Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée zoologique de Strasbourg originates in the natural history cabinet of Jean Hermann (1738-1800), a Strasbourgeois physician and naturalist. A graduate in 1762, Hermann is an exceptional collection in his apartment in Place Saint-Thomas, gathering 900 birds, 200 mammals, reptiles, insects, a herbarium of 17,000 plants and 10,000 minerals. Its epistolary network with scientists such as Georges Cuvier and Alexander von Humboldt, as well as its 12,000-volume library, make it a recognized place of knowledge in Europe, attracting more than 3,500 visitors between 1762 and 1800.

When Hermann died in 1800, his family temporarily managed the firm before selling it to the City of Strasbourg in 1804 to avoid its dismantling. Transferred in 1818 behind the cathedral and then at the Krutenau, the collections are enriched by donations and exchanges, notably with the Museum of Paris. Directed successively by Frédéric Louis Hammer (until 1826), Georges Louis Duvernoy (until 1837), and Dominique Auguste Lereboullet, the museum was bombarded in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war, resulting in the dispersal of collections. Under German annexation (1871-1918) he was restructured according to the disciplinary model of the Imperial University, with Ludwig Döderlein as director from 1893.

The twentieth century was marked by major losses: during the Second World War, collections of large mammals, transferred to the tobacco factory, were destroyed during the 1944 bombings (45 bouquetins, 75 antelope, 35 felids, etc.). The museum reopened in 1946 under the direction of François Gouin, who supervised its reconstruction until 1976. The following decades saw a modernization of the museum, with the introduction of dioramas in the 1980s, and a complete renovation from 2019 onwards. Closed for work, it reopens in September 2025 with a new route centered on 1,800 specimens, including emblematic pieces such as a coelacanth or a whale skeleton with d'Arnoux beak.

The building, built in 1893 in Jugendstil style, houses a hall decorated with eight panels painted by Anton Seder and Georg Hacker, representing the seabed and jungles. Among the museum's treasures are 53 glass models of Blaschka (marine invertebrates), models of paper chewed by Dr Auzoux, and an osteotheque unique in France, bringing together more than 500 bone specimens. The collections, enriched by German colonial expeditions (Africa, Asia, Oceania), also include missing or threatened species, such as the great penguin or the lion of Atlas.

Since 2021, the museum has been run by Samuel Cordier, curator of heritage. He joined the museum network of the City of Strasbourg and collaborated with the University on scientific projects, such as the inventory of collections from the German era (1871-1918). The reopening of 2025 introduces a contemporary museum, highlighting eight "animals totem" (gorilla, sea elephant, walrus, etc.) and thematic exhibitions on urban biodiversity or upper Rhine ecosystems. The museum plays a key role in preserving the natural heritage and raising awareness of ecological issues.

External links