Royal Hungarian Geological Institute

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Institution building
Aerial view

The Royal Hungarian Geological Institute ( Hungarian: Magyar Királyi Földtani Intézet ) in Pest was the second geological institute in Austria-Hungary after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise .

The k. Hungarian geological institute was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph on June 18, 1869. Its first president was Maximilian Hantken , who was close friends with Franz von Hauer , the head of the Imperial Geological Institute in Vienna . But as early as 1870 the Hungarian ministry refused further aid from Vienna. The geological mapping of today's Slovakia was stopped at short notice. From 1871 the Hungarian institute continued the work alone and focused on the geological mapping of Transdanubia . A regular exchange of the geological map sheets was still carried out.

Together with the Hungarian Geological Society, the publication of the Földtani Közlöny (Geological Communications) began. There will also be lectures on geological work originating in Vienna but relating to Hungary, such as Wilhelm Ritter von Haidinger , Emil Tietze , Guido Stache and others. The geologist Gustav Tschermak was particularly interesting because he wrote numerous works on Hungary.

After Hantken was appointed first professor of palaeontology at the University of Budapest in 1882 , Johann Böckh was his successor. Böckh was also a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences . Böckh remained director until 1908. Under him, the relationship with the Imperial Geological Institute in Vienna relaxed again.

In 1896 a Millennium Congress for Mining, Metallurgy and Geology took place in Budapest on the occasion of the millennium celebrations of the Hungarian conquest. In addition to the Hungarian language, all lectures were also printed in German and French. This is remarkable in that the use of languages ​​other than Hungarian has repeatedly been avoided or at least discussed as unpatriotic .

In 1899 a new building was built for the institution by the Hungarian Art Nouveau architect Ödön Lechner .

The break with Vienna was noticeable over the years. So the IX. International geology congress boycotted almost without exception by all members of the geological institute. Only a few geologists took part.

From 1904 to 1910 Antal Koch was the President of the Geological Institute.

Today's successor to the institute is the Hungarian Geological Institute ( Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet , MÁFI).

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