Fin Whale Skeleton

Enter the main entrance through the Entrance Hall and behold the skeleton of a fin whale hanging from the ceiling dome. This specimen of fin whale was caught in 1896 in the Atlantic, during the golden age of industrial whaling. It was then bought in 1900 from Vienna for 4.000 krones. The burn marks on the skull are a sign of the tragic fire of 1956. Half of the mandible made an impression on guests great and small alike for years in the Naturalist's Room. The skeleton weighs 2 tonnes and the skull alone is roughly half of the weight. The Entrance Hall of the Hungarian Natural History Museum was built to fit the shape of the skeleton, thus the dome is asymmetric. It's suspension required special planning and scaffolding. As a result, it is attached to a central beam at 10 different points.