Collection

The Zoological Collections of the Biodiversitätsmuseum comprise more than 120,000 specimens ranging from flatworms over extinct birds to the complete skeleton of a sperm whale, which have a scientific value, as well as cultural and historical.

Beauty and the Beast

The zoological collection of the Biodiversitätsmuseum is home to a huge variety of specimens. Here you will find beautifully graceful preparations of birds of paradise, whimsical-looking parasites and reptiles preserved in alcohol, and massive ‘beasts’ like musk oxen.

The collections of the Biodiversitätsmuseum can be traced back to the "Royal Academic Museum of Göttingen," which was founded in 1773 to preserve the collections of Christian Wilhelm Büttners (1716–1801) after their acquisition. In the following years, the completely disorganized collection was organized and cataloged by the then curator Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840). Blumenbach also significantly expanded the collections in the following decades through acquisitions and donations. Today, only a few objects from those early days remain in the Biodiversitätsmuseum.

Meanwhile, the holdings of the Biodiversitätsmuseum have grown to well over 120,000 objects, with significant additions mainly occurring in the second half of the 19th century and shortly after the turn of the following century.

Collection Portal of the University of Göttingen