The following is an overview of the online resources available for researching individual objects in the collections of the universities within the Berlin University Alliance. The linked portals and databases provide access to digitized materials.
The site is constantly being expanded. We are working on completing the overview of the more than 100 collections within the Berlin University Alliance.
The Architecture Museum has digitized the majority of its collection using its own high-performance scanner. These digital copies are publicly accessible via the museum’s database.
Scans of around 1,400 objects from this historical image collection can be viewed in HU Berlin’s Media Repository. Nearly three-quarters of the archive is available online. The archive is divided into three subcollections: historical photographs of the Levant, catacomb inscriptions, and the Dalman Collection. Most images can be downloaded in high resolution. However, metadata is generally only available in the form of image titles.
Photographs of well over 500 rocks and minerals from this collection can be viewed in HU Berlin’s Media Repository. The folder structure provides further differentiation, between, e.g., igneous and sedimentary rocks. Some species have been prepared for data entry but have not yet been entered. Currently, access to metadata is limited. In many cases, however, the place of discovery is indicated.
The interviews conducted from 2005 to 2006 are available on the archive’s website. They are supplemented by selected biographies, full-text transcripts, and a visualization map with filter options. For privacy reasons, you must register and agree to the terms of use in order to listen to the interviews in full.
The website of the Department of Mathematics at HU Berlin contains photographs of approximately thirty models, which make up about one-fifth of the collection. The photographs offer insights into the nature of the collection, but do not provide any additional information.
Noch deutlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
Scans of almost 57,000 objects from the image collection can be viewed in HU Berlin’s Media Repository. This means that approximately one in six images in the archive is available online. There is a distinction between photographic prints and small- and large-format slides. Metadata has been stored for many of the objects, e.g., the dates and authors of illustrated paintings or the geodata of photographed buildings.
We offer a tool for exploring this data.
Images of 145 objects from the collection are stored in HU Berlin’s Wiki. The corresponding page is organized as an alphabetical inventory list. Where available, each object is linked to information on the year of manufacture, the country of origin, the manufacturer, and the model. In some cases, the page provides extensive background information on the devices.
The website of the Institute of Biology at the FU Berlin allows users to search the media resources used for teaching purposes. Around 7,500 items have been organized into clearly structured categories covering subjects such as human biology, ecology, animal and plant physiology, and pharmacy.
The collection includes approximately 4,000 slides, 825 books, 590 (micro-)preparations, 165 videos, 155 models, 140 games, and sixty-five wall maps, each of which is labeled with a signature and title. In some cases, additional information is provided, such as the manufacturer or year of production.
The objects in this collection were identified and (re-)recorded as part of a seminar project in 2009–2010. This preliminary work for a catalogue was recorded and published as a PDF. It contains extensive (background) information on approximately 85 antique objects presented in continuous text and tables. The information is supplemented with photographs and drawings of the objects.
There are around 450 images of objects from the Zoological Teaching Collection of HU Berlin’s Department of Biology on its website. The images are primarily of wall charts, as well as animal specimens, microscope slides, and models. While the low-resolution images provide an overview, they do not offer any additional information.
Noch deutlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
The portal of the collections of HU Berlin is operated by the Zentrum für Kulturtechnik (ZfK). It provides extensive information on the history of the collections. Users can search more than 15,000 objects and access additional information as well as images in many cases. The information in the object database is based on systematic research carried out between 2001 and 2008, and is currently being updated irregularly. New object entries are only added occasionally.
Some of the objects available on the portal overlap with those in Sammlungen digital of HU Berlin and digi-hub.
Photographs and metadata relating to around 200 objects from Charité’s Museum of Medical History are available on HU Berlin’s collection portal. Most of these objects are historical instruments and devices or wet specimens, moulages, or illustrations.
Photographs of more than 20 objects from the Christian Archaeology Collection (Christlich-archäologische Sammlung) are available on HU Berlin’s collection portal. The images include altars, written materials, and painted and three-dimensional representations of figures.
