20. January 2023 – 30. June 2023

The Bamberg Natural History Museum’s special exhibition ‘SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST T. REX!’ focuses on the palaeoart of artist Joschua Knüppe. Palaeoart is the artistic reconstruction of extinct organisms and ecosystems based on scientific findings. Over many hundreds of millions of years of evolution, the most diverse life forms have emerged and disappeared again on our planet. The public only knows a tiny fraction of them.

In this exhibition, Joschua Knüppe, born in 1992, shows a selection of his visually impressive works that span the entire history of the earth, ranging from the earliest life forms to well-known and lesser-known dinosaurs and the giants of the last ice age. The works on display include traditional drawings and paintings on paper as well as digital images, graphics and animations. The result is a plausible picture of prehistoric times beyond the mainstream, with countless facets that not only Hollywood but also the relevant specialist literature does not normally offer us.

Despite their often bizarre appearance from today’s perspective, extinct animals were more than just monsters. Knüppe’s works show, for example, that many of them were not only hunters or hunted, but also caring parents. Even back then, animals behaved clumsily or playfully, they contracted diseases or fought for their survival in disasters. In short, prehistoric times were much more than just T. rex, and even the Tyrannosaurus was so much more than what pop culture tells us.

July 12th, 2022 – December 30th, 2022

Tracks in the sand, snow or e.g. the feeding track of a snail may tell the observer who has left his “footprint”. But not all traces are visible to humans or they fade away with time: like the sound of a melody, the circles of an eagle in the sky or the path of a housefly in the air. Munich-based photo artist Lothar Schiffler has long been dedicated to such invisible traces. Using complex photographic and video techniques, he traces the flight paths of swifts, buzzards, cranes, insects and even flying seeds.

However, the possibilities of photography, i.e. writing with light, are not suitable for recording the movements in the air. Therefore, he uses exactly the opposite, i.e. writing with shadows, the so-called iskiography. Thousands of individual images of selected video passages are brought together with the most modern digital photographic technology and enable the reconstruction of a track of movement in the air. Comparable to the score of a piece of music, a flight track is captured with the help of iskiography and the moment of simultaneous emergence and decay can be perceived.

The reconstruction of the movement tracks of birds, which Lothar Schiffler records on a local scale, also has tangible scientific aspects. Ornithologists are using increasingly sophisticated technical methods to reconstruct the global movements of migratory birds, for example.

An expedition to Bavaria’s great apes, primal elephants and subtropical forests

27. October 2022 – 8. May 2022

A joint exhibition of the Museum Mensch und Natur, Munich and the Naturkunde Museum Bamberg in cooperation with BIOTOPIA-Naturkundemuseum-Bayern, the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.

Who would have guessed that 10 million years ago four-meter-tall tusked elephants and saber-toothed cats roamed through a landscape of cinnamon trees and bald cypresses right on our doorstep?The Molassic Park exhibition invites you on an expedition into our Bavarian past – into the era of the Upper Freshwater Molasse.

The reason for the creation of this exhibition was a spectacular find in 2019. A hitherto unknown, approx. 11.6 million years old ape was found in a clay pit in the Allgäu, scientifically named “Danuvius guggenmosi”. Under the more common name “Udo” this find has become known. Udo is a real sensation, because it is the oldest evidence of a living creature with an upright gait.

Imagine this figuratively: Suddenly hands and arms are no longer needed to move. Thus, the upright gait was not only a new form of locomotion, but a completely new way of life was possible. The exhibition shows an entertaining animation so that visitors can understand why it is possible to deduce the mode of locomotion from individual bones.

In addition, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey through how research elicits hidden secrets from the traces of time. Each visitor is invited to get hands-on. For example, they can pick up replica bones of Udo, or they can grind a fossil leaf of a plant species. You can determine pollen under the microscope or touch 11 million year old teeth and learn what can be said from these teeth about the life of such an animal.

Thus, one can follow how scientists gradually put together a picture of the past from many individual fragments. On display are many extraordinary molasse fossils from various sites in Bavaria. For example, the exhibition sheds light on what ecosystems looked like in the past or how the climate at that time might have affected biodiversity.

The exhibition is rounded off by large-format pictures by the well-known Spanish paleo-artist Mauricio Anton. They not only bring the flora and fauna of that time to life, but also make you literally feel the landscape.

