Libraries & Collections
The Faculty of Life Sciences maintains a rich array of libraries and scientific collections. Two specialized libraries provide researchers, teachers and students with literature on specific subjects. The collections, which include zoological specimens, historical glass models, one of Central Europe's largest herbaria, a living botanical garden, pharmaceutical artefacts and human remains, continue to support research, education and public engagement.
Collections
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Botanical Garden
- Description: The Botanical Garden houses thousands of live plant species from six continents, including an English landscape garden, a woody plants collection, a Pannonian steppe landscape, and greenhouses. It cooperates with hundreds of academic institutions worldwide, with much of its research focused on conserving endangered plant species.
- Year Established: 1754
- Number of Specimens: 12,000 live plant species
- Location: Mechelgasse 2, 1030 Vienna
- Core Facility: Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna
- Contact Person: Barbara Knickmann
Rudolf Hromniak -
Anthropological Collection
- Description: This collection reflects anthropological research and teaching from its inception to the present day. It includes historical photographs, plaster casts, archaeological human remains, cases of paleopathology, historical hair samples, zoological specimens, anthropological instruments, films, maps, and manuscripts documenting anthropological networks. Holdings from colonial contexts are closed for provenance review.
- Year Established: 1919
- Number of Specimens: ~40,000
- Location: University of Vienna Biology Building (UBB)
- Department: Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
- Contact Person: Katarina Matiasek
Katarina Matiasek -
Herbarium
- Description: The Herbarium was founded by Anton Kerner von Marilaun and grew rapidly through exchanges, donations, and expeditions. Its strengths lie in Central European, Balkan, Greek, and Chinese flora, with particular depth in the coffee, pineapple, soursop, and Gesneriaceae families. The collection is currently being digitized into an online database.
- Year Established: 1879
- Number of Specimens: 1.5 million
- Location: Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna
- Department: Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research
- Contact Person: Hermann Vogelmayr
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Pharmaceutical Drugs Collection
- Description: The collection consists mainly of plant-based (and some rare animal-based) drugs from around the world, founded based on samples of the Theodor Martius's collection and expanded over the decades with contributions from the Novara Expedition, the Austrian Apothecary Association, Franz Berger, and Nobel laureate Tadeus Reichstein as well as herbal and animal drugs for teaching. Recent additions include numerous Tibetan and Mongolian medicinal drugs.
- Year Established: mid 19th century
- Number of Specimens: ~18.000 herbal and 2000 animal drugs
- Location: UZA II
- Department: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Contact Person: Liselotte Krenn
Liselotte Krenn -
Zoological Collection
- Description: The Zoological Collection covers virtually all animal phyla, with a particular focus on marine fish and echinoderms. The collection includes several historically significant items like glass models of marine animals made around 1885 by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka and historical teaching wall charts. In addtion, there is a big teaching collection of organisms.
- Year Established: 1775
- Number of Specimens: ~15,000 wet specimens and over 20,000 dry specimens, plus insect collection
- Location: University of Vienna Biology Building (UBB)
- Department: Department of Evolutionary Biology
- Contact Person: Simon Engelberger
derknopfdruecker -
Blaschka Object of the Month
Glass Model of a Radiolarian Aulosphaera elegantissima
This glass artwork from the 19th century is a replica of single-celled marine animal. The model was created as a durable teaching tool for universities and museums.
The Blaschkas' Glass Models
The Blaschkas' collection of glass models is famous for its lifelike replicas of botanical and zoological specimens. Created by the two Bohemian glass artists Leopold Blaschka (1822–1895) and his son Rudolf (1857–1939), the collection comprises several thousand models. The Zoological Collection holds the second-largest collection of these models in the German-speaking world. Some of these models are on display at the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Digitised versions of all the models are available via Phaidra.
Universität Wien, Department für Evolutionsbiologie
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