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Collection of Professor F. Pošepný

This collection is the most distinguished and both historically and scientifically most valuable display of the Geological Pavilion. The specimens sampled by Professor Pošepný date back to the second half of the 19th century and document the mineralogical and formation geological conditions of the Příbram ore deposits of lead, zinc, and silver in terms of the state of knowledge in that period and the relevant methods of studying the mineral deposits and their mineralogical composition. The collection is supported by text and graphical documentation.

Collection of Deposit Geology

This collection is the biggest and divides into:

  • Sub-collection of mineral deposits of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
  • Sub-collection of mineral types of the Czech Republic
  • Sub-collection of genetic types of mineral deposits
  • Sub-collection of deposit filling textures
  • Sub-collection of kaustobiolite deposits of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
  • Sub-collection of foreign mineral deposits
  • Sub-collection of the Jeseníky Mountains

Collection of Professor J. Havelka

The collection has been assembled by Professor J. Havelka, a leading Czech specialist in deposit geology and an academic of many years standing at the Faculty of Mining and Geology of VŠB-TUO. It comprises his personal collections he donated, especially polished stones from the Krušné Hory Mts. (jasper) and Lower Krkonoše Mts. (agate, araukarite).

Mineralogical Collection

The collection is organised according to the Strunz Classification of Minerals that classifies them into nine groups according to their chemical composition. The system starts with elements and ends with silicates and organic compounds. The display includes the specimens of minerals from diverse localities world-wide and also contains a collection of wooden and paper models of the crystal forms and demonstrations of the mineral physical properties.

Petrographic Collection

The collection provides a complex overview of basic rocks that form the Earth’ s outer cover – Earth crust. The display is divided on the grounds of the rock formation into magmatic, sedimentary, and metamorphic ones, and it is enriched with the specimens of rock structures and textures.

Palaeontological Collection

This collection is divided into the zoopalaeontological section, and the phytopalaeontological section, i.e. the collections of fossilized animals and plants respectively. The collection is arranged according to the principles of the biological system, from simpler to more complex organisms. Invertebrates represent the largest part of the palaeontological collection. One display case is dedicated to the description of the fossilization process.

Collection of Historical Geology

It is interconnected with the palaeontological collections as it documents the attained stage of life development in the different geological formations of the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and the Neozoic. The collection predominantly displays the index fossils of the different geological periods.

Collection of Regional Geology of the Bohemian Massif

The collection gives the basic image of the geological structure of the Bohemian Massif and its partial units. There are mainly the specimens of the characteristic rocks and minerals, and to a lesser extent, index fossils too.

Collection of Regional Geology of the Western Carpathians

The display cases present the rocks of the basic geological units of the Western Carpathians when emphasising the differences in their geological structures as opposed to the structure of the Bohemian Massif.

Collection of the Ostrava – Karviná Coal District

This is the most exhaustive geological, mineralogical, petrographic, and coal-petrographic documentation of the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Apart from the specimens of the Carboniferous coal-bearing formation (the collection is classified according to the different layers of the Ostrava and Karviná Formation), there are the specimens of the overlying and underlying rocks.

Collection of Radioactive Raw Materials

This collection represents a uniquely complex display of minerals and rocks from a number of Czech and Slovak radioactive raw materials, enriched with detailed graphical documentation. It also comprises specimens from Jáchymov, Příbram, Dolní Rožínky, Stráž nad Ralskem, etc. It is enriched with samples of the uranium paints that used to be made at the turn of the 19th and 20th century in Jáchymov.

Technology Collection

This new display focuses on the relations of mineral resources, technology and final products, i.e. the industrial applications of minerals. For example, you may find here a section dedicated to metallic elements, energy raw materials, chemical raw materials, abrasives, precious stones, building and ornamental stone.

Display of New Arrivals

It is to be found at the entrance hall of the Pavilion. Several display cases present the latest specimens acquired by the Geological Pavilion.