The museum within the museum

In addition to the exhibits, the inventory and the museum itself are of historical value. The Systematic Display Collection (04.1) is one of few remaining examples in Germany of the museum ambience of the 19th century.

The architect of the building was Robert Schulze, whose first designs were modified in Berlin. The simple functional building has stylistic elements of classicism and baroque. The fence with floral elements in front of the institute is built in Art Nouveau style. Above the entrance portal is written "Mente et malleo" - "With spirit and hammer". There is an Art Nouveau lantern in the stairway and columns in the stairwell that are supposed to present geological ages: granite at the bottom as the Urgebirge, above it is polished limestone as the Erdaltertum and finally Buntsandstein as the Erdmittelalter. In the main entrance, there is a central risalit, a front-facing half-pillar with "Ionic" capitals. The fluted corbels are modelled on the baroque Michaelstor of the main building of the university.