The widely-educated princess Maria Christina von Dietrichstein, née Countess von Thun-Hohenstein (1738–1788), was a remarkable figure in the history of the natural sciences, as she was one of the few women to make a name for herself in scientific research in the mid-to-late 18th century. She also amassed an extensive collection of natural products.

Princess Maria Christina von Dietrichstein took a very lively and wide-ranging interest in the natural sciences. Although her “Cabinet of the Products of Nature” also included an entomological and zoological collection, her collection of minerals was far larger. Her collection was arranged on the basis of the classification system used by the prominent mineralogist Ignaz von Born and it is highly likely that Born was also personally involved in classifying this collection. The princess published her Catalogue of the Cabinet of the Products of Nature in 1787. The question is, what research was carried out in the chemistry and alchemy laboratory that princess von Dietrichstein had set up at Mikulov Chateau. Countess Maria