History of the UWr Geological Museum until 1945
The origins of the Geological Museum of the University of Wroclaw can be traced back to 1812 when the Mineralogical Cabinet (Mineraliencabinet) was established, boasting a collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils. It was situated at the University of Wroclaw in the former Jesuit St. Joseph’s Convent at 35 Kuźnicza Street (Schmiede-Brücke 35). The Cabinet’s founder and director was Karl von Raumer (1783-1865), the inaugural professor of geology at the University of Breslau. He imparted knowledge in oryctognosy, the study of minerals, and geognosy (geology). Following his tenure, Henrik Steffens (1773-1845) took over from 1819 to 1832, succeeded by Ernst Friedrich Glocker (1793-1858) who led until 1854.
From 1855 to 1891, the Chair of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Wroclaw was occupied by Carl Ferdinand Roemer (1818-1891). An esteemed geologist and paleontologist, Roemer founded and was the first director of the university’s Mineralogical and Geological Museum. Inaugurated in 1868, it was named the Mineralogical Museum of the Royal University of Breslau (Das Mineralogische Museum der Königlichen Universität Breslau). This institution evolved from the Mineralogical Cabinet, and under Roemer’s guidance, its collections were significantly augmented, predominantly with animal and plant fossils. By 1866, the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, along with its prized collections, relocated to the newly constructed Institutes Building (Institutengebäude) at the crossroads of Grodzka and Szewska Streets (Burg-Strasse, Schuh-Brücke). The erection of this structure, which later accommodated the Institute of Pharmacy and the Institute of Physics, is attributed to Roemer’s commendable efforts. The departments of Geology and Mineralogy were allocated the entire second floor. Presently, this building serves as the residence for the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical Academy.
Taking over the Mineralogical Cabinet in 1855, Ferdinand Roemer found its collection severely depleted. After E.F. Glocker’s departure, who took his own vast collection with him, the Cabinet primarily relied on what had been previously acquired by K.v. Raumer. The mineral collection was the most valuable. In contrast, the petrographic collection contained only unimpressive samples of Silesian rocks, and fossils were scarce. To address this, Ferdinand Roemer procured numerous collections, primarily of plant and animal fossils, and donated his extensive finds to the University. He established the Museum, which became his life’s magnum opus. Assisting him in organizing the Museum were mineralogist Professor Martin Websky and curator Dr. H. Fiedler. In 1868, F. Roemer released a museum guide. The collections were segmented into three sections: 1. Teaching Collections (Lehr-Sammlungen), 2. Main Collections (Haupt-Sammlungen), and 3. Exposition Collections (Schau-Sammlungen).
The exhibition collections were housed in glazed cabinets in four rooms: petrographic, paleontological, mineralogical, and Silesian. Ferdinand Roemer was particularly passionate about organizing the paleontological sections, where specimens were arranged both systematically and stratigraphically. The museum welcomed not only academics and researchers but also the general public. In the guide’s introduction, he proudly mentioned that the Breslau Museum was the best-organized institution of its kind in Germany, even though museums in Berlin, Vienna, and Munich had larger and richer collections.
In F. Roemer’s era, a professor from the Department of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Breslau lectured on mineralogy with crystallography and on geology combined with paleontology. Only in 1893 were these subjects divided, initially in terms of didactics, and later as distinct institutes. The collections were similarly split into two separate museums: the mineralogical, directed by Carl Hintze (1851-1916), and the geological-paleontological, led by Fritz Frech (1861-1917) from 1893 to 1917.
Fritz Frech, a geologist with broad interests, initiated significant changes as the director of the Geological and Paleontological Institute and Museum, enabled by the significant expansion of its premises. The museum underwent extensive modernization, as detailed by F. Frech in the Jubilee Book of the University of Breslau, released in 1911.
During F. Frech’s leadership, the Geological Museum’s collections saw significant growth. Investigations by the Institute’s team in diverse international locations led to the gathering of specimens from across the globe. In “History of the University of Wroclaw until 1918,” Mieczyslaw Pater (1997) highlights this era, emphasizing the unmatched depth and breadth of the Wroclaw geological-paleontological museum in comparison to others in Germany.
Following F. Frech, directors of the Geological Institute and Museum included Hans Cloos (1885-1951) from 1919 to 1926, Wolfgang Soergel (1887-1946) until 1931, and Erich Bederke (1895-1978) until 1945.
