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History of the Museum of Geology
The geological collection of the University of Tartu was founded in 1802 upon the reopening of the university and establishment of the Naturalienkabinett (= Cabinet of Mineralogy/Geology). The cabinet was headed by a professor of general natural history and botany (1802-09 Gottfried Albrecht Germann; 1811-20 Carl Christian Friedrich Ledebour). In 1804-13 Ernst Markus Ulprecht, the inspector of the cabinet, was in charge of the geological collections. In 1803 a large collection (1920 items) was bought from J. C. W. Voigt, which included the first specimen of the meteorite collection of the museum - a piece of Pallas iron from Krasnojarsk obtained via the Russian academician Georgi. The collections donated by the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovitsch, Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz, Adam Johann von Krusenstern and Otto Moritz von Engelhardt increased the total number of specimens to over 4000 in 1820. |
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The history of the Museum of Geology is closely connected with that of the Department of Geology as the museum has never existed as an independent institution. In 1820 a Chair of Natural Sciences and Mineralogy was founded. The first professor and head of the Cabinet of Mineralogy was O. M. von Engelhardt (1820-41) a professor of University of Tartu, he initiated the systematic teaching of geological disciplines there. The collections of the Cabinet of Mineralogy doubled in size as a result of his expeditions, reaching 11 370 items in 1836. In Engelhardt's time the acquisition of geological collections became more regular. The collections grew mainly thanks to donations from Th. Frisch, Ch. A. Zipser, M. A. Barclay de Tolly, G. F. Parrot jun., E. R. Hofmann, A. Burraschi and A. G. von Schrenck and less from purchases made from Heidelberg Mineralien-Comptoir, H. H. Hess, A. H. Scheerer and A. Kämmerer.
In 1842-47 the Cabinet was headed by a professor of mineralogy Otto Hermann Abich. In 1847-54 there was no professor of geology in the department, and the directors of the Cabinet of Mineralogy were from 1844-49 a professor of mathematics Carl Eduard Senff, and in 1849-54 a professor of botany, Alexander Georg von Bunge. Still the number of specimens grew from 12 890 in 1841 and to 15 903 in 1854.
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 Prof M. Engelhardt (1779-1842) |
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In 1854-87 Constantin Grewingk was the professor of geology. At that time the growth of the geological collections was both intensive and regular mainly thanks to donations from G. P. A. Petzholdt, N. von Nordenskiöld, F. Keller, A. Scacchi and C. Grewingk, but also to purchase from A. Krantz, L. Sämann and H. Heymann and to exchange with A. Günther, F. Römer, G. Rose and Ch. U. Shepard as well as the result of professor C. Grewingk's expeditions. The collections of the Cabinet of Mineralogy increased to over 39 000 items in 1884. Professors Johann Theodor Lemberg (1888-91), Franz Loewinson-Lessing (1892-1902) and Vassili Tarassenko (1903-18) mainly did research work.
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 Prof C. Grewingk (1819-1887) |
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Right from the early days of the Estonian Republic, established in 1918, attention was finally paid to the mineral wealth of the country. The foundation was also laid to the great type collections of Estonian paleontology (Henrik Bekker, Armin Öpik). In 1922 Henrik Bekker was the first Estonian geologist to be appointed docent, and in 1925, professor of geology. The Chair of Geology and Paleontology included, at that time, also the Laboratory of Mineralogy and the Institute and Museum of Geology. H. Bekker arranged the Estonian part of the exhibition in the museum. In the autumn of 1922, the museum was opened to visitors for the first time.
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 Prof H. Bekker (1891-1925) |
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In 1930 Armin Öpik was elected professor of geology and palaeontology.
He provided the first interpretation of the geological structure of the bedrock of Estonia,
specified the stratigraphy of Lower Cambrian rocks, and studied the geology of mineral resources of Estonia, such as phosphorite and oil shale. His palaeontological works brought him international fame. They served as the model for the investigation of the fossils in the basement formations of Estonia by the next generation of palaeontologists. In 1948, the Institute of Geology of the ESSR Academy of Sciences was established, and the museum was transferred from the University to the Institute of the Academy. In 1976, a part of the old geological collections was returned to the University, and the Museum of Geology of the Tartu University was then re-established as a section of the Museum of Zoology. In 1991, the museum got back more of the old collections (Engelhardt's Finland collection, Schrenk's Altai collection etc.), but the most valuable scientific collections - the type collections of Estonian paleontology - remain in Tallinn.
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 Prof A. Öpik (1898-1983) |
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Big Donation to the Museum of GeologyA big stone collection was donated to the museum by Dr. med. Hanswilhelm Beil. Dr. Beil is an amateur geologist from Freiburg, Germany. At the end of July 2001 the big amount of stones and minerals (about 7 tons) reached Tartu.
There are various samples coming mostly from Europe, but also from America and Africa.
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