Naturhistorisches Museum
Encyclopedia
The Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (en
: Museum of Natural History of Vienna) or NHMW is a large museum
located in Vienna
, Austria
.
The collections displayed cover 8700 sqm, and the museum has a website providing an overview as a video virtual tour
.
The Museum of Natural History in Vienna is one of the important museums of the world, and the earliest collections of artifact
s were begun over 250 years ago.
As of 2011, the museum houses approximately 30 million objects and the number is growing. Behind the scenes collections comprising some 25 million specimens and artefacts are the essential basis for the work of over 60 staff scientists. Their main fields of research cover a wide range of topics from the origins of our solar system and the evolution of animals and plants to human evolution, as well as prehistoric traditions and customs.
The main building of the Museum is an elaborate palace that has accommodated these constantly growing collections, since opening to the public in 1889 as the Imperial Natural History Museum
. However, some of the collections had been moved from even older buildings, such as the Hofbibliothek which contained the Zoology Cabinet (German: Tierkabinett) collections.
The interaction of the building, the ornate decoration, the furniture, and precious exhibits makes the museum also a "museum of the museum" for the cultural-historical preservation.
Famous and irreplaceable exhibits, for instance the 25,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf
, and a skeleton of a Diplodocus
dinosaur
, plus extinct animal or plant specimens from 200 million years ago such as the Steller sea-cow, are displayed along 39 halls. Contemporary presentation by means of modern exhibition technology has been possible without destruction of the historical structures in the building.
On the upper floor (Hochparterre) precious stones and mineral
s can be seen, along with large dinosaur
displays and rare fossil
s, along with prehistoric art
works: the Venus von Willendorf
, the skeleton
of Diplodocus
, a giant topaz
weighing 117 kg
(258 lb
), and the collection of jewels which Maria Theresia had made as a present for her husband.
The first floor displays the species variety of the animal world, from protozoa
to insect
s to highly developed mammal
s. Objects over 200 years old are of interest, not only on their own account but also as historical records for the history of science
and the art of taxidermy
: numerous stuffed animals of species either extinct, or extremely endangered, have made the collections irreplaceable.
Note that most signs and explanations in the museum are in German
only.
. The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other across Maria-Theresien-Platz
. The Museum was built to house the huge collection of the Habsburg
s.
Both buildings were built between 1872 and 1891 on the Ringstraße
according to plans drawn up by Gottfried Semper
and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer
.
The insect collections date from 1793 when Franz I of Austria
purchased the scientific collections of Joseph Natterer, Sr. (father of 6-year-old, and later zoologist, Johann Natterer
). In 1806 the museum purchased a collection of European insects made by Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld
, and Megerle became the first curator of insects. He organised the purchase of the Gundian collection of European butterflies. These old collections with Megerle's specimens were destroyed in October 1848, during a Hofburg fire
; however, Johann Natterer
's journey to Brazil
(1817-1835) had led to an enormous enhancement of the collections: 60,000 insects were a part of the "Brazilian museum" in the "Harrach' house" and escaped the fire.
In 1859, the frigate SMS Novara returned from a world voyage with Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld
and Johann Zelebor
, and the insects were incorporated in the Vienna collections. These were worked on by Ludwig Redtenbacher
(Coleoptera), Friedrich Moritz Brauer
(Neuroptera
and Diptera
), Henri Louis Frederic de Saussure (Hymenoptera
excluding Formicidae), Gustav Mayr
(Formicidae and Hemiptera
), Ignaz Rudolph Schiner
(Diptera
), C Felder
, R. Felder
and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer
(Lepidoptera
).
The present museum organization dates from 1876. The entomologists Ganglbauer
and Karl Holdhaus
(Coleoptera), Rogenhofer and Hans Rebel
, Josef Emanuel Fischer von Röslerstamm
, Josef Johann Mann
(Lepidoptera
), Franz Friedrich Kohl
, Carl Tschek
and Maidl (Hymenoptera
), Brauer (Diptera
and Neuroptera
), and Anton Handlirsch
(for fossil insects) contributed substantially to the international reputation of the museum.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Museum of Natural History of Vienna) or NHMW is a large museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The collections displayed cover 8700 sqm, and the museum has a website providing an overview as a video virtual tour
Virtual Tour
A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of video images. They also may use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text....
.
The Museum of Natural History in Vienna is one of the important museums of the world, and the earliest collections of artifact
Cultural artifact
A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
s were begun over 250 years ago.
As of 2011, the museum houses approximately 30 million objects and the number is growing. Behind the scenes collections comprising some 25 million specimens and artefacts are the essential basis for the work of over 60 staff scientists. Their main fields of research cover a wide range of topics from the origins of our solar system and the evolution of animals and plants to human evolution, as well as prehistoric traditions and customs.
