Are art and natural history chambers still relevant for education? A network of experts is also investigating this question.
Halle (dpa/sa) – The Francke Foundations in Halle are sticking to their plans to further develop an international network of historical art and natural history cabinets. In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the project will be implemented without further Russian participation, said the director of the Francke Foundations, Thomas Müller-Bahlke. Cultural exchange only works under peaceful conditions. “We have put on hold the long relationship with Russia that has existed since our inception,” he said. In Halle, the art and natural history cabinet houses a good 3,000 exhibits, including a 300-year-old tooth from a hippopotamus.
A cabinet of natural history is also referred to by experts as a “chamber of curiosities” or “chamber of curiosities”. According to the information, the exhibits in Halle are still used for educational purposes to explain the diversity of the planet to children. The aim of the network is to find out where there are art and natural history cabinets all over Europe and beyond, said Müller-Bahlke. Another concern is to discuss how society should deal with art and natural history cabinets today and in the future.
The founding of the network for early modern universal collections – “Alliance of Early Universal Museums” – was initiated in 2020 in the foundations in Halle. These included experts from the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg (Russia), from Haarlem in the Netherlands and from Great Britain. In the meantime, other experts have joined, for example from Italy.
The art and natural history cabinet in Halle is considered to be the only European universal collection of the Baroque that is completely preserved and can be seen in its authentic location. “Their history is closely linked to the establishment of the foundations,” emphasized the director. A good 300 years ago, the theologian August Hermann Francke (1663-1727) initiated the establishment of a house for the poor and orphans. In the 17th century, this resulted in a school of European standing, where children, regardless of their social origins, were supposed to receive an education based on the progressive teaching methods of the time, from the family purse.
Francke also sent his missionaries around the world, especially to America, Russia, the Baltic States and India. They were commissioned to take the Christian faith out into the world and, when they returned, to bring exhibits with them for practical instruction in Halle. A selection can be seen in the “Wunderkammer” – including a stuffed crocodile from the Nile. Today there are around 50 educational and social facilities on the site of the historic school town, including daycare centers, schools, university facilities and the Federal Cultural Foundation.