The exhibition “Molassic Park” is designed as a touring exhibition and, after its launch in the Winter Hall of the Botanical Garden in Munich, will now also be on display in Bamberg, Eichstätt, Bayreuth and Nördlingen, as well as at other locations in Bavaria.

This unique exhibition was made possible by the cooperation of the Museum Mensch und Natur, the Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg, the Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology and Geology, BIOTOPIA – Natural History Museum Bavaria and the working group of Prof. Dr. Madelaine Böhme at the University of Tübingen.

The origins of today’s natural history collections of the Natural History Museum Bamberg date back to the end of the 18th century. In the course of the foundation of the natural history cabinet in 1791, Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal ordered the purchase of various collections. At that time, these were mainly mineral specimens and ores from the Franconian Forest and the Fichtel Mountains, as well as collections of various animal specimens. Hardly anything of these early acquisitions is left today, as much was lost in the turmoil of the Revolutionary Wars.

The first major additions to the collection came after the secularization in 1803, when the ex-Benedictine priest Dionysius Linder (1762-1838) transferred the holdings of the Kloster Banz Naturalia Cabinet, which he headed until the abolition of the monastery, to the still unfinished Bamberg Naturalia Cabinet. In the first place, these holdings included numerous animal specimens, a part of the “Pomological Cabinet” as well as an undetermined number of the “Würzburg Lying Stones”, which were already famous at that time. During his further period of activity until his death in 1838, Linder developed as the second founder of the Bamberg Natural History Cabinet and expanded the collections to a great extent. His successor in the position of the head of the cabinet, the clergyman Dr. Andreas Haupt (1813-1893), also expanded the collections by several thousand objects from all fields of natural history.

Haupt’s successor was the clergyman Dr. Georg Fischer, who directed the museum from 1885-1912. He was given the task of inventorying and cataloging the accumulated holdings. Fischer filled 11 inventory folios and 44 catalogs with object data.

While the efforts to expand the collection had until then been guided by the idea of representing global biodiversity, this changed with the work of the clergyman Dr. Theodor Schneid (museum director 1917-1945). From now on, the focus was on documenting regional exhibits. Schneid collected and researched the ammonite fauna of the native Jurassic strata, prepared native bird species into exhibits worthy of display and established a systematic collection of native insects. The latter especially gave the Bamberg Museum a scientifically valuable collection of native insects, which is still considered one of the most important entomological regional collections in Bavaria.

During the subsequent period of Prof. Dr. Anton Kolb’s activity, numerous further exhibits were acquired, which served above all to expand the zoological holdings with regard to global biodiversity. During the tenure of the last museum director, Dr. Matthias Mäuser (1988-2021), the focus was again on the documentation of regional specimens. Since 2004, the collection activities concentrated on fossils of the “Wattendorfer Plattenkalke”.

In the future, the Bamberg Natural History Museum will continue to make an important contribution to documenting, researching and communicating our regional natural heritage.

The paleontological collections today house an estimated 30,000 objects from Germany and from abroad. The objects include finds from all geological eras, but have a clear focus on regional sites from the Jurassic period. In the last two decades, the collection has been considerably expanded by the museum’s own excavations in the Upper Jurassic plate limestones of Wattendorf/Upper Franconia.

The historical part of the collection from the 19th century was partly collected by the respective curators themselves, partly also purchased from the company Dr. Krantz/Bonn. From the first half of the 20th century on, the collecting activity was mainly concentrated on the Franconian Jura. The ammonite collection of Theodor Schneid with about 1300 single objects, among them extensive type material, has to be emphasized. Scientifically valuable are also the collection of A. Müller with 700 plant fossils from the lowest Lias of Großbellhofen near Schnaittach/Mittelfranken, collections of Oskar Kuhn from the Lias and Dogger of Franconia (about 2000 objects) and the collections Schattenberg and Schrüfer with fossils from the Malm of Franconia. Already since 1989 extensive collections from all layers of the Franconian Jurassic have been made by the geoscientific preparator of the museum, Thomas Bechmann.

