Globe Museum
Encyclopedia
The Globe Museum in the Palais Mollard
, Vienna
, Austria
, is part of the Austrian National Library
. It was opened in 1956, and is the only public museum in the world devoted to globe
s, being three-dimension
al model
s of Earth
or other celestial bodies, or spherical representations of the celestial sphere
.
created two globes especially for Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
from 1658 to 1705, with each globe having an engraved portrait of the Emperor and an inscription).
In 1921, the geographer Eugen Oberhummer conducted an inventory of the collection and found eight globes of various sizes (both terrestrial and celestial), and two armillary spheres. In 1922, these globes were transferred to the National Library's map collection
, where by 1948 there were already 28 globes. In the annual report of the Director of the collection in 1948, it was noted that the globes are among the collection's most rarely used items.
In 1956, the National Library opened the Globe Museum with a total of 63 exhibits. Its foundation collection was a combination of the imperial collection and the collections of The International Coronelli Society for the Study of Globes, and the cartographer Robert Haardt, who had been instrumental in the museum's establishment.
The museum was originally housed in the Augustinian tract of the Hofburg in Josefsplatz, Vienna, as part of the National Library's map collection
. In 1970 and 1986, the museum was allocated new rooms within the same tract.
During the museum's first 30 years, its collection grew to 145 items by purchase, gift and exchange with other museums. By 1996, the museum had 260 exhibits. Since the end of 2005 the museum has been accommodated at the Palais Mollard in the Herrengasse
.
The oldest item in the collection is the terrestrial globe of Gemma Frisius
(circa 1536). Highlights are the globes of Vincenzo Coronelli
(110 cm diameter) and a pair of globes by Gerard Mercator from 1541 and 1551. Further objects in the collection include armillary sphere
s, planetary globes, astronomical instruments, and instruments in which a globe represents a component, such as planet machines (orrerie
s), tellurion
s and lunariums.
The Globe Museum:
Palais Mollard-Clary
Palais Mollard-Clary is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the first district Innere Stadt, at Herrengasse 9.It was built from 1686 to 1689 for Count Mollard . In 1760, it was bought by Count Franz Wenzel von Clary-Aldringen. Emperor Joseph II held his famous "round tables" here...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, is part of the Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
. It was opened in 1956, and is the only public museum in the world devoted to globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
s, being three-dimension
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
al model
Model (physical)
A physical model is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object...
s of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
or other celestial bodies, or spherical representations of the celestial sphere
Celestial sphere
In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere of arbitrarily large radius, concentric with the Earth and rotating upon the same axis. All objects in the sky can be thought of as projected upon the celestial sphere. Projected upward from Earth's equator and poles are the...
.
History
As early as the 19th century, there was a globe collection within the Vienna Imperial Library, the forerunner to the Austrian National Library. The globes in this collection were acquired either as purchases or as gifts (for example, Vincenzo CoronelliVincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli was a Franciscan monk, a Venetian cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes, and who spent most of his life in Venice.-Biography:...
created two globes especially for Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
from 1658 to 1705, with each globe having an engraved portrait of the Emperor and an inscription).
In 1921, the geographer Eugen Oberhummer conducted an inventory of the collection and found eight globes of various sizes (both terrestrial and celestial), and two armillary spheres. In 1922, these globes were transferred to the National Library's map collection
Map collection
A map collection is a storage facility for maps, usually in a library, archive, or museum, or at a map publisher or public authority, and the maps and other cartographic items stored within that facility....
, where by 1948 there were already 28 globes. In the annual report of the Director of the collection in 1948, it was noted that the globes are among the collection's most rarely used items.
In 1956, the National Library opened the Globe Museum with a total of 63 exhibits. Its foundation collection was a combination of the imperial collection and the collections of The International Coronelli Society for the Study of Globes, and the cartographer Robert Haardt, who had been instrumental in the museum's establishment.
The museum was originally housed in the Augustinian tract of the Hofburg in Josefsplatz, Vienna, as part of the National Library's map collection
Map collection
A map collection is a storage facility for maps, usually in a library, archive, or museum, or at a map publisher or public authority, and the maps and other cartographic items stored within that facility....
. In 1970 and 1986, the museum was allocated new rooms within the same tract.
During the museum's first 30 years, its collection grew to 145 items by purchase, gift and exchange with other museums. By 1996, the museum had 260 exhibits. Since the end of 2005 the museum has been accommodated at the Palais Mollard in the Herrengasse
Herrengasse
The Herrengasse is a street in Vienna, located in the first district Innere Stadt.-History:...
.
Collection
There are now approximately 600 terrestrial and celestial globes in the collection, and around 200 of them are constantly on display. The majority of them date from before 1850.The oldest item in the collection is the terrestrial globe of Gemma Frisius
Gemma Frisius
Gemma Frisius , was a physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker...
(circa 1536). Highlights are the globes of Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli was a Franciscan monk, a Venetian cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes, and who spent most of his life in Venice.-Biography:...
(110 cm diameter) and a pair of globes by Gerard Mercator from 1541 and 1551. Further objects in the collection include armillary sphere
Armillary sphere
An armillary sphere is a model of objects in the sky , consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centred on Earth, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features such as the ecliptic...
s, planetary globes, astronomical instruments, and instruments in which a globe represents a component, such as planet machines (orrerie
Orrery
An orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System in a heliocentric model. Though the Greeks had working planetaria, the first orrery that was a planetarium of the modern era was produced in 1704, and one was presented...
s), tellurion
Tellurion
A tellurion , is a clock, typically of French or Swiss origin, surmounted by a mechanism that depicts how day, night and the seasons are caused by the movement of the Earth on its axis and its orbit around the sun...
s and lunariums.
The Globe Museum:
- "... ist die einzige Institution, in der Globen sowie den Globen verwandte Instrumente erworben, erforscht und der Öffentlichkeit präsentiert werden."
- "[... is the only institution in which globes, and globe related instruments are acquired, researched and presented to the public.]"
External links
- Globe Museum website
- Globe catalogue of the Austrian National Library
- Pictures of the museum on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- Michael Frank: Globenmuseum. Der Nabel der Welt. Article in the Süddeutsche ZeitungSüddeutsche ZeitungThe Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
, 1 December 2005 .