research laboratory was founded and research trips were organized to the Ural
s, Siberia
and Transbaikalia.
in 1934 together with the Russian Academy of Sciences
. Thirty railway carriages were required to move the museum's collection of more than 60,000 specimens. The relocation and setting up of the exhibition took three years of energetic work. In 1936 and 1937 the museum organized independent exhibitions in Moscow.
to 5 main collections:
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s, geode
Geode
Geodes are geological secondary sedimentary structures which occur in sedimentary and certain volcanic rocks. Geodes are essentially spherical masses of mineral matter that were deposited sygenetically within the rock formations they are found in. Geodes have a Chalcedony shell containing...
s, druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
s and other kinds of mineral treasures. The museum was named after Alexander Fersman
Alexander Fersman
Alexander Yevgenyevich Fersman was a prominent Soviet geochemist and mineralogist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences ....
.
Early history
The museum was founded in 1716 in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
as a mineral cabinet of Kunstkamera
Kunstkamera
The Kunstkamera was the first museum in Russia. Established by Peter the Great and completed in 1727, the Kunstkammer Building hosts the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, with a collection of almost 2,000,000 items...
. As a base for this mineral cabinet a collection of 1195 specimens was bought by Gotvald, a doctor of medicine from Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, at the behest of Tsar Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
. This collection was enriched by the material from Russian deposits and opened for public view in 1719.
During the reign of Peter the Great mineral collections grew very quickly. They were replenished with specimens which were presented to members of the imperial court or to the tsar personally. For example, in 1718 Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
presented to Peter a magnificent example of natural, crystallized "rope" of silver from the royal silver mines
Kongsberg Silver Mines
The silver mines of Kongsberg, in Buskerud county in Norway, constitute the largest mining field in Norway, with over 80 different mines.It was the largest pre-industrial working place in Norway, with over 4,000 workers at its peak in the 1770s and supplied over 10% of the gross national product of...
at Kongsberg
Kongsberg
is a town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsberg....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. This 21 cm long specimen called "Silver Horn" is the oldest specimen in the collections of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
.
In 1745 the collection included more than 3000 minerals, fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, gems and rocks. By this time it was already one of the most enviable Europe collections with a great aesthetic and scientific value. This great quantity of material required sorting and cataloging. The first to be appointed to the task of organizing the mineral cabinet was a German scientist Johann Gmelin (1709-1755). Thereafter, Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
, who had just completed his studies in Germany, continued his work. For almost five years, Lomonosov sorted out the collection and compiled a catalogue which was published in 1745.
On 5 December 1747 a great fire destroyed virtually the whole collection. Only the most valuable items were saved, including the "Silver Horn". In 1836 the Kunstkamera was divided into 7 separate museums, including Mineralogical museum which was moved to the new building. In 1898 the museum was significantly expanded and renamed the Geological museum.
In 1912, the name was changed to the Museum of Geology and Mineralogy, dedicated to Peter the Great. The mineral research laboratory was founded and research trips were organized to the Ural
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
s, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and Transbaikalia.
In Moscow
Museum was moved from Petersburg to MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1934 together with the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. Thirty railway carriages were required to move the museum's collection of more than 60,000 specimens. The relocation and setting up of the exhibition took three years of energetic work. In 1936 and 1937 the museum organized independent exhibitions in Moscow.
Collections
All museum acquisitions since 1716 were divided at the beginning of 20th century by the academician Vladimir VernadskyVladimir Vernadsky
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was a Russian/Ukrainian and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and of radiogeology. His ideas of noosphere were an important contribution to Russian cosmism. He also worked in Ukraine where he...
to 5 main collections:
- Systematic collection consists of more than 90000 items representing about 2400 mineral species (from 4000 species known in nature). Mineral specimens in this collection demonstrating diversity of mineral species by it constitution, morphologyGeomorphologyGeomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
, physical properties, associations with other minerals. - Crystal collection includes more than 4800 crystals of minerals representing all crystal systemCrystal systemIn crystallography, the terms crystal system, crystal family, and lattice system each refer to one of several classes of space groups, lattices, point groups, or crystals...
s and most of space groupSpace groupIn mathematics and geometry, a space group is a symmetry group, usually for three dimensions, that divides space into discrete repeatable domains.In three dimensions, there are 219 unique types, or counted as 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct...
s. Mineral specimens in this collection demonstrating different forms and their combinations, twinning laws, perfection and defection of natural and man made crystals. - Locality collections included more than 31000 specimens representing genetic features, mineral association and ore types for more than 300 former Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
deposits and couple dozen well known localities in other countries. - PseudomorphPseudomorphIn mineralogy, a pseudomorph is a mineral or mineral compound that appears in an atypical form , resulting from a substitution process in which the appearance and dimensions remain constant, but the original mineral is replaced by another...
collection includes about 2200 mineral specimens, representing different kinds pseudomorphs and also different features of mineral growing and transformations in various conditions. - Gems and stone art collection includes аmong 8000 rough and faceted gemstones, items made of stones. A large part of this section is Russian stone art from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries including some thirty items designed by Peter Carl FabergéPeter Carl FabergéPeter Karl Fabergé also known as Karl Gustavovich Fabergé in Russia was a Russian jeweller of Baltic German-Danish and French origin, best known for the famous Fabergé eggs, made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials.-Early...
, including the last Fabergé eggFabergé eggA Fabergé egg is any one of the thousands of jeweled eggs made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 to 1917. Most were miniature eggs that were popular gifts at Eastertide...
, the Constellation eggConstellation (Fabergé egg)The Constellation Egg is one of two Easter eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé in 1917, for the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II...
.
Directors
- 1835-1845 Grigori Gelmersen
- 1845-1857 Konstantin Grevingk
- 1857-1866 Adolf Gebel
- 1866-1873 Nikolai Koksharov
- 1873-1900 Fyodor Shmidt
- 1900-1906 Feodosy ChernyshovFeodosy ChernyshovFeodósy Nikoláyevich Chernyshóv was a geologist and a paleontologist. Chernyshov was an Honorary Member of Russian and Foreign Learned Societies. Graduate of St. Petersburg Mining Institute in 1880, his field surveys led him to the study of stratigraphy of paleozoic deposits in the Ural Mountains...
- 1906-1919 Vladimir VernadskyVladimir VernadskyVladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was a Russian/Ukrainian and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and of radiogeology. His ideas of noosphere were an important contribution to Russian cosmism. He also worked in Ukraine where he...
- 1919-1945 Alexander FersmanAlexander FersmanAlexander Yevgenyevich Fersman was a prominent Soviet geochemist and mineralogist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences ....
- 1930-1945 Vladimir Kryzhanovsky (executive director)
- 1945-1945 Vladimir Kryzhanovsky
- 1947-1953 Dmitri Belyankin
- 1953-1976 Georgi Barsanov
- 1976-1980 Yuri Orlov
- 1980-1982 Vladimir SobolevVladimir SobolevSobolev, Vladimir Stepanovich was a Russian geologist, working in mineralogy, petrology and theory of metamorphism. He was born in Lugansk, and died in Moscow. Sobolev predicted deposits of diamonds in Eastern Siberia....
- 1983-1995 Aleksandr Godovikov
- 1995-present Margarita Novgorodova