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Please go around! |
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In the times of Ostwald, all the rooms of the
ground floor were interconnected. That way, he could gain new ideas by
walking without being interrupted. In order to work at all times of the day,
under different mood and light conditions, there was a desk in every room;
except for the music room, on which the housewife insisted. However, this
arrangement has been changed. The need for living space lead to the
disconnection of rooms. Today, only half of the ground floor is preserved in
its original state. |
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Ostwald receives his guests in the hallway in
person. A photography is showing him in his original size, doing manual work.
On the opposite wall is a plate showing the development of the
Ostwald-Brauer-nitric-acid-process, which serves as a reminder of the
practical worth of Ostwald’s scientific work. |
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In the corridor are pictures by Ostwald. The
museum has about 1000 pictures of landscapes and about 3000 colored sketches.
Ostwald painted for relaxation. The self-developed paint-box was an essential
companion on every vacation. Usually after four or five days, signs of
recovery could be sent home. |
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A door leads from the corridor to the former
washing room of Mrs. Ostwald, which was later occupied by the scientist for
his works on color. Today, there is the management of the museum. |
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The corridor leads to the laboratory with
cupboards as high as the ceiling and a huge table suited for experiments. In
Ostwald’s times, the cupboards were shelves, used to store the chemicals.
After his death, doors were put on them. Now they contain equipment, pictures
and his own works. |
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He wrote 45 books, often consisting of two or
more volumes. Many of them were revised and reprinted numerously. His largest
book is the second edition of the “Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Chemie” (Textbook
of General Chemistry) with over 3000 pages. It is known of one book, the
“Schule der Chemie” (School of Chemistry), that is still printed in Japan up
to the present. In addition of the books, there are more than one thousand
articles, a few thousand reviews in his journals of physical chemistry,
philosophy of nature, the journal “Die
Farbe” (The Color), newspaper articles a.s.o. The whole extent of his written
work is still nt known. He earned his living with scientific writing.
Sometimes, a huge income made it possible to buy another piece of farmland.
However, the Nobel price money was used only for scientific purposes. |
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Ostwald’s correspondence is very extensive,
too. Over the years Ostwald had contact with over 5000 pen-friends. His
estate contains about 60000 letters. The correspondence with his friends
Arrhenius, van’t Hoff, Ramsey and his publishers are the most extensive ones.
Ostwald’s whole correspondence is stored in the archive of the
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in Berlin. |
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A photograph proves, that Ostwald has worked
at the laboratory table himself. In his time, however, it was not that tidy.
A regular source of attention is the sight of the primitive and mostly
self-made tools, Ostwald used for his work. |
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Some show-cases contain documents as well as
letters and photos. A relief of the scientist is right of the terrace’s door.
It was ordered from the sculptor Carl Seffner by Ostwald’s students at the
occasion of the new institute building in Leipzig. Left of the door is a
panel which gives information about the most important dates of Ostwald’s
life. Furthermore there is a quotation from Ostwald’s experimental book: |
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“Gute
Theorie muss alsbald zur Praxis führen. Man kann ihren Wert geradezu daran
ermessen.“ (Good theory must soon become
practical. That is how its value can be seen well.) |
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The next room is situated at the house’s
southern side. As a “small library”, it contains tomes of the magazine of
physical chemistry, the “Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften” (Classics of
Exact Sciences”), the series “Große Männer” (Great Men) and Ostwald’s works
on natural philosophy, periodicals, reports of scientific organizations and
much more. A show-case contains the copies of the certificate and medallion
of his Nobel price. Some experimental plants remind of the catalytic
oxidation of ammonia to nitric acid and Ostwald’s researches on activation
and deactivation of metals, which are very important for today’s research on
corrosion. |
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In the connected “great library”, the mayor
part of the scientific library containing 14000 titles in 22000 tomes can be
found. More than 40% date from the time before 1900. They are still in arrangement
Ostwald has chosen. The computer facilitates finding the book you search. |
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In show-cases the different working fields of
Ostwald between 1906 and 1914 are reflected. The word language problem, the
world peace movement, the foundation and work in numerous organizations, the
work in the Monistenbund (a philosophical association) and much more. |
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In the following room are two show cases: One
is dealing with the institute “Die Brücke- internationales Institut zur
Organisation der geistigen Arbeit” (The bridge – international institute for
the organization of mental work) which has been founded by Ostwald in Munich
and been thought up as a world-wide point of information and standardization.
In the second show-case, Ostwald’s contacts to contemporary scientists and
politicians are shown. |
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In the last room, color dominates, wherever
there’s a place between the shelves. Color organs (“Farborgeln”) with
standardized colors, the biggest containing 2520 shades, color show-cases,
colored wool and silk, tools for the comparison of colors of waste oil and
cacao, fans, which are made of skin, color cards for floral shades are only
few of those applications of Ostwald’s chromatology, which have been
developed in Großbothen in those days. |
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In addition, some examples of the host’s
self-made tools can bee admired – on the lid of a box a cylindrical paper
construction to compare colors and next to it the facsimile from the workshop
of the former mechanic of the institute of Leipzig Köhler, made of metal and
glass. |
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A guided tour takes 90 minutes. If you can
encourage the museum’s head to open the cupboards, it can easily be three
hours or more. Due to the limited space capacities, only 15 persons can go
per group. That is why a reservation in advance is recommended. Regular
visits are possible every Saturday between 14 and 16 o’clock. |
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Wilhelm-
Ostwald- Archiv und Gedenkstätte Grimmaer Strasse 25 D-04668 Grossbothen |
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tel.: +49
(0) 34384 / 71429 fax.: +49
(0) 34384 / 72691 |
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email: o
s t w a l d e n e r g i e @ a o l . c o m |
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