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Terra Mineralia

Terra Mineralia Freiberg

ABOVE: Display cases in Terra Mineralia, with Freundenstein Castle's columns and vaulted ceiling as a backdrop. INSET BELOW: The museum entrance, the castle courtyard, and a mineral sample.

By Durant Imboden

Terra Mineralia Freiberg In the early 2000s, Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher--an 88-year-old cosmetics heiress who lived in Switzerland--was looking for a way to keep her vast collection of minerals intact for future generations to enjoy. Harvard University wanted to buy the more than 3,500 minerals, gemstones, and meteorites that she had assembled over six decades, and Dr. Pohl was on the verge of accepting the offer.

Luckily for the town of Freiberg in Dr. Pohl's native Saxony, George Unland--Saxony's finance minister, and a former rector of the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg--came up with an alternative proposal: Dr. Pohl would make a permanent loan of her collection to the TU-Bergakademie, which would ensure that the minerals were "reasonably accommodated."

After a search, a new home was found for the collection in Schloss Freudenstein, a crumbling castle on the edge of Freiberg's city center. The Schloss was renovated, with the mineral exhibition being given three floors and a new entrance in the castle courtyard. Terra Mineralia opened in 2004 as one the largest and most modern museums of its kind in the world.

What you'll see:

Mineral sample at Terra Mineralia Terra Mineralia is a collection of more than 3,500 objects that range from geodes to gems to meteorites. The exhibition is designed as a "mineralogical journey around the world," with visitors moving from continent to continent as they explore the collection.

The museum also has exhibits on the cultural role of gems, minerals in everyday life, and the science behind the color and appearance of minerals and gemstones.

Opening hours and tickets:

For up-to-date visitor information, see the museum's Web site at www.terra-mineralia.de.

More photos:

Entrance to Terra Mineralia

Terra Mineralia's modern entrance is in the courtyard of Schloss Freudenstein. Once you get past the ticket desk, you'll be inside the historic castle.

Calcite samples at Terra Mineralia

Behind these two calcite samples from the U.S.A., you can see other display cases in one of the beautifully lit Terra Mineralia exhibition rooms.

Iron meteorite at Terra Mineralia Freiberg

This iron meteorite was found in Argentina. It has been cut in half to reveal the distribution of the iron in the rock.

Calcite from China at Terra Mineralia

Calcite comes in a variety of shapes and forms. This sample is from Hunan Province, China.

Phallic mineral sample

Some minerals invite awe, and others prompt titters.

Fluorescent mangano calcite

Magnano calcite (above) and willemite (below) glow when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Fluorescent willemite

Crystals at Terra Mineralia

These crystals are mineral versions of Pick-up Sticks.

All Freiberg articles:

Freiberg, Saxony

Freiberg Cathedral - Dom St. Marien

Bergwerk Freiberg Mine Tour

Schloss Freudenstein

Terra Mineralia Museum

Also see:

Saxony - Index of Main Topics

About the author:

Durant Imboden photo. Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (now including Germany for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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