Petrographic and mineral deposit collection
Around 122,000 rock and ore samples document the diversity of the Earth’s crust and provide important references for research into raw materials, impact events and the Earth system.
Overview
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin’s petrographic and mineral deposit collection comprises around 122,000 rock and ore samples. It documents geological processes as well as economically significant mineral deposits.
The sub-collection comprises several collections:
- Regional Petrography – approx. 45,000 samples
- Systematic Petrography – approx. 9,000 samples
- Impact crater rocks – approx. 10,000 samples
- Nordic glacial deposits – approx. 15,000 samples
- Deposit geology – approx. 15,000 samples
- Decorative rocks – approx. 1,000 samples
- Thin sections, polished sections and optical specimens – approx. 27,000 items
The collection of impact crater rocks is unique in Europe. It contains samples from 79 impact craters worldwide and is one of the largest collections of its kind.
Contact
Ralf Thomas Schmitt
Scientific Head of Collection
Email: Ralf-Thomas.Schmitt@mfn.berlin
Telephone: +49 30 889140-8842
Access
The sub-collection is available to researchers upon request from the Head of Research, Dr Ralf-Thomas Schmitt. Upon request, samples can be examined macroscopically and under a stereomicroscope. A temporary workspace is available.
Due to a relocation as part of the museum’s evolution and a reorganisation, the sub-collection will be temporarily inaccessible from January 2026 until, it is expected, mid-2029.
The collection does not have its own dedicated library. For historical reasons, collection-related catalogues and collection lists are held in the mineral collection. Further archive holdings are located in the Secret State Archive of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin.
History
The history of the petrographic and ore deposit collection is closely linked to the museum’s mineral collection. Many items in the collection can be traced back to scientific voyages, expeditions and the work of individual researchers.
The oldest samples belong to the field of regional petrography. They originate from geological surveys of the late 18th and 19th centuries, primarily from Germany, Poland, Italy and Scandinavia.
Historically significant additions were also made through expeditions:
- Russia (1829): Alexander von Humboldt, Gustav Rose and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
- South America: Friedrich Sellow and Ignaz von Olfers (1882) and Ludwig Brackebusch (1884)
- Southern Africa: Paul Ramdohr (1929) and Ernst Reuning (1936)
The collection of Nordic glacial deposits was transferred to the museum in 1950 from the Prussian Geological Survey. It includes, amongst other things, samples from the glacial deposit researcher Julius Hesemann (1901–1980).
The ore deposit collection dates back to the founder of ore microscopy, Paul Ramdohr (1890–1985). It contains ore minerals and samples from numerous classic ore deposits worldwide.
A more recent focus is the collection of impact crater rocks. It comprises samples from 79 of the world’s known impact craters. Of particular significance is the collection of Dieter Stöffler (1939–2023), which includes original samples for the classification of shock-wave metamorphism in impact craters.
Research
This sub-collection provides important reference materials for petrography, mineral deposit geology and impact research.
Petrography describes rocks – from their general composition down to microscopic details. Deposits studies examines the formation, properties and use of mineral resources in the Earth’s crust.
A particular focus at the museum is on the study of impact craters and impact processes. The sub-collection of impact crater rocks is closely linked to the museum’s Solar System, Impacts and Meteorites Department. The samples enable research into impact events and their geological consequences.
Transdisciplinary issues also play a role. The ‘Weighty Donations’ project, for example, investigated the origins of mineralogical and petrographic collections from the economic and political perspectives of the 19th century.