Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 94. (Budapest 2002)

Matskási, I.: Bicentenary of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

logical, zoological, botanical and anthropological literature. Rendering assistance to research work is the primary function of the library. Thanks to our predecessors' thorough and highly professional work, a stock of about 330,000 inventory units, the biggest collection of its kind in Hungary, has come about. The Department of the History of Natural Sciences, established in 1945, and initially operating as a self-standing entity, is also part of the library. The documents of scientific correspondence and museum officials' professional practice that have been accrued since the establishment of the museum and its legal predecessors (1810) make up its material. Purchasing scientists' bequests and donations has also enriched the collection. By our days the collection has become rather heterogeneous: it includes personal letters, manuscripts, expert opinions, letters, catalogues, etc. Furthermore, the photo archives of the museum and a great number of our renowned scientists' material remains are also kept here. Hungarica manuscripts add a special value to the collection. As a result of continuous enrichment the holdings today - according to estimates - contain more than half a million documents. THE FUTURE: LUDOVICEUM AND ORCZY GARDEN 'The end of the millennium will see the new museum' - these were the optimistic words Endre Dudich, the zoology professor, put down to paper in 1939. The millennium he meant is over now. Though not completed as of yet, the construction work that has been going on for years now will eventually result in providing the Hungarian Natural History Museum with the opportunity of moving into. The turning point came in 1994 when the Hungarian government designated the ensemble of ex Military Academy (Ludoviceum) buildings and Orczy Garden, the garden surrounding it, as the future home for the Hungarian Natural History Museum. What kind of building is it - now it is certain - that will serve as a home for one of the biggest museums of the country in the 21st century, and maybe afterwards? The Ludoviceum, which was an officer training institution from the 19th century till the 1950s, is one of Hungary's 200 most significant architectural monuments. In the reform period, Palatine JÓZSEF commissioned MIHÁLY POLLACK, the country's leading architect, with designing this building; after the National Museum of Hungary this is his second most remarkable public building. The elegant, imposing classicist building was complemented with a two-storey covered Manège.