“C’ERA UNA VOLTA UNA STAZIONE ZOOLOGICA A TRIESTE … “

Abstract

The "k.k. Zoologische Station in Triest" [The Imperial and Royal Zoological Station in Trieste] was the first marine biological station at the Adriatic Sea. Opened in 1875 in the Villa Gialuzzi in the S. Andrea district of Trieste, it was closed in 1915 during World War I. On the basis of new archival studies at the Vienna State Archives, the authors have succeeded for the first time in clarifying the contexts, initiatives and circumstances that led to the founding of the Trieste Zoological Station. Interest in marine biology and seeking for a logistics sea base for zoological and botanical teaching and research determined the origin of marine biology in Austria. As a result, the station was affiliated with the University of Vienna and regularly provided study objects and materials for the teaching of zoology at the universities of the Austrian monarchy.