Zoological Collection

Our new Wall of Biodiversity

Our public exhibition on the 2nd floor has a new highlight: the ‘Wall of Biodiversity’ presents the biodiversity of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Discover the biodiversity on our doorstep!

Forests and moors, open land, rivers, lakes and of course the Baltic Sea with its bays and harbours - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's landscape is diverse and so is its wildlife. The Wall of Biodiversity can only present a small part of the biodiversity of our homeland; you can see around 100 of the 48,000 animal species found in Germany! Some species, such as the wolf, have now returned after a long absence due to human activity. Others, such as the raccoon and raccoon dog, migrated from distant continents with deliberate or unintentional human help and have now become native to us. However, the populations of many of the species living here have been declining continuously for years - a consequence of ongoing habitat destruction.

Biodiversity is not just the variety of animals and plants, but also represents a complex network whose individual links are interconnected and interdependent through a wide range of relationships. If too many links in this network are missing or weakened, the entire system ultimately collapses. In this way, we would not only like to familiarise you with the biodiversity of our countryside, but also hope to awaken your understanding for the absolutely necessary protection of biodiversity.

Karl-Heinz Grießbach

was fascinated by the wildlife around his home town of Franzburg, collected animals over the decades, had them taxidermied and passed on his knowledge of the animal world to children in particular in his small local museum and in travelling exhibitions. His collection of over 250 bird and mammal species, some of which have become rare, is now part of the Zoological Collection of the University of Rostock and is exhibited in the Wall of Biodiversity together with specimens from the private collection of Heinz-German Fischer and his son Kay German Fischer.

We would like to thank the Rostock housing association WIRO for its generous financial support in the construction of the Wall of Biodiversity and the acquisition of Karl-Heinz Grießbach's collection.

Josef Brenner and the company mobiliART are to thank for the successful technical realisation.