History
There has been a natural history museum in Lucerne since the 18th Century. The original was established by Karl Nicolaus Lange and named Museum Lucernense Langianum. In either 1820 or 1825 the local Gymnasium school established a natural history museum, which was called Naturalien-Kabinett der höheren Lehranstalt. In 1848 the contents of another natural history collection from Kloster St. Urban were combined with the Museum Lucernense Langianum, and in 1849 so was the Naturalien-Kabinett der höheren Lehranstalt. In 1849 the combined collections were placed in a new museum building on Franziskanerplatz, when their former home was earmarked for demolition, to build a road. 1937 to 1976 the collection became spread across the cellars of the city. The building on Franziskanerplatz became occupied by the kantonalen Finanzverwaltung. The present museum building on Kasernenplatz was built in 1976, and opened in 1978. ==See also==