Henryk Teisseyre Geological Museum in Wrocław

The Henryk Teisseyre Geological Museum in Wrocław is a unit of the Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of Wrocław, operating on ulica Cybulskiego 30. The collection comprises more than 20,000 specimens related to the geology of Lower Silesia and the Sudetes.

From a mineralogical cabinet to a museum

The institution's beginnings go back to 1812, when a Mineralogical Cabinet was established. In the 19th century the collection was substantially expanded by Ferdinand Roemer, and in 1868 the Mineralogical Museum opened with the first guide to the collection written by him. In 1897 the collection was split into separate museums: geological-palaeontological and mineralogical, and the Geological Museum of the University of Wrocław operated in this form until 1945. Before the siege of Wrocław in 1945, part of the exhibits were moved to churches in Świerzawa and Strzegom, protecting them from destruction.

Post-war reconstruction

After the war, the Institute of Geological Sciences has been housed since 1949 on ulica Cybulskiego. Between 1972 and 1975, on the initiative of Professor Henryk Teisseyre, space was set aside in the institute's building for a new museum. The collection was opened to visitors in 1977, the institute obtained formal museum status in June 1981, and the current name, commemorating Professor Teisseyre, was given to the institution in 1985.

Permanent exhibitions

The museum presents fossils illustrating the development of land plants and the development of the animal world, as well as exhibitions devoted to the stratigraphy and geological structure of the Sudetes, rock-forming processes and the geological structure of the Ślęża Massif. The collection comprises more than 20,000 specimens, gathered from the days of the 1812 Mineralogical Cabinet to present-day excavations carried out by institute staff. The institution also runs museum lessons and workshops for organised groups, and alongside the permanent exhibition it shows temporary exhibitions devoted to selected issues in the region's geology.

A place among the university's collections

The Geological Museum is one of several museum institutions of the University of Wrocław clustered near the old town, alongside the same university's mineralogical, archaeological and natural history collections. Their common core is collections gathered as far back as the 19th century, split and merged along with organisational changes to the faculties.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Cybulskiego 30, Wrocław, Nadodrze district
• Visiting days and hours are worth checking on the museum's website before your visit, as the institution operates in step with the institute's academic schedule
• The museum is close to other University of Wrocław collections, including the Mineralogical Museum and the Archaeological Museum
• Nearby it is also worth seeing the Aula Leopoldina and the Basilica of St Elizabeth of Hungary