Minerals
The mineral collection comprises some 175,000 specimens representing around 3,000 mineral species, documenting chemical diversity, historical discoveries of elements and scientific networks since the 18th century.
Overview
The mineral sub-collection comprises around 175,000 specimens representing some 3,000 mineral species. It thus contains approximately half of all known minerals and ranks among the largest and most diverse mineral collections in Germany. By European standards, it is comparable to the holdings of major natural history museums.
The regional focus is on Germany, Poland, South-Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. All specimens are systematically arranged according to Strunz’s crystal chemical system.
The sub-collection includes:
- Systematic mineral collection (approx. 170,000 specimens)
- Crystal model collection (approx. 2,500 objects)
- Technical mineralogy collection (approx. 2,500 objects)
- Archival materials (approx. 1,000 collection catalogues and lists)
The sub-collection houses 33 type specimens of mineral species. It also contains original specimens relating to the discoveries of the elements uranium (1781), strontium (1793), titanium (1795) and tellurium (1798).
4,300 specimens are on public display in the historic mineral hall.
Contact
Dr Ralf Thomas Schmitt
Scientific Head of Collection
Email: Ralf-Thomas.Schmitt@mfn.berlin
Telephone: +49 30 889140-8842
Access
Due to the move and reorganisation as part of our museum’s evolution, this sub-collection will be temporarily inaccessible until mid-2029.
Around 90 per cent of the samples are recorded in an internal database system. The data records include, amongst other things:
- Mineral name
- Location and year of discovery
- Previous owner
- Method and year of acquisition
- Details of historical labels
- Crystallographic features
As part of the SYNTHESYS project, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin developed the GeoCase portal for geoscientific collection data. The recorded samples can be searched there.
The museum’s library offers an extensive range of specialist literature on mineralogy. Further historical documents are held at the Secret State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin.
History
The sub-collection dates back to the Berlin Academy of Mining, founded in 1770. In 1781, following the purchase of the collection belonging to Carl A. Gerhard (1733–1819), it was renamed the ‘Royal Mineral Cabinet’.
Further significant developments:
- Contributions by Tsar Alexander I (1777–1825) and Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859)
- 1810: Transfer to the newly founded University of Berlin
- Expansion by Martin H. Klaproth (1743–1817), Christian S. Weiss (1780–1856) and Gustav Rose (1798–1873)
- 1889 Donation of the 14,000-piece collection of Archduke Stephan of Austria (1817–1867)
- 1889 Move to the current museum building
- 1954 Reopening of the Mineralogy Hall following war damage
The sub-collection continued to grow steadily through acquisitions, expeditions and scientific networks.
Research
Type specimens
Among other things, the sub-collection houses the holotype of the mineral perovskite. Type specimens are of great scientific value as they serve as the reference for defining a mineral species. With around 6,200 known mineral species worldwide, such reference specimens are central to systematics and comparative studies.
Element discoveries and material analyses
Martin Heinrich Klaproth himself identified several chemical elements, including uranium, using samples from the collection. Original specimens from these analyses have survived to this day and document early mineral analytical methods.
The publication ‘Uranentdeckung und Mineralanalysen’ (The Discovery of Uranium and Mineral Analyses) by Ferdinand Damaschun and Ralf-Thomas Schmitt systematically evaluates these historical samples. It links the preserved collection objects with Klaproth’s analyses and contextualises his work from a modern scientific perspective.
Historical Provenances
Collection holdings from the circles of Alexander von Humboldt and Gustav Rose enable research into scientific networks, mineral exploration and the history of the collection.