Excerpt:
The article presents the history of the Warsaw Zoological Collection, as well as institutions connected with it. The beginning of this collection stretches down to 1819 - the year in which a collection of ca 20.000 specimens of animals, mainly birds, was bought for the Zoological Cabinet of the Royal University of Warsaw. The Cabinet, together with the library, was organized and for 43 years managed by Feliks Pawel Jarocki. The finest period in the history of the Cabinet was in the 3rd quarter of XIX century under Wladyslaw Taczanowski's guidance, when many Polish Zoologists from the country and from abroad enriched it with their own collections. In 1887 a private Zoological Museum was created by the Branicki family with a rich collection of various vertebrates, mainly birds.
Annotation:
The article presents the history of the Warsaw Zoological Collection, as well as institutions connected with it. The Zoological Collection originated in 1819 when a collection of 20,000 specimens of animals (mainly birds) was bought for the Zoological Cabinet of the Royal University of Warsaw. Though effected by Poland's often tragic history, the collection has continued to grow. The library now comprises over 230,000 volumes and 5,378 archival items. The five articles weave the history of the museum and institute into the history of Poland, explaining the many efforts to save collections against wars and natural disasters.