Images of nearly 700 leaflets and pamphlets can be accessed on HU Berlin’s collection portal. Metadata is available for all objects. Additionally, extensive background information is available for most items.
Einen aktuelleren Auftritt und weitere Digitalisate finden Sie hier.
HU Berlin’s collection portal includes images of around 110 objects from the Historical Instrument Collection. These items include tools and devices, as well as panels for testing color blindness. The collection now belongs to Charité.
More than 25 pieces from the Charité art collection can be viewed on the HU Berlin collection portal. With the exception of one statue and one painting, all the pieces are busts of notable physicians and scholars.
Nearly half the works in the art collection can be viewed as photographs on HU Berlin’s collection portal. The 900 images include paintings of people and buildings as well as busts and animal sculptures. Some of the objects are represented multiple times.
HU Berlin’s collection portal allows you to search detailed metadata on over 6,400 objects in the Sound Archive. It lists information such as the date, label, condition, format, participants, and length of the recording. The audio tracks themselves are not public. To access the audio files, a request must be made to the relevant office.
Photographs of over 1,200 university teacher portraits from the collection can be viewed on HU Berlin’s collection portal. The associated metadata include dates, manufacturers, techniques used, and captions, as well as information about the people depicted. The photographs can be accessed in full via the university library catalog.
More than 380 objects from the collection are available to view on HU Berlin’s portal. Notable items include documents from the German-language catalogue of the Anatomical Museum from 1796, illustrations from an anatomical atlas, slides, and models. Today, the collection belongs to Charité.
Over 300 photographs of objects from the archaeological teaching collection are available on the portal. The collection includes fragments, fully preserved originals from antiquity, reproductions, and historical photographs. Most of the objects are accompanied by detailed metadata and comprehensive information.
Images of some of the objects in this collection are available on HU Berlin’s collection portal. The approx. 40 photographs depict sandstone blocks, metal and ceramic excavation finds, and architectural elements. Each object is accompanied by comprehensive metadata and background information.
Einen aktuelleren Auftritt und weitere Digitalisate finden Sie hier.
The portal provides an overview of this collection with photographs of 14 objects. The display mainly comprises lithographs and pen-and-ink drawings, as well as three-dimensional objects like a cabinet and a collection folder.
Fifteen objects from the collection can be viewed on the HU Berlin portal. The images are of models, moulages, and educational panels. The collection now belongs to Charité.
With photographs and illustrations of well over 1,300 objects from the collection, HU Berlin’s portal provides comprehensive public insights into the Zoological Teaching Collection.
Sammlungen digital is HU Berlin’s collection portal. It allows users to search for objects, archival records, images, and prints. Most of the teaching and research collections displayed on the portal were digitized from 2019 to 2022 in a project conducted by HU Berlin together with the Humboldt Forum Foundation at Berlin Palace. The records are continuously expanding. This offering partially overlaps with that of the digi-hub.
Part of the Hahne-Niehoff Archive is digitally searchable on the Digital Collections portal. It contains almost 80 image series and 12 archival documents. Basic metadata is available. For ethical and/or legal reasons, only the archive documents are freely available. Requests must be made to the relevant body for unrestricted access.
Around 500 items from the archive are available for research in Sammlungen digital. This includes about 450 images, 60 books and prints, and 20 archival documents. All these items are part of the Hans Würtz Collection. Würtz was a reform educator during the Weimar Republic who collected artistic depictions of physical disabilities. For ethical reasons, only some of the documents are publicly available. Requests must be made to the relevant body for unrestricted access.
Almost 290 digital copies from this collection can be accessed on HU Berlin’s Sammlungen-digital portal. The collection includes maps and map volumes in particular. Most of the items do not yet have detailed metadata.