Erich Bederke led the Geological Institute and Museum during the challenging times of the Second World War. In 1944, the Geological Museum’s collections, alongside those of the Mineralogical Museum, were evacuated from Wroclaw. The majority were stored in churches in Świerzawa and Strzegom, which played a crucial role in preserving numerous collections. Regrettably, many specimens were lost or dispersed. Post-war, the Geological Museum was reestablished, albeit at a different location.
History of the UWr Geological Museum after 1945
The poignant history of the Geological Museum’s collection post-1945 is eloquently portrayed by Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała (1991), the inaugural head of the post-war Geological Museum of the University of Wroclaw: After the cessation of conflict, the challenging rebirth of Polish Wrocław commenced in May 1945 upon the ruins of “Festung Breslau”. Due to the relentless efforts and dedication of a consortium of academic and technical staff, along with former students predominantly from the Universities of Lviv and Vilnius, led by Prof. Dr. Stanislaw Kulczynski, the University of Wroclaw with its 6 faculties, and the Wroclaw University of Technology with 4 faculties, were revived by the decree of the Ministry of Education of the Polish People’s Republic on August 24, 1945. From that point, the Faculty of Natural Sciences began its earnest establishment and courses in biology, geology, and geography. To the premises designated for the University on the present-day Boleslaw Prusa Street, Polish science pioneers in Wrocław, aided by students and potential candidates, salvaged whatever remained of apparatus, equipment, library books, and museum specimens. From the remnants in the basements and recesses of the devastated University building, and with the collaboration of Dorotea Pawlik, a former assistant professor at the Museum, they rescued the residual collections. They then cleaned and safeguarded specimens retrieved by the revindication team from various spots in Lower Silesia. Amidst the challenging post-war circumstances, it was their unwavering enthusiasm and diligent work that rejuvenated Wroclaw geology […] In spring 1949, the Departments of Geology of the University of Wroclaw relocated, with all their assets, to the edifice of the erstwhile Arbeitsamt, now known as Cybulskiego Street 30. This structure wasn’t inherently fit for its new inhabitants. The basement held and protected the old collections, while the upper levels accommodated lecture and seminar rooms, a library, laboratories, and staff quarters. Space was insufficient for exhibiting the museum’s collection, especially since the edifice was still occupied by other entities.
From the onset of their endeavors in Lower Silesia, the aspiration to gather new scientific collections and revive the Geological Museum of the University of Wroclaw, showcasing the remnants from the pre-war era, fueled Polish geologists. Preliminary fieldwork in the Sudetenland and its fringes commenced in the autumn of 1945, under the guidance of Henryk Teisseyre (1903-1975). He orchestrated and led the Department of Geology at the University of Wroclaw from March 1946 onwards. The Geological Museum’s earliest post-war scientific collections were amassed and cataloged by Professor Teisseyre’s geological team.
For an extended period, resurrecting the Geological Museum of the University of Wroclaw remained unfeasible. The historic collections, predominantly stored in basements and hallways, were meticulously cleaned and preserved by the teaching staff during their free intervals. As Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała (1991) details, “Further challenges arose from the utter absence of metrics alongside the specimens, which were contained in diverse packaging. Numerous specimens and metrics were devoid of any numerical identification. A significant portion of the metrics, inscribed in Gothic, remained, and still are, indecipherable. Parts of the collection, particularly those from the Silesian mines, hadn’t been cataloged at all.” Catering to educational necessities, certain fossil specimens were transitioned to the Department of Paleozoology and the Department of Stratigraphy, serving as illustrative resources for lectures and practical sessions. New rock and paleontological collections were sporadically amassed and stored within the geology department chambers.
The opportunity to secure premises for the current Geological Museum did not materialize until 1971. The organization at that juncture was spearheaded by Jerzy Klapcinski (1925-2001), a professor in the Department of Stratigraphic Geology at the Institute of Geological Sciences. He oversaw the preparation of the museum’s rooms and display cases until 1975 and, in collaboration with Lucyna Kolodziej, M.A., and geological technician Barbara Opach, initiated the preliminary cataloging of specimens that survived from the pre-war museum.
