419 © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 L. A. Beck, U. Joger (eds.), Paleontological Collections of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Natural History Collections, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77401-5_42 Chapter 42 MARBURG: GeoArchive Marburg (Geological and Palaeontological Collections of the Former Faculty of Geosciences, Philipps University of Marburg) Michael R. W. Amler, Günter Kauffmann, and Dieter Uhl 42.1 Introduction The GeoArchive Marburg is the re-named collections of the former Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Philipps University of Marburg, originally one of the larger geological and palaeontological university collections in Germany. It houses fossils and rock samples from all over the world, particularly from the Palaeozoic era and the Rhenish Slate Mountains (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge). The most important parts of the collections are the reference samples and type specimens of scientifc papers dating back until 1790. Furthermore, the collections contain rocks and fossils from localities no longer accessible. 42.2 History An account of the history of the Marburg collections is important for an understand- ing of its sections and relevance. The origin of the GeoArchive Marburg dates back to the foundation of the Hessisches Mineralien-Kabinett (Hessian Mineral Cabinet) in 1790 by Johann Gottlieb Waldin (1728–1795). He was a polymath in natural M. R. W. Amler (*) Abt. Paläontologie und Historische Geologie, Universität zu Köln, Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Köln, Germany e-mail: michael.amler@uni-koeln.de G. Kauffmann Marburg, Germany D. Uhl Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany e-mail: dieter.uhl@senckenberg.de