Phyletisches Museum

In Jena, the Phyletisches Museum offers insights into the development of life and combines scientific presentation with artistic exploration. The institution at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena receives around 17,000 visitors annually and is part of the Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie of the university.

The building was erected at the beginning of the 20th century: the foundation stone was laid on 28 August 1907, and Ernst Haeckel handed the building over to the university on 30 July 1908 on the occasion of its 350th anniversary. It was financed by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. The first permanent exhibition opened in 1912. From the outset, the museum’s aim was not only to display natural history objects but also to make phylogenesis (phylogeny) and the theory of evolution tangible.

The permanent exhibition includes an evolution hall featuring, among other things, pigeon breeds, AIDS, cichlids and the ontogeny of amphibians, as well as several halls on the phylogenesis of multicellular animals, including humans. Special exhibitions have addressed topics such as domestication, "Diatomeen – Formensinn", "Die kleinere Mehrheit" (photographs by Piotr Naskrecki), "Insekten & Sex" and "Biologische Invasionen". The museum manages extensive zoological-paleontological collections with more than 500,000 objects; their history goes back to the 18th century and still includes original items from the time when Johann Wolfgang von Goethe directed the anatomical-zoological collection. These holdings serve as the basis for research into the anatomy of dogs and other mammals as well as the morphology, phylogenesis (phylogeny) and species diversity of insects.

The Art Nouveau building is a listed historic monument. The façade and ornamentation were restored in 2007–2008 in keeping with heritage conservation standards; destroyed decorative elements were faithfully reconstructed, for example details of the "tree of life" in the gable field with the terms "phylogeny" and "ontogeny" coined by Haeckel. The so-called Medusensaal with ceiling paintings based on designs by Ernst Haeckel was refurbished in the 1990s. The square in front of the museum was renovated in 2011–2012 and fitted with a fountain.