The main building of the Museum is an elaborate palace that has accommodated these constantly growing collections, since opening to the public in 1889 as the Imperial Natural History Museum
Imperial Natural History Museum
The Imperial Natural History Museum or Imperial Royal Natural History Court Museum of Austria-Hungary was created by Emperor Franz Joseph I during an extensive reorganization of the museum collections, from 1851–1876, and opened to the public on August 10, 1889.Located in Vienna, the Museum was...
. However, some of the collections had been moved from even older buildings, such as the Hofbibliothek which contained the Zoology Cabinet (German: Tierkabinett) collections.
The interaction of the building, the ornate decoration, the furniture, and precious exhibits makes the museum also a "museum of the museum" for the cultural-historical preservation.
Famous and irreplaceable exhibits, for instance the 25,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf
Venus of Willendorf
The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the...
, and a skeleton of a Diplodocus
Diplodocus
Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
, plus extinct animal or plant specimens from 200 million years ago such as the Steller sea-cow, are displayed along 39 halls. Contemporary presentation by means of modern exhibition technology has been possible without destruction of the historical structures in the building.
Floors
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s can be seen, along with large dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
displays and rare fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, along with prehistoric art
Prehistoric art
In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of record-keeping, or it makes significant contact with another...
works: the Venus von Willendorf
Venus of Willendorf
The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the...
, the skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
of Diplodocus
Diplodocus
Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
, a giant topaz
Topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
weighing 117 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
(258 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
), and the collection of jewels which Maria Theresia had made as a present for her husband.
The first floor displays the species variety of the animal world, from protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
to insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s to highly developed mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. Objects over 200 years old are of interest, not only on their own account but also as historical records for the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
and the art of taxidermy
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
: numerous stuffed animals of species either extinct, or extremely endangered, have made the collections irreplaceable.
Note that most signs and explanations in the museum are in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
only.
History
The museum building opened in 1889 at the same time as the Kunsthistorisches MuseumKunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
. The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other across Maria-Theresien-Platz
Maria-Theresien-Platz
The Maria-Theresien-Platz of Vienna is a large square joining the Ringstraße with the Museumsquartier, a museum of modern arts located in the former Imperial Stables...
. The Museum was built to house the huge collection of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s.
Both buildings were built between 1872 and 1891 on the Ringstraße
Ringstraße
The Ringstraße is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights...
according to plans drawn up by Gottfried Semper
Gottfried Semper
Gottfried Semper was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture, who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in Dresden and was put on the government's wanted list. Semper fled first to Zürich and later...
and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer
Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer
Baron Karl von Hasenauer was an important Austrian architect and key representative of the Historismus school....
.
The insect collections date from 1793 when Franz I of Austria
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
purchased the scientific collections of Joseph Natterer, Sr. (father of 6-year-old, and later zoologist, Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer was an Austrian naturalist and explorer.In 1817, Emperor Franz IIfinanced an expedition to Brazil on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Archduchess Leopoldina to the Portuguese crown prince, Dom Pedro of Alcantara...
). In 1806 the museum purchased a collection of European insects made by Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld
Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld
Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld was a scientist and zoologist who lived from 1765 to 1840.He worked at the Vienna natural history museum, the Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, until he retired at the end of 1835.....
, and Megerle became the first curator of insects. He organised the purchase of the Gundian collection of European butterflies. These old collections with Megerle's specimens were destroyed in October 1848, during a Hofburg fire
Hofburg fire
The term "Hofburg fire"refers to any of several major fires that burned in the Hofburg of Vienna, Austria. The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279....
; however, Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer was an Austrian naturalist and explorer.In 1817, Emperor Franz IIfinanced an expedition to Brazil on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Archduchess Leopoldina to the Portuguese crown prince, Dom Pedro of Alcantara...
's journey to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(1817-1835) had led to an enormous enhancement of the collections: 60,000 insects were a part of the "Brazilian museum" in the "Harrach' house" and escaped the fire.
In 1859, the frigate SMS Novara returned from a world voyage with Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld
Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld
Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld was an Austrian naturalist and one of the leading scientists on board the Austrian frigate Novara during its round-the-world voyage...
and Johann Zelebor
Johann Zelebor
Johann Zelebor was an Austrian naturalist, illustrator, and zoologist. He was taxidermist at the Vienna Natural History Museum....
, and the insects were incorporated in the Vienna collections. These were worked on by Ludwig Redtenbacher
Ludwig Redtenbacher
Ludwig Redtenbacher Ludwig Redtenbacher Ludwig Redtenbacher (June 10, 1814 in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Austria - February 8, 1876 in Vienna was an Austrian doctor and entomologist mainly interested in beetles....