The Mineralogical Collection contains about 10,000 objects. Its oldest parts date back to the first half of the 19th century. Especially curator Andreas Haupt extended the collection in the middle of the 19th century by purchase and exchange (e.g. Krantz/Bonn) or by gifts (e.g. Schönlein/Zurich, Berlin). In 1858 he bought part of the collection of the ducal chancellery Hardt with private funds. Haupt donated the extensive collection to the naturalia cabinet under the name “Dr. Haupts Sammlung ”. Especially among these pieces are many specimens of deposits of the East Bavarian Bohemian bedrock, including several specimens from sites that are no longer accessible today (e.g. Kupferberg).

A collection of deposits with evidence from abandoned mines and sites in northeastern Bavaria was acquired in 1990. It contains about 2000 individual objects from 55 localities.

The “Pomological Cabinet” is a collection of models of fruit varieties. Such collections were made from the 18th to the 20th century to document the appearance of particular varieties. Models of fruits were made by different vendors in many countries of Europe and also in the New World, using a wide variety of techniques and materials (examples: ” Arnoldi`s Obstkabinett” with 432 plaster models, made 1856-1897 in Gotha; “Wächserne Obstsammlung” of Father Constantin Keller with 245 preserved specimens in the Abbey of Admont/Austria, made 1815-1840; “Obstsortiment für Steiermark in plastischer Nachbildung” with 406 papier-mâché-wax models, probably 1880-1890).

The Pomological Cabinet of the Bamberg Natural History Museum originated from the production of the “Landes-Industrie-Comptoir” of the Weimar publisher Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747-1822). There, the magazine “Der teutsche Obstgärtner” was published from 1794 to 1804, which was then replaced by the “Allgemeine teutsche Gartenmagazin” from 1804 to 1824. In these series, recommended fruit varieties were described in words and pictures, among other things. Responsible for the content was the then well-known Thuringian pomologist Pastor Johann Volkmar Sickler (1742-1820). In addition, the publisher had models of a total of 298 different fruit varieties, distributed among apples, pears, plums and damsons, cherries, apricots, peaches, as well as a nut and a medlar. The models were made by Ernst Heinrich Gebhardt. They were sold in 26 successive deliveries between 1795 and 1813.

The models are made of beeswax with a small admixture of Kremser white. The objects are hollow, with a wall thickness of about 1.5 – 2.5 mm. The fruit stalks are made of twisted and strengthened twine and overmolded with wax depending on the variety. The surface is painted with glazing colors true to nature.

Undoubtedly, the model series from the house of Bertuch is the most beautiful and lifelike fruit variety series that was available for purchase in the heyday of pomology at that time. Due to the extreme fragility of the hollow bodies, only a few collections have survived to this day. The Bamberg collection, with a total of 193 models, is one of the most extensive. In detail: 71 pears, 66 apples, 24 plums and damsons, 23 cherries, 6 peaches and 3 apricots. In addition to their cultural-historical value, the models are used to identify old varieties that have been forgotten. They also provide insight into the important and common fruit varieties of the time.

Literature: Mäuser, M. (1998): Das Pomologische Kabinett von F. J. Bertuch aus Weimar im Naturkunde-Museum Bamberg.- LXXII. Bericht Naturf. Ges. Bamberg: 49-78. Bamberg.

We rent special exhibitions from our own production. Currently we have three exhibitions on offer:

So much more than just T. rex!

The special exhibition at the Bamberg Natural History Museum focuses on the paleoart of the artist Joschua Knüppe. It shows a selection of his visually impressive works with countless prehistoric creatures in realistic scenarios. More information here.

Biodiversity in Entenhausen – Animals from a Parallel Universe

Have you ever heard of the Cucumber Rascal (zoological name: Ciller gurcae), and what devastating damage this insect belonging to the order of beetles can cause to the cucumber crop? Or do you know that despite its fearsome name, the Horrid Polyfoot (Multipes horridus) is actually completely harmless? No? Then you probably haven’t hooked an Oracle Sturgeon or a Haretooth Shark, or ridden a Latsch Horse.

The exhibition will remedy this glaring educational deficiency, as it introduces you to the animal world of the parallel world of Stella anatium. This rich and bizarre animal world was discovered by the ingenious Disney cartoonist Carl Barks (1901-2000), researched by scientists of the association D.O.N.A.L.D. (German Organization of Non-Commercial Adherents of honest Donaldism), and staged by the team of the Natural History Museum Bamberg.

