Twannberg Meteorite Donation — Private and Official Contributions
Spring 2019 Business Trip to Vienna
During a business trip to Vienna in spring 2019, I took the opportunity to visit the world-famous Natural History Museum Vienna, home to one of the world’s largest meteorite collections. There, I had the honor of meeting curator Ludovic Ferrière in person for the first time.
Thanks to this fortuitous connection, I was able to donate the first Twannberg meteorite to the institution’s collection: a small, 18 g Twannberg iron meteorite—now officially catalogued and preserved. Un grand merci!
Twannberg Meteorite – Donation – Twannberg no. 189
Official Twannberg Meteorite Donation from Switzerland
Later, on October 1, 2020, the Swiss Confederation donated another piece of the rare Twannberg meteorite to the museum. The handover was facilitated by myself in collaboration with the Swiss Ambassador in Vienna, and formally presented by Peter Stöckli, then President of the Swiss Council of States (Ständerat). nhm.at
The Twannberg meteorite is noteworthy: a rare IIG-group iron meteorite, one of only six in that chemical class among over 1,255 known iron meteorites.
Next to the meteorite the museum received some other related material like metal trash, soil from the finding location and of course a bottle of Meteorite Wine.
Un grand merci!
The Meteorite Collection at the Natural History Museum Vienna
The Natural History Museum Vienna houses one of the largest and oldest meteorite collections in the world, now ranked third globally with more than 10,300 catalogued objects representing approximately 2,550 different meteorites. nhm.ataustria-in-space.atIUGS
Hall 5 — The Meteorite Hall is the centerpiece:
- The largest meteorite exhibit worldwide, displaying about 1,100 meteorites (including ~650 different specimens, with 300 documented falls and 350 finds). nhm.at+1IUGS
- The hall blends historical legacy with multimedia interaction: visitors engage with hands-on stations like the Impact Simulator, planetary animations, and interactive meteorite classification displays. nhm.at
It is also the oldest meteorite collection, tracing back to the Hraschina meteorite of 1751, the founding object of the Vienna collection. nhm.atlye
