Photo: Deutsches Museum
Tracing Fraunhofer
The idolization that emerged after Fraunhofer’s death is also one of the stories documented in the Deutsches Museum’s collection. Photo: Deutsches Museum | Klaus Mosch
Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–1826) is one of the great names in the history of optics. Today, he is revered either as the founder of astrophysics or as an innovative manufacturer of optical instruments. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for the advancement of applied research bears his name. Dark lines in the color spectrum of sunlight are named after him. They show us what this star is made of.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his death, we are taking a closer look at Fraunhofer: What do his material traces in our object collections reveal about the researcher behind the myth?
In our Treasure Chamber of Optical Instruments, you will find objects that tell a story about Fraunhofer. Or speak directly with Joseph — the interactive avatar of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, visiting the ‘Classical Optics’ exhibition this week.