Istanbul Zoology Museum

Istanbul Zoology Museum, more precisely Zoology Museum of Istanbul University is a natural history museum, located in Istanbul University's Vezneciler Campus at Fatih, Istanbul featuring animal collections. It was founded in 1933 and rearranged in 1989. The museum is owned and maintained by the Department of Biology at Faculty of Science.HistoryThe museum was established by the Swiss scientist, Prof. Dr. André Naville, who was appointed head of the Biology Department at Istanbul University right after the reformation of the universities in 1933. Zoological objects donated from Germany were placed in a small hall situated in the Zoology Department of the university.After the sudden death of Naville in 1937, German hydrologist and zoologist Curt Kosswig took over the department. During his 15-year-long scientific research on the fauna of Anatolia, he collected examples of mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fish and various invertebrates, which he brought in the museum contributing to its enrichment.In 1957, the top floors of the building were demolished, in which the museum was also situated. The collections of the museum were moved to a site in the Kuyucu Murad Pasha Madrassah, where they were stored for many years. In 1973, with the completion of a new building, the museum items were relocated to the new site.