The Meteorite Collection

History of the collection

Not only is the Viennese collection large, it also has the longest history of all meteorite collections and was and remains an important research center for meteorites and associated impact rocks. Meteorites were already collected in Vienna when they were still regarded as earthly phenomena (meteorite ~ aerolite ~ air stone).

Of course, one could always find materials in the wonder cabinets of the rulers which had fallen to Earth and which, depending on the circumstances, were regarded as lucky or unlucky talismans. Although some cases of matter falling to Earth had been observed by hundreds of witnesses, the scientific authorities of the day regarded these as somewhat irregular earthly phenomena. During this period of total disregard for meteorites, two masses of iron fell to Earth in Hraschina near Zagreb, Croatia.

 

The Protocol of Bishop Klobuczezky and Curate-General Wolfgang Kukuljevic listed many eye-witness reports in connection with the incident and the accompanying fire ball. This protocol later became an important document for Franz Güssmann and E.F.F. Chladni, who, on the basis of such reports, as well as because of the fact that newly fallen meteorites are covered with a fresh fusion crust, were of the opinion that these masses originated from outer space.

Their argument might have remained purely an intellectual exercise if the scientific opinion of the times (led by the Académie Française) had not changed. The main event that led to such a change was the meteor shower of L’Aigle (26 April 1803) in France.

 

Shortly after this time, the Viennese collection, which was under the supervision of Abbé Stütz, comprised 7 meteorites: Hraschina (40 kg); Krasnojarsk (2.5 kg); Tabor (2.7 kg); Steinbach (1.1 kg); Eichstädt (126 g); L’Aigle (1.1 kg), and Mauerkirchen (429 g).

The chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth made analyses in Berlin of samples from Vienna, which were the first analyses ever made of stone and iron meteorites. Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Friedrich Wöhler also co-operated on this project. Carl von Schreibers can be regarded as the founder of meteoric science and he construed the study of meteoritic science in the same way as it is followed today, i.e., on the basis of interdisciplinary research. Today, all natural sciences interact closely in order to extract the cryptic messages from the solar nebula carried by the meteorites.

The collection grew quickly, also under Schreibers’ successors Paul Partsch, Moriz Hoernes, and Gustav Tschermak. Tschermak was particularly keen and published many research papers, as well as a wonderful book summarizing his observations.

 

His successors Aristides Brezina and Friedrich Berwerth also continued studying meteorites.

This intensive study resulted in a major growth of the collection. At the turn of the century, it comprised more than 600 different meteorites, many of which were main specimens.

The meteorite collection only began to grow again in the 1960s-1970s. The collection came to life after the extension of the laboratories, and the meteorites in the collection were again used intensively for research purposes. Under the supervision of Gero Kurat, a budget for purchases permitted the acquisition of select contemporary falls and discoveries. A large fund-raising drive organized by the "Friends of the Natural History Museum of Vienna" resulted in the acquisition of the "Second Huss Collection of Meteorites" from the USA - the first acquisition of this magnitude in the history of the museum.

This collection of 125 meteorites, many of which are main pieces, partly made up for the long war years, during which no new items were acquired. Lately, two further collections of meteorite finds from the Sahara have been added, which constitute very important statistical data on the falls of meteorites during the last 100,000 years.