There is no doubt that the Bird Hall inside the Bamberg Natural History Museum is one of the most precious gems among historical ornithological collections, displayed in a beautiful hall constructed in the early Classical style.
The various showcases mostly contain European and exotic bird taxidermies and egg shells. Among them you can find a rare representative of the extinct Passenger Pigeon, one of the almost-extinct Owl Parrot from New Zealand, and a Quetzal.
Since the late 18th century, the stuffed birds have been assembled by Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal and his successors. The hall also contains some taxidermies, liquid preservations, skulls and skeletons of mammals, invertebrates, arthropods, mollusks and other specimen. Among them there is even a small variety of animals with limb deformations.
The hidden and maybe most wondrous showcase contains a collection on pomological wax models. The exhibited models of apples, cherries, plums, and pears were crafted in the early 19th century and suffer from their fragility. Bamberg Natural History Museum is one of the rare owners of such a unique collection.
The Bird Hall’s precious exhibit and collection is part of an otherwise common natural history museum, consisting of various exhibitions on ecology, geology, and environmental protection (there is a taxidermy of the extinct quagga zebra). The exhibitions focus vastly on the geographical area of Franconia, and the geological collection of minerals and fossils are worth a visit. Among the real fossils there are even fake ones: The “Würzburg Lying Stones,” possibly one of the first scientific hoaxes.
Before you go: the Museum is located in the middle of Bamberg Old Town close to the University District and central bus station (Fleischstrasse 2). It is open during the whole year and has common opening hours (October – March: 10am – 4pm; April – September: 9 am – 5pm).
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