Fossils from Wattendorf – A look into the Jurassic Period

An island archipelago under a bright blue sky, washed by a tropical sea. Crocodiles and sharks prey between reefs, turtles lay their eggs in the hot sand on the beaches. Seychelles or Maldives? No. It is the sea of the upper Jurassic period that covered our land 150 million years ago. In a quarry in Upper Franconia, Germany, a magnificent window into this bizarre, forgotten world has now opened up completely unexpectedly. The exhibition gives you a first impression of the unique fossils that the team of the Bamberg Museum of Natural History has unearthed in this quarry. You will also learn about the natural beauty, the exciting and also contemplative possibilities for leisure activities, the archaeological features and the beer culture of this beautiful Jurassic village and the region at the northern end of the Upper Main Valley.

In our guided tours you will learn about many exciting stories. A museum visit that is fun! The Bamberg Museum of Natural History offers you direct contact with selected exhibits during guided tours. Visitors of all ages are invited. Depending on the request, the guided tour will be individually designed by us. The guided tours are interesting for:

• Kindergarden children
• School classes
• Clubs
• For birthdays of children or adults
• Family celebrations
• Teacher trainings
• Other groups

A guided tour costs Mon – Fri 30€/ 40€ Sat, Sun and holidays (plus museum admission). Guided tours are also possible outside opening hours.

Tableware is provided by the museum. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to prepare food, so you would have to bring it yourself.

Themed tours

F1 Bird Hall & Lying Stones

(4 – 99 years, for all ages)

When you enter the Bird Hall, you undoubtedly feel transported to another time. At the same time, you wonder if this stately room has always been a museum or who founded it. Come with us on an exciting journey through the Bird Hall, smile at the stories about the Würzburg Lying Stones or get to know the wax fruits from the 19th century?

F2 The Bird Hall – a place of biodiversity with history

(4 – 99 years, for all ages)

In the showcases of the historical Bird Hall from 1791 you can find a wealth of different stuffed animals. Many of these animals can tell their own story – for example, on which continent and habitat they live, who their enemies are or what these animals feed on. Here in the Bird Hall, you can view the animals, arranged by relationship, at your leisure and be fascinated by their strategies.

F3 Franconia on the Jura beach

(4 – 99 years, for all ages)

Be it the pterosaur, a marine crocodile, turtles or angelsharks – all these can be found in the plate limestones of Wattendorf, i.e. right on our doorstep. But how do fossilized sea creatures get to the area around Bamberg? Dive into an exciting chapter of our earth’s history.

F4  Scales, feathers, shells

(4 – 99 years, for all ages)

… or a coat of hair – all these are body shells. Not only do they look very different, their function can also vary. For example, some animals use their shells to protect themselves from heat or annoying enemies. Feathers are used for flying, of course, but they also keep warm – and when we think of feather beds or down jackets, they do not only help the birds themselves. Other animals show their counterpart with their body cover if they are angry and some animal groups can even be distinguished by their coverings.

F5 Evolution

(Upper secondary school)

The basic principle of evolution can be explained using the example of exhibits in the bird room or fossils. Using individual animals, it becomes clear what a species is or selection, mutation and variation. Concepts such as homology, analogy or convergence can be vividly explained by example.

Insect pest advice

Do you have problems with annoying “house guests”? Of course, we mean insect pests such as moths, cockroaches, fleas etc. Bring a few of the “critters” in a jar and within a few days you will receive a written report on their type, possible damage and control measures. For our effort we charge 15,- EUR.

Lending

If you need natural objects for educational or exhibition purposes, please call us. Maybe we have something suitable in stock. In order to be able to renew our lending stock from time to time, we usually charge 10,- EUR per object.

Information

If you have observed or found something special in nature and would like to know what it is, come to us. We will do our best to answer your questions. Such inquiries will of course be handled free of charge.

But a heartfelt request: leave living plants and animals in the nature!

Sale

Looking for a gift or souvenir? You can purchase natural history pamphlets, postcards, gift certificates, etc. at our museum box office. A selection of inexpensive fossils and minerals is also for sale.

Guided tours

You can book general or specialized guided tours by calling 0951 – 8631248. Guided tours are also possible outside the official opening hours. The main topics of the guided tour can be arranged individually.