In the fall of 1975, the task of reviving the Geological Museum was, by the decision of the Institute’s Scientific Council, assumed by Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała of the Department of General Geology. She embarked on a significant endeavor to structure the preceding paleontological collections. Early in 1976, in tandem with MA Małgorzata Wróbel and Barbara Opach, she initiated a thorough inventory of all collections. Notably, in 1975, the rejuvenated Geological Museum inherited extensive paleobotanical collections from the Department of Paleobotany, as this department had transitioned from the Institute of Botany to the Institute of Geological Sciences in 1974. The most significant contribution within these collections was by Heinrich Robert Göppert (1800-1884). Initially, Wladyslaw Mick, M.Sc., organized the paleobotanical collections and played an integral role in their cataloging. This task was later continued (until the end of 1977) with the assistance of Teresa Kuszell, M.Sc., and Kunegunda Lorenc, M.Sc., from the Department of Paleobotany.
A pivotal accomplishment of Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała was procuring extensive regional and paleontological materials for the Geological Museum, which documented research conducted in Lower Silesia by Polish geologists. Her contributions also encompassed designing and executing the museum’s exhibit showcasing the collection. The formal reactivation of the Geological Museum, affiliated with the Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of Wroclaw, occurred only in June 1981, following the resolution of the Council of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Nevertheless, the inaugural visitors were welcomed to the collection hall as early as 1977. It was also during this period that there commenced an exchange of scientific insights about the collection with other geological hubs both in Poland and internationally.
In October 1985, the Geological Museum was christened in honor of Henryk Teisseyre, a foundational figure of the Polish geological establishment in Wroclaw, a full professor, an honorary doctor of the University of Wroclaw, and an esteemed member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was a mentor to numerous geologist generations. Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała was designated as the inaugural head of the Geological Museum in its post-war iteration upon its formal reactivation. Her immediate associates included Grażyna Golatowska, MA, up to 1984, and technician Barbara Opach (subsequently Szczudło).
In 1993, the helm of the Geological Museum was passed from Dr. Jadwiga Gorczyca-Skała to Prof. Tadeusz Gunia of the Department of Stratigraphic Geology. Under his stewardship, the Museum modernized to meet contemporary demands: a computer and a dedicated software for cataloging the collection were procured in 1994, the Museum underwent comprehensive renovations, the display was augmented with fresh specimens and illustrative resources, and the collection saw significant expansion. From 1999 to 2005, the leadership role of the Geological Museum was held by Professor Andrzej Grodzicki of the Department of Mineralogy and Petrology. Through his initiative, several short-term exhibitions took shape at the Museum, examples being: “Cemetery of large amphibians and reptiles from 225 million years ago – an exhibition of skulls from the Opole region” – a showcase from the archives of the Department of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and “Reconstruction of the Earth’s expansion process on James Maxlow’s spherical models” – an exhibition featuring models borrowed from the Lower Silesia Branch of the National Geological Institute. The concept of mobile exhibitions, curated for regional museums and distant schools, was also implemented and met with resounding appreciation from its audiences. In 2002, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the University of Wroclaw, the Geological Museum orchestrated an exhibition spotlighting its history and acquisitions. Amid the anniversary festivities, the museum presented a bust of Ferdinand Roemer, replicating a bygone sculpture crafted by esteemed Wroclaw artist Ernst Seger (1868-1939) that once adorned the museum’s erstwhile location at 38 Szewska St. from 1893 to 1945. The reproduction was crafted by Hans Völkel of Ruhr University in Bochum and gifted to the University of Wroclaw on its tri-centennial. The blueprint for this rendition was a plaster bust preserved at the Roemer Museum in Hildesheim, Germany.
In 2006, Dr. Boleslaw Wajsprych, previously affiliated with the Department of Geology of the Sudety Mountains at ING PAN, assumed leadership of the Geological Museum. Owing to his endeavors, the Museum saw enhancements in its infrastructure, amplifying its potential for educational and scholarly pursuits, and the regional collection was supplemented with novel rock specimens, among which were singular samples of drill cores from the Bardzkie Mountains. In June 2006, the Geological Museum co-hosted an exhibit of award-winning art pieces by children and teenagers, as part of a competition named: “Enchanted in Stone”. The primary orchestrator of this competition was the Gold Museum in Zlotorya, and the display, held in the main edifice of the University of Wroclaw, garnered significant attention.
In 2011, the museum’s leadership mantle was taken up by Dr. Pawel Raczynski. Under his guidance, the museum experienced refurbishments, the display enclosures were revamped, and, notably, due to his concerted efforts, the museum was graced with a new flooring constructed of Jurassic limestone slates sourced from Morawica.