(Coleoptera), Friedrich Moritz Brauer
Friedrich Moritz Brauer
Friedrich Moritz Brauer . An Austrian entomologist who was Director of the Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum, Vienna, at the time of his death...
(Neuroptera
Neuroptera
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order contains some 6,010 species...
and Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
), Henri Louis Frederic de Saussure (Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
excluding Formicidae), Gustav Mayr
Gustav Mayr
Gustav L. Mayr was an Austrian entomologist and professor in Budapest and Vienna. He specialised in Hymenoptera.- Works :* Formicidae [der Novara-Expedition]. Vienna 1865....
(Formicidae and Hemiptera
Hemiptera
Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...
), Ignaz Rudolph Schiner
Ignaz Rudolph Schiner
Ignaz Rudolf Schiner was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Diptera.Schiner was born in Fronsburg , Horn in 1813 and died in Vienna on 6 July 1873. He was a ministerial secretary in ViennaHis most significant publications are...
(Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
), C Felder
Cajetan Freiherr von Felder
Baron Cajetan von Felder, German: Cajetan Freiherr von Felder was an Austrian jurist, politician, and entomologist...
, R. Felder
Rudolf Felder
Rudolf Felder was an Austrian jurist and entomologist. He was mainly interested in Lepidoptera, amassing, with his father, Cajetan Felder a huge collection.-Works:...
and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer
Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer
Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer was an Austrian entomologist. He was a curator at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, where he was the first keeper of the Lepidoptera. Rogenhofer was mainly interested in Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera.Beside him Josef Mann worked as a keen technician and collector...
(Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
).
The present museum organization dates from 1876. The entomologists Ganglbauer
Ludwig Ganglbauer
Ludwig Ganglbauer , was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera.He became director of the Department for Zoology at the Vienna Natural History Museum in 1906.Ganglbauer wrote Die Käfer von Mitteleuropa , 4 vols., 1892-1904.-External links:*...
and Karl Holdhaus
Karl Holdhaus
Karl Holdhaus was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera.He was Director of the Vienna Natural History Museum....
(Coleoptera), Rogenhofer and Hans Rebel
Hans Rebel
Hans Rebel was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera.Rebel, who had an early interest in natural history and butterflies, first became a lawyer. He devoted his spare time to studying Lepidoptera and established the entomological section of the Botanical and Zoological Society of...
, Josef Emanuel Fischer von Röslerstamm
Josef Emanuel Fischer von Röslerstamm
Josef Emanuel Fischer von Röslerstamm or Josef Fischer von Röslerstamm or Josef Fischer von Rösslerstamm was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera....
, Josef Johann Mann
Josef Johann Mann
Josef Johann Mann , or Johann Josef Ritter von Mann, was a German entomologist and a specialist in Lepidoptera....
(Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
), Franz Friedrich Kohl
Franz Friedrich Kohl
Franz Friedrich Kohl was an Austrian entomologist and folksong researcher.Kohl was initially a middle school professor in Bolzano and then Innsbruck. He next woked in the Entomology Department, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. He specialised in Hymenoptera, especially Sphecidae...
, Carl Tschek
Carl Tschek
Carl Tschek was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in IchneumonidaeCarl Tschek was a factory manager in Piesting.His collection which includes the types of the new species he described is in the Naturhistorisches Museum, in Vienna....
and Maidl (Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
), Brauer (Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
and Neuroptera
Neuroptera
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order contains some 6,010 species...
), and Anton Handlirsch
Anton Handlirsch
Anton Handlirsch, exactly Anton Peter Josef Handlirsch was an Austrian entomologist.His father was Peter Handlirsch , mother was Rosina Handlirsch . His father worked as a cook of the Schwarzenberg family...
(for fossil insects) contributed substantially to the international reputation of the museum.
See also
- Kunsthistorisches MuseumKunsthistorisches MuseumThe Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
- the Fine Art Museum of ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, opposite. - Technisches Museum WienTechnisches Museum WienThe Technisches Museum Wien lies in Vienna , in Penzing district, on the Mariahilferstraße 212....
- technology museum in Vienna. - Museum für Völkerkunde - the Museum of Ethnology of ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. - Lobkowitz Palace - the theatrical museum of the Austrian National LibraryAustrian National LibraryThe Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
. - Imperial Natural History MuseumImperial Natural History MuseumThe Imperial Natural History Museum or Imperial Royal Natural History Court Museum of Austria-Hungary was created by Emperor Franz Joseph I during an extensive reorganization of the museum collections, from 1851–1876, and opened to the public on August 10, 1889.Located in Vienna, the Museum was...
.
External links
- Official website (english)
- Annals Very useful early history of the museum.
- Flickr Photos of the museum. Exterior and interior.