Over 300 books from the library are available to view in full on HU Berlin’s Sammlungen-digital portal. Most of these books were used by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm as part of their fairy tale reference library. The collection includes 137 volumes, 123 monographs, and 53 multi-volume works.
Around 8,000 of Janheinz Jahn’s letters in over 500 documents can be researched via Sammlungen-digital. This means that all of Jahn’s correspondence in the archive is available digitally. There are also 125 photographs available. The digitized documents are not yet publicly accessible. Access is granted upon request to the relevant office at HU Berlin.
Almost all the models in the teaching collection are presented digitally on the portal. There are photographs of 342 cardboard polyhedron models, 70 wooden polyhedron models, 75 didactic models, and 48 structural models on display. Additionally, 66 models are available as 3D objects. All objects have extensive information and metadata assigned to them.
Much of the collection can be explored through the HU Berlin portal. This includes the punch card index, which contains approximately 10,000 cards bundled in 151 files, as well as 41 photo documentation books and three field diaries. Further holdings, objects, and images will follow. Basic metadata is available. For legal reasons, the objects are not publicly available. Access is granted upon request to the relevant department.
The information system Universitätssammlungen in Deutschland provides a comprehensive overview of university collection holdings and histories. Using the filter function, you can select the university location you are looking for. When entered correctly, the system provides a comprehensive overview of university collections in Berlin. The database was created as part of two projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and carried out at HU Berlin between 2004 and 2012. The data was then reused, updated, and supplemented by the Koordinierungsstelle für wissenschaftliche Universitätssammlungen in Deutschland. The site is now infrequently maintained.
The information system University Collections in Germany contains around 150 moulages from the Berlin Museum of Medical History. At least one image of each object is available. Detailed metadata is also stored, including information on the objects’ dimensions and materials, as well as their ICD-10 classifications and the medical discipline of the diseases they depict.
Noch mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
The information system contains around 270 objects from the Botanical Museum. These include models of plants, including seeds, pods, flowers, and fruits, as well as dioramas. At least one image of each object is available. Detailed metadata is also available, particularly in the form of object descriptions.
The University Collections in Germany information system displays 13 objects from the collection. These include several models, relief maps, and two globes. Together, they provide an exemplary overview of the materials available. Each object and its significance are described in detail.
Noch wesentlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
The information system provides access to approximately 250 objects from the teaching collection. On display are models of crystal forms and structures. Each object is illustrated from multiple angles and accompanied by metadata.
Noch mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
Eleven objects from the collection are displayed in the information system. These include models and series of human organs and bones, as well as a corrosion specimen. They exemplify the material available.
Noch wesentlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
Almost 70 models from the teaching collection can be searched for in the University Collections in Germany information system. Images of approximately 30 objects are accessible. Only a limited amount of metadata is available.
Noch wesentlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
The German Digital Library (DDB) is a platform that makes objects from German museums, libraries, archives, and other media collections publicly accessible. Its database contains over 50 million entries, more than 20 million of which are available as digital copies. These objects include books, handwritten materials, films, photographs, sculptures, music, audio documents, and paintings.
With over 160,000 images of objects, much of the Museum of Architecture collection can be viewed in the DDB. Each of the photographs, technical newspapers, city maps, model photos, etc., has been assigned comprehensive metadata.
Since 2024, more than 13,000 items from the archive have been made searchable in the DDB. The title, archive item number, and, in some cases, the author can be retrieved. Searching this data is only possible via an “advanced search” of the entire DDB inventory combined with the specification “Historical Archive on Tourism” in the “Data partner” field.
Metadata is available in the DDB for nearly 500 interviews. This means that most of the collection can be searched using an external source with a high-performing technical infrastructure. However, the interviews themselves can only be viewed after logging in to the project website.
More than 45,000 scans of slides and photographs from the Department of Art and Visual History media library are available on the DDB website. The image files have been assigned the known metadata. Where possible, this metadata provides information about the authorship of the photograph, as well as its date and location.
Noch mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
Darüber hinaus bieten wir ein Tool zur Erkundung der Bildsammlung an.
The German Digital Library contains over 600 photographs of historical theater objects. These images include costume designs and their realizations, stage sets and buildings, as well as scenes from performances and posters promoting plays.
Darüberhinaus finden Sie hier Metadaten zu zahlreichen Objekten der Sammlung.
digi-hub is the HU Berlin Library’s (HU-UB) repository. It allows users to search metadata and view digitized materials from the Historical Collections, including manuscripts, pamphlets, and books. Its offering partially overlaps with that of HU Berlin’s Sammlungen Digital.
Scans of almost 1,100 leaflets and pamphlets in the collection are available in the HU-UB repository. They are accompanied by a zoom function and are offered in high resolution. Multi-page documents are summarized in one file. Where necessary, a table of contents is provided. The metadata includes titles, people involved, and signatures.
The HU-UB repository provides public access to 485 fully digitized handwritten lecture notebooks (Kolleghefte). The files can be downloaded or accessed directly and are supplemented with metadata, which includes the year and place of publication and the people involved.
Fifty books from the archive are searchable in the HU-UB repository. Scans of half these works are directly accessible. For the other half, only the metadata is publicly available due to ethical reasons. A request must be made to the relevant department at the university library for unrestricted access.
Noch deutlich mehr Objekte der Sammlung finden Sie hier.
Approx. 8,000 of Janheinz Jahn’s letters, divided into over 500 documents, are available to be searched in the HU-UB repository. This means that Jahn’s entire archived correspondence has been fully digitized. However, the digital copies are not yet publicly available. Access is granted upon request to the relevant department.
Der primäre Zugriff auf die Daten erfolgt über das Portal Sammlungen digital der HU.
Scans of all documents in the collection are available in the HU-UB repository. These scans are offered in high resolution and are accompanied by a zoom function. Users can view the front and back of each document, along with a version that includes a color scale. The metadata contain the year, place, people involved, and shelf number.
Europeana is a virtual library funded by the EU that aims to make Europe's scientific and cultural heritage accessible to the general public. It contains over 50 million images, texts, audio files, 3D models, and videos from more than 2,000 institutions. These are collected by a network of aggregators. This network verifies data, adds information, and creates links.
The majority of the museum’s collection of over 160,000 objects can be viewed in the European virtual library Europeana.
The Botanical Garden and the Botanical Museum have added nearly 1,200 image files to the European virtual media library. Most of these are scans of historical botanical drawings by Georg Schweinfurth (1836–1925). The collection also includes models from the animal exhibition and photographs of animals in the Botanic Garden.
Europeana contains over 600 photographs of objects from the Theater History Collections. The images include costume designs and their realizations, stage sets, and buildings, as well as scenes from performances and posters promoting plays.
Darüberhinaus finden Sie hier Metadaten zu zahlreichen Objekten der Sammlung.
The TU Berlin University Library provides access to digitized books, journals, and more in a repository. The objects are assigned to six different sub-collections: the German Horticultural Library, the TU Berlin University Archive, student flyers from the 1960s and 1970s, course catalogues from the years 1874 to 1950, a book collection on the production of sugar, and the holdings of the Central Library. In total, the portal contains almost 2,200 titles (as of 11/2024).
The TU Berlin is making approximately 60 documents from the Center for Research on Antisemitism’s library available online. These antisemitic documents date from 1848 to 1946. The Arthur Langerman Archive is also located at the center. Information about the titles, years, and authors of the documents are public. A request must be made to the relevant office to gain access to the content.
Digital copies of two sub-collections in the TU Berlin University Archive are available for viewing in the university library’s repository. The first sub-collection contains around 350 student flyers from 1965 to 1972, and the second contains around 80 TU Berlin course catalogues from 1874 to 1950.
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), aggregates data on the occurrence of biological species. Information about the distribution of recent and fossil species published on GBIF by over 2,000 institutions worldwide is based not only on current observations but also on historical collection objects. In addition to comprehensively contextualized data, datasets with collections that have not yet been fully digitized can also be published in order to make them available to researchers.
The Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin are represented on GBIF with over 50 datasets, including that of the Herbarium Berolinense, with more than 379,500 entries on the worldwide distribution of the plants contained in this collection. Of those entries, half are annotated with coordinates and two-thirds with photographs of the herbarium pages.
With over 7,000 entries, one part of the teaching and research collection of the Department of Paleontology at the FU Berlin can be accessed on GBIF. The catalogue numbers of fossils found in Europe and the USA (including plants, mollusks, and arthropods) are listed. Photos are not available. The entries are part of an outdated database. An up-to-date inventory is currently being prepared.
Arachne is a comprehensive database of archaeological objects and objects from classical antiquity. Operated by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the University of Cologne, the portal contains information on over 300,000 objects, including texts, images, and 3D data. These objects are contextualized through various links to, e.g., location and literature information.
The Arachne archaeological database makes it possible to search around 2,500 objects from the Cast Collection of Ancient Sculptures, almost 2,300 of which include images. The objects are primarily plaster reproductions of free-standing sculptures, portraits, and reliefs. The entries have been thoroughly enriched with metadata and bibliographical references.
museum-digital is a project dedicated to the digital publication of museum data. Over 900 museums and 6,000 collections are involved, primarily from Germany. These museums have already digitized around 700,000 objects of various kinds and made them available online (as of 07/2024).
The Berlin Museum of Medical History (Charité) has made a small number of its photographs available on the museum-digital platform.
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The BGBM’s history of science collection contains a portrait collection that is accessible via museum-digital. The portraits depict researchers associated with the Botanic Garden. Most of the images are from the twentieth century, though some date back to the seventeenth century. The collection includes engravings and prints, but mainly comprises photographs.
The Digital Archive of Mathematical Models (DAMM) is an open research infrastructure offered by the TU Dresden. The portal contains photographs of over 500 mathematical models contributed by nine universities—almost all of them in Germany and Switzerland. These models foster an intuitive understanding of complex geometries through three-dimensional representations.
Almost 190 images of HU Berlin’s models can be accessed via the Digital Archive of Mathematical Models. The images provide comprehensive visual insights into the nature of the collection, but do not yet offer any additional information.
The Deutsche Fotothek aims to preserve, study, and share photographic heritage. By its own account, the institution operates one of the most important image archives in Europe. It is a division of the Saxon State and University Library Dresden (SLUB).
Many of the TU Berlin Architecture Museum’s objects can be viewed as digital copies in the Deutsche Fotothek. According to SLUB Dresden, which operates the portal, the museum is the second most significant provider of images to the photo library. The museum’s files, linked to metadata, show views of, e.g., buildings, floor plans, and maps of city districts.
The Performing Arts Specialised Information Service (FID Darstellende Kunst) was established at the Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library (UB JCS) in Frankfurt am Main in 2015. The service digitally brings together archival, collection, museum, and library holdings on the performing arts. Its focus is making previously proprietary archival, research, and collection data accessible to researchers. Nuanced searches can be performed across various data collections. Through links based on the Common Authority File (GND), users can search for people, events, and objects. service digitally brings together archival, collection, museum, and library holdings on the performing arts. Its focus is making previously proprietary archival, research, and collection data accessible to researchers. Nuanced searches can be performed across various data collections. Through links based on the Common Authority File (GND), users can search for people, events, and objects.
Information about tens of thousands of objects from the collections, in particular, printed material, can be found through the FID. In many cases, correspondence, photographs, and graphics are also available. Images of the objects are rarely stored. The service’s value lies in its ability to facilitate comprehensive research by way of metadata. This includes information such as the objects’ dates, locations, participants, and dimensions.