In February 2025, the European Championship of the preparers took place in Salzburg for the 14th time. In the course of the “high hunting and fishing” fair, 146 participants from 26 nations have demonstrated their skills. The four participants from the preparation team of the Vienna Natural History Museum mainly submitted herpetological works and won a total of five prizes.
The desire to get an original permanent is very old. Think of the mummification of people and animals in ancient Egypt. From the 19th century, the demand for handsome hunting trophies was increasing, new techniques of conservation and preparation are invented. Today, the early pieces that have arisen are historical treasures, which are no longer sufficient for the claim of modern presentation.
Scientific animal preparation has a long tradition in Vienna: the “Wiener School” was considered pioneering until the collapse of the monarchy. As an example, reference is made to the anatoma and preparator Josef Hyrtl (1810–1894), whose preparations can still be found in all major collections worldwide today. Today Austria is the only country of the EU in the form of dual training (apprenticeship/vocational school) specialists at the preparator’s profession. A colleague, Gal Shalev, is currently learning the teaching profession in the team of the NHM Vienna.
The main zoological preparation of the NHM Vienna has gone through a lively development in recent years. In technical terms and with regard to the qualification of the employee staff, the NHM Vienna is more than competitive internationally, as can be seen in the awards.
There is no longer any talk of “stuffed” in the 21st century. New materials and techniques have found its way into the workshops: PU foam and epoxy resin, low temperature and vacuum, air-brush and precision instruments of all kinds are contemporary aids to achieve the same goal:
To get as much of the original as possible. Or to create as true to the original by model construction. In addition, the preparators are responsible for conservative care, restoration and preservation of different types of collections. With their work, they make an important contribution to documenting nature and its long -term changes for scientific concerns and preserving original objects for future diverse uses. The preparators of the main zoological preparation are masters of their subject and the backbone of the scientific collections.
The four participants from the preparation team of the NHM Vienna mainly submitted herpetological (amphibians and reptiles). For the generally renovated new permanent exhibition in the halls 27 and 28 in the NHM Vienna, which are devoted to these animals, and which will be accessible to the public again from April 30 after one and a half years of closing time, the preparators made a collar lunch, a jewelry frog and two moss frogs. Not everyone once lived because the frogs are models and overshadowed all other models in their category.
At the European Championship, the following preparators of the NHM Vienna competed and have achieved the specified awards:
Mag. Iris Rubin:
– 2 moss fillent (Theloderma corticale) Modell/Professional
Profit: 1st place (blue loop) / Best of Category – Modelbau – Professional (blue loop)
– Schmuckhornfrosch (Aurita Ceratophrys) Modell/Professional
Profit: 2nd place (red loop)
Melina Haring:
– Kragenechse (Chlamydosaurus Kingii) Preparation/professional
Profit: 2nd place (red loop)
Robert Ilak:
– Humboldtpinguin (Spheniscus humboldti) Skelett/Professional
Lilli Gerlach:
– Forehead lobe basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) Preparation/novice
Profit: 3rd rank (yellow loop) / Bouten Award 3rd place for Novices
Pressematerial:
https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/presse/pressemitteilungen2025/europameisterschaftpraeparation2025
Retailing:
Mag. Irina Kubadinow, Head of Press Department, press spokeswoman
https://www.nhm.at/irina_kubadinow
Tel.: + 43 (1) 521 77 – 410 | irina.kubadinow@nhm.at
Mag. Nikolett Kertész-Schenk, Bakk. Ba mas, preserveferentine
https://www.nhm.at/nikolett_kertesz
Tel.: + 43 (1) 521 77 – 626 | nikolett.kertesz@nhm.at
Mag. Daniela Emminger-Stebegg, Pressereferentin
https://www.nhm.at/daniela_emmingerstebegg
Telephone: +43 1 521 77 – 680 | daniela.emminger-stebegg@nhm.at