Naturkunde Museum im Ottoneum | |
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| Established | 1888 |
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| Location | Kassel, Germany |
| Coordinates | 51°18′48″N9°29′56″E / 51.31333°N 9.49889°E |
| Type | Natural history museum |
| Visitors | 333,007 (in 2012) [1] |
| Owner | City of Kassel |
| Website | www |
The Ottoneum in Kassel, Germany was the first theater building built in Germany and is now a museum of natural history.
The Ottoneum was built between 1603-1606 under Landgrave Moritz by the architect William Vernukken. [2] The name 'Ottoneum' comes from Landgrave Motiz's favourite son Otto. With the beginning of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) the Ottoneum's heyday as a cultural centre came to an end and the building was put to other uses. It was not until 1696 when the court architect Johann Conrad Giesler converted the building to house the Landgrave art and natural history collection.[ citation needed ] The work was ordered by Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (Landgrave Karl), and was undertaken by Master Builder Paul du Ry. In 1709 Karl founded the Collegium Carolinum, a scientific research centre with famous scholars Georg Forster and Samuel Thomas von Soemmerring at its core. It was during this time that the Ottoneum also housed an anatomical theatre and an observatory. By 1779 the Ottoneum was too small to house the large Landgrave collections and they were moved to the nearby Fridericianum Museum, where it became accessible to the public. A hundred years later when Kassel was a part of Prussia, natural objects were reintroduced into the Ottoneum, which was now under the title of "Preußiches Naturaliemuseum" (The Royal Prussian Kind Museum). The museum has been the Naturkundemuseum (Natural History Museum) since 1928 when possession of the museum was returned to the city. However, in October 1943, during World War II the building was damaged by fire and high explosive bombs, and more than half of the collection was lost. [2] Based on historical plans, they were able to rebuild the Ottoneum again from 1949-1954. Since then, the collection has been increasing through purchases and donations from private collectors. Today the museum is not only a centre for scientific research, but also serves as a platform for discussion related to the protection and conservation of the environment. [3]
The Ottoneum is currently home to the Goethe Elephant Skeleton, which was lent to Goethe by Soemmerring for his anatomical research of the premaxilla. The elephant's skin that was preserved by Soemmerring was one of the casualties of the museum's fire in World War II. [4]
Also housed is the Schildbach Wooden Library, which was created by Carl Schildbach from 1771 to 1799. This library is made up of 530 volumes which each serve as a representation of the flora present on various trees. Each part of the book, from the spine to the front page, is made up of the different sections of the specific tree. Specifications about the tree such as where it grows, what it looks like and how it changes with the seasons is also given. The Wooden Library is now presented in a cabinet constructed by American artist Mark Dion for documenta(13). [5]
One of the oldest artifacts housed in the museum is the Ratzenberger Herbarium, created from 1556 to 1592. Here there are 700 pressed plants preserved in three large leather-bound volumes. The ordering of these plant species already hints at a natural arrangement and grouping of species, prior to the work of Carl Linnaeus. [6]
The Ottoneum is also home to the varied history of the area of Kassel, beginning from the Permian period in the Paleozoic, through the Mesozoic, and finally through to the modern day in the Cenozoic, including the Ice Age. This includes multiple representations of large reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals from each era, including a life sized Iguanodon skeleton and a woolly mammoth. [2] [7]
Hesse or Hessia, officially the State of Hesse, is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Darmstadt and Kassel. With an area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among the sixteen German states. Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany's second-largest metropolitan area, is mainly located in Hesse.
Kassel is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, in central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020. The former capital of the state of Hesse-Kassel has many palaces and parks, including the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kassel is also known for the documenta exhibitions of contemporary art. Kassel has a public university with 25,000 students (2018) and a multicultural population.
Rudolf Erich Raspe was a German librarian, writer, and scientist, called by his biographer John Patrick Carswell a "rogue". He is best known for his collection of tall tales The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen, also known as Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, originally a satirical work with political aims.
The Natural History Museum is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major museums in Germany alongside Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt and Museum Koenig in Bonn.
Schloss Wilhelmshöhe is a Neoclassical palace located in Bad Wilhelmshöhe, a part of Kassel, Germany. It was built for Landgrave Wilhelm (William) IX of Hesse in the late 18th century. Emperor Wilhelm II made extensive use of it as a summer residence and personal retreat.
The Universitätsbibliothek Kassel is a library located in the city of Kassel, Germany. Composed of the collections of the former Landesbibliothek and Murhardsche Bibliothek der Stadt Kassel as well as that of the Kassel University library, amongst the library's holdings is the manuscript of the 9th-century German poem, the Hildebrandslied.
Maurice of Hesse-Kassel, also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627.
Morschen is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district of Hesse, Germany.
Haina (Kloster) is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in northwest Hesse, Germany.
The Museum Wiesbaden is a two-branch museum of art and natural history in the Hessian capital of Wiesbaden, Germany. It is one of the three Hessian State museums, in addition to the museums in Kassel and Darmstadt.
The Museum of Natural History in Görlitz, Germany is a natural history museum with focus on zoology, botany and geology. Since 2009, the museum has been part of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung with headquarters in Frankfurt/Main. The main field of research is soil biology. In the years 2006 to 2017 the number of visitors was between 25,000 and 34,000, in the year of the 3rd Saxon State Exhibition 2011 it was even 47,000.
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is a landscape park in Kassel, Germany. The area of the park is 2.4 square kilometres, making it the largest European hillside park, and second largest park on a hill slope in the world. Construction of the Bergpark, or "mountain park", began in 1689 at the behest of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel and took about 150 years. The park is open to the public today. Since 2013, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its monumental Baroque architecture and its unique fountains and water features.
The Fridericianum is a museum in Kassel, Germany. Built in 1779, it is one of the oldest public museums in Europe. Since 1955 the quinquennial art festival documenta has been centred on the site, with some artworks displayed on Friedrichsplatz, in front of the building.
The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and operated theater in Kassel, Germany.
Frederick V Louis William Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg was from 1751 to his death landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
Bellevue Palace in Kassel was built in 1714 for Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. Originally the building served as an Observatory. It became a residence, and then part of Bellevue Castle, which was later destroyed. Until its closure for structural reasons in 2009, the building housed a museum devoted to the Grimm Brothers, which has now moved to the Grimmwelt Kassel.
Jean Paul du Ry was a French architect and Huguenot refugee who was responsible for a number of baroque buildings in Kassel, Hesse, Germany.
Arnold Grimme was a German veterinarian and naturalist, known for his botanical investigations of northern Hesse. The standard author abbreviation A.T.Grimme is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Kassel, Germany.
Gesamtbesucherzahl: 333.007 [Total number of visitors: 333, 007]
Official website (in German)
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