Museum Koenig
Encyclopedia
The Alexander Koenig Research Museum (German: Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig) is a natural history museum
and zoological
research institution in Bonn
, Germany
. The museum is named after Alexander Koenig
, who donated his collection of specimens to the institution. The museum was opened in 1934 and is affiliated with the University of Bonn
.
(1858-1940) as a private institute for zoological research and public education. Alexander Koenig, who was born in 1858 as the son of the wealthy merchant Leopold Koenig, began to collect birds and mammals as a boy. He later studied zoology and received a doctorate in natural history in 1884. In the following years he organized and funded several expeditions to the Arctic
and Africa
and greatly expanded his private collection of specimens.
After his father died in 1903, Alexander Koenig planned a natural history museum to present his private collection to the public. On September 3, 1912, the foundation stone to the new Museum Alexander Koenig was laid. After the outbreak of World War I
in 1914, the uncompleted building was confiscated and used as a military hospital and later, until 1923, as barracks by the French occupying forces. Alexander Koenig, who had lost most of his fortune in the aftermath of the war, donated the museum and his private collection to the German government in 1929. The museum finally opened its doors to the public on May 13, 1934.
After World War II
the museum building, which was left largely intact by the war, was the only representative and large assembly hall available in Bonn, now capital of West Germany
. This was the reason why the museum was used by the Parlamentarischer Rat
(English: parliamentary council), the predecessor to the West German Parliament, for its opening session on September 1, 1948. At this time plans were made to use the museum building as the Chancellor's Office
(German: Bundeskanzleramt), but it was eventually only used for two months by the new chancellor Konrad Adenauer
in 1949.
Aside from the permanent exhibition the museum houses special exhibitions regularly.
Today the Museum Koenig is housed in a complex of several buildings dating from different times and serving different purposes. The building complex includes the main building, the Villa, the Private Museum and the Class M. Naumann Building.
The main building of the Museum Koenig houses the public exhibition and features a large central hall crowned by a glass roof. The building was designed by Gustav Holland, who probably modeled the Museum Koenig after the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. Construction began in 1912, but the museum was not opened until 1934 due to [World War I].
The Villa is the oldest part of the Museum Koenig and houses the vertebrate
department, The building was built in 1860. Leopold Koenig, father of Alexander Koenig purchased the building in 1873. He donated the house to his son in 1884 after Alexander Koenig received his doctoral degree and married Margarethe Westphal. Alexander Koenig used the Villa as his private residence and to house his bird collections. The building was largely destroyed in World War II and rebuild in a simplified manner in 1949.
The Private Museum is an annex to the Villa, and was built to house the growing private collection of Alexander Koenig. Construction began in 1898 and was completed in 1900. The architect was Otto Penner.
The Class M. Naumann Building is a modern annex to the main building and was opened in 2006. The building is named after Class M. Naumann, professor of zoology at the University of Bonn
and former director of the museum. The building houses the arthropod
collection, the library and laboratories.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
and zoological
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
research institution in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The museum is named after Alexander Koenig
Alexander Koenig
Alexander Ferdinand Koenig was a German naturalist and zoologist.Koenig was born at St Petersburg, Russia where his father was a successful merchant. He grew up in Bonn. Koenig became interested in natural history at an early age and started to collect specimens.He studied zoology at the...
, who donated his collection of specimens to the institution. The museum was opened in 1934 and is affiliated with the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
.
History
The museum was founded by the private scholar Alexander KoenigAlexander Koenig
Alexander Ferdinand Koenig was a German naturalist and zoologist.Koenig was born at St Petersburg, Russia where his father was a successful merchant. He grew up in Bonn. Koenig became interested in natural history at an early age and started to collect specimens.He studied zoology at the...
(1858-1940) as a private institute for zoological research and public education. Alexander Koenig, who was born in 1858 as the son of the wealthy merchant Leopold Koenig, began to collect birds and mammals as a boy. He later studied zoology and received a doctorate in natural history in 1884. In the following years he organized and funded several expeditions to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and greatly expanded his private collection of specimens.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, the uncompleted building was confiscated and used as a military hospital and later, until 1923, as barracks by the French occupying forces. Alexander Koenig, who had lost most of his fortune in the aftermath of the war, donated the museum and his private collection to the German government in 1929. The museum finally opened its doors to the public on May 13, 1934.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the museum building, which was left largely intact by the war, was the only representative and large assembly hall available in Bonn, now capital of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. This was the reason why the museum was used by the Parlamentarischer Rat
Parlamentarischer Rat
The Parlamentarischer Rat was the West German constitutional convention that created the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany...
(English: parliamentary council), the predecessor to the West German Parliament, for its opening session on September 1, 1948. At this time plans were made to use the museum building as the Chancellor's Office
German Chancellery
The German Chancellery is a federal agency serving the executive office of the Chancellor, the head of the German federal government. The chief of the Chancellery holds the rank of either a Secretary of State or a Federal Minister ...
(German: Bundeskanzleramt), but it was eventually only used for two months by the new chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
in 1949.
Exhibitions
The museum defines its mission as "researching and explaining the diversity of species of Earth". The main exhibition is titled "Unser blauer Planet - Leben im Netzwerk" (Our blue planet - living in a network). It shows complex ecological systems through dioramas of the African Savannah, a tropical rain forests, the polar regions, deserts and Central Europe.Aside from the permanent exhibition the museum houses special exhibitions regularly.
Museum Complex
The main building of the Museum Koenig houses the public exhibition and features a large central hall crowned by a glass roof. The building was designed by Gustav Holland, who probably modeled the Museum Koenig after the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. Construction began in 1912, but the museum was not opened until 1934 due to [World War I].
The Villa is the oldest part of the Museum Koenig and houses the vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
department, The building was built in 1860. Leopold Koenig, father of Alexander Koenig purchased the building in 1873. He donated the house to his son in 1884 after Alexander Koenig received his doctoral degree and married Margarethe Westphal. Alexander Koenig used the Villa as his private residence and to house his bird collections. The building was largely destroyed in World War II and rebuild in a simplified manner in 1949.
The Private Museum is an annex to the Villa, and was built to house the growing private collection of Alexander Koenig. Construction began in 1898 and was completed in 1900. The architect was Otto Penner.
The Class M. Naumann Building is a modern annex to the main building and was opened in 2006. The building is named after Class M. Naumann, professor of zoology at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
and former director of the museum. The building houses the arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
collection, the library and laboratories.