Special exhibition: Humboldt lives!

The hut where Humboldt and his companions camped in 1802 stands at around 4,000 meters below the Antisana volcano. German President Steinmeier also visited the hut on a trip to Ecuador at the beginning of 2019.

"My real, some purpose is to investigate the weaving together and interweaving of all natural forces, the influence of dead nature on animate animal and plant creation," Alexander von Humboldt declared in 1799.

Welcome to the Museum of Nature Hamburg - Zoology: Humboldt also saw llamas and Andean condors on his travels.

Gathered in front of the Andes installation, which was expanded to include the Alps in the exhibition: Literature professor Oliver Lubrich, author Peter Korneffel, Petra Schwarz, director of the Loki Schmidt Haus, head curator of the Herbarium Hamburgense Matthias Schultz, scientific director of the Botanic Garden Carsten Schirarend and Matthias Glaubrecht (from left).

Humboldt is a talented and excellent draftsman: his sketch of the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) is one of the most famous drawings.

The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) originates from the South American Andes and was often encountered by Humboldt on his travels.

Travel quotes by Humboldt can be found on the Humboldt Trail in the Botanical Garden some.

Plant explorer Alexander von Humboldt: In the Loki Schmidt House, Humboldt's view of the usual and magnificent plant diversity of South America can be discovered.

"After experimenting on them for four hours, we felt muscle weakness, pain in the joints, general nausea until the other day," Alexander von Humboldt wrote about one of the strangest animals on his South American expedition: the electric eel.

For his large number of instruments and the constantly growing collection of plants, animals and minerals, Humboldt assembled long mule caravans. He sent parts of the collection overseas in parallel - mostly in crates to Paris, Madrid, Berlin and London. However, some of them fell victim to pirates and storms.

"The Ascent of Chimborazo": This DEFA film biography from 1989 strives for historical accuracy and interweaves the Chimborazo expedition with numerous flashbacks to Humboldt's life.

Spathodea laurifolia Kunth, a trumpet tree plant collected by Humboldt and his companion Bonpland in Venezuela.

Humboldt's famous "Nature Painting" shows the volcanic cone of Chimborazo in profile. It was created from sketches and first drafts of texts that he first put on paper in January and February 1803 in the port town of Guayaquil in today's Ecuador - long before the plants collected during the climb were systematically botanically processed. Already the draft of the schematized cross-section of Chimborazo is in essence a vertical map of the mountain. The names of the respective plants are entered in it - meticulously located with increasing altitude. And the respective vegetation zones depending on the vertically changing climate. Humboldt can thus also be understood as a pioneer of infographics.

The film "Measuring the World" from 2012 will be shown at the film series in the Abaton cinema. Director Detlev Buck will also be coming to Hamburg for the event.

For Humboldt, Andean condors are still constant companions. He observes the giant birds from the New World vulture family, draws them, studies their anatomy. Today, their survival is regionally endangered.The condor with the striking white ruff is one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of over three meters. It feeds primarily on the carrion of wild and farm animals in remote mountain regions.

"Grayish-green and immobile," is how Humboldt described South American caimans and alligators. In the first part of his expedition through present-day Venezuela and Cuba, crocodiles were among Humboldt's most threatening encounters.

Under the motto "Botany in Motion," Humboldt's view of lush and form-rich vegetation of South America will be on display at the Botanic Garden and Loki Schmidt Haus with the support of the Herbarium Hamburgense.

Alexander von Humboldt is a welcome guest at the Museum of Nature Hamburg - Zoology.

At the age of 19, Alexander von Humboldt published his first paper on the Javanese poisonous tree (Antiaris toxicaria), which can grow up to 60 meters high and is found in many places in the tropics.

Animals are Humboldt's constant companions, especially in the rainforests and the Andes. Among them are the Andean condor, the fat hawk, monkeys - or the jaguar.

An extreme mountaineer of the early 19th century: Among other things, Humboldt's expedition equipment, which was rather meager compared to today's standards, can be seen in the Museum of Nature - Zoology.

In cooperation with the Herbarium Hamburgense, the Loki Schmidt Haus is showing plants that Humboldt and his companion Bonpland collected in Venezuela over 200 years ago. The Herbarium Hamburgense (HBG) is one of the largest herbaria in Germany and contains more than 1.8 million specimens.

Humboldt wanted to convey his scientific observations artistically - as a writer and draftsman. Here the "Passage du Quindiu, dans la Cordillere des Andes" (Views of the Cordilleras and Monuments of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, translated by Claudia Kalscheuer).