The current collection of the Institute is based on two earlier collections, firstly from a collection of minerals and rocks, collected since the 1920s, which is now located in the basement rooms of the Institute of Geography (Rundbau). On the other hand, from the collection of the former Natural Science Museum of the City of Cologne.
After World War II, during much of both collections were destroyed, the directors of the Mineralogical Institute (Georg Kalb and Karl Jasmund) and the Geological Institute (Martin Schwarzbach) restored and supplemented the collections. The collections were made accessible to the public in two museums, which were opened in 1967 in the course of the new buildings of both institutes. 30 years later, after the institutes were merged, the museums were also merged to form today's GeoMuseum.

The current institute collection consists of various sub-collections. The scientifically most important part is made up of type and reference material from scientific publications. Since the 1960s, it has been continuously archived under the acronym GIK (Geological Institute Cologne).
Another part is the well-known Weyland collection. It houses plant fossils collected since the 1920s and additionally rocks and fossils from no longer accessible localities, which were collected, determined, catalogued and also published by Prof. Hermann Weyland.
Most of the institute's collection consists of uncataloged material from former and current scientists of the institute, e.g., Martin Schwarzbach (1907-2003), Ulrich Jux (1929-2017), Eugen K. Kempf (1932-2017), Helmut Wopfner (1924-2021), Michael Grigo (b. 1957), and Hans-Georg Herbig (b. 1955). In addition, there is a collection on systematic paleontology and a collection on the regional geology of Europe.
Further material from North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate has been given to the RuhrMuseum Essen, the Geological Service Krefeld and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt am Main for long-term archiving.

Particularly noteworthy from the Institute's collection are a three-dimensionally preserved specimen of the amphibian Eryops from the Lower Permian of Texas, two ichthyosaur skeletons: Stenopterygius quadriscissus with the remains of an unborn embryo and Steneosaurus bollensis with gastroliths and stomach contents, both from the Lower Jurassic Posidonia Shale of Holzmaden, southern Germany. The noblest object, however, is without doubt an original Würzburg Lying Stone from the series of famous fossil forgeries described by J. Beringer in 1726.

To the Weyland Collection

To the GIK Collection

Contact

Prof. Dr. Michael Amler
Phone: +49 221 470-5672
Email: michael.amler(at)uni-koeln.de

Julia C. Friedel M.Sc.
Phone: +49 221 470-1640
Email: julia.friedel(at)uni-koeln.de

References

Amler, R.W. & Herbig, H.-G. (2018) Chapter 35: KÖLN: Geological Collections of the University of Cologne (GCC) (Geological and palaeontological Collections of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne. In: Beck, L.A. & Joger, U. (eds): Paleontological Collections of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Springer. p. 365-370.
Herbig, H.-G. & Amler, M.R.W. (2019) Atemberaubend gut erhalten: Der Ichthyosaurier im GeoMuseum. In: Marx, P.W. & Neuhausen, H. (eds): Schätze der Universität zu Köln. 18-21; Köln (Greven).
Herbig, H.-G. & Amler, M.R.W. (2019) Vom Barock zum Zweiten Weltkrieg: Der „Lügenstein“. In: Marx, P.W. & Neuhausen, H. (eds): Schätze der Universität zu Köln. 196-199; Köln (Greven).

Kontakt

Julia C. Friedel M.Sc.
Tel.: +49 221 470-1640
E-Mail: julia.friedel(at)uni-koeln.de

Literatur

Amler, R.W. & Herbig, H.-G. (2018) Chapter 35: KÖLN: Geological Collections of the University of Cologne (GCC) (Geological and palaeontological Collections of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne. In: Beck, L.A. & Joger, U. (eds): Paleontological Collections of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Springer. p. 365-370.
Herbig, H.-G. & Amler, M.R.W. (2019) Atemberaubend gut erhalten: Der Ichthyosaurier im GeoMuseum. In: Marx, P.W. & Neuhausen, H. (eds): Schätze der Universität zu Köln. 18-21; Köln (Greven).
Herbig, H.-G. & Amler, M.R.W. (2019) Vom Barock zum Zweiten Weltkrieg: Der „Lügenstein“. In: Marx, P.W. & Neuhausen, H. (eds): Schätze der Universität zu Köln. 196-199; Köln (Greven).