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The collection of Gurlt specimens at the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy

The exhibits of the Gurlt Collection are also housed at the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy at the Freie Universität Berlin. This historical collection comprises 143 skeletons and 105 specimens preserved in alcohol.

Background and History of the Collection

The collection of the "Königliche Thierarzneischule zu Berlin" (Royal School of Veterinary Medicine in Berlin) was established as early as 1790, when the school was founded. Prof. Sick and Prof. Reckleben were in charge of the collection, which in 1817 consisted of 561 specimens. Ernst Friedrich Gurlt, who taught the anatomy of domestic animals at the Berlin School of Veterinary Medicine from 1819, took over responsibility for this anatomical collection and expanded it considerably during his tenure. He focused the collection on malformations, as he took a particular interest in teratology.

In addition to teaching anatomy, Gurlt later also taught pathological anatomy and was appointed senior lecturer in 1825 and professor in 1827. In 1849, he was appointed technical-scientific director and Privy Medical Councillor.

Catalog and Destruction

Gurlt carefully cataloged each specimen and described particularly interesting specimens in detail in his "Lehrbuch der pathologischen Anatomie" and in the "Magazin für die gesamte Thierheilkunde". In 1838, the first "Catalog of the Zoological Museum of the Royal School of Veterinary Medicine in Berlin" was published, in which all the specimens were numbered and briefly described. Among the exhibits described was the skeleton of Condé, the personal riding horse of Frederick the Great.

By 1870, several additions to this catalog had been published and the collection had grown to 6418 specimens. After Gurlts retirement in 1870 and under his successor Carl Friedrich Müller, the collection was reduced in size. A large part of the collection fell victim to a fire in 1945.

Preservation and Presentation

The surviving part of Gurlt's collection is now part of the veterinary anatomy teaching collection at the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy.

The collections are open to the public by appointment only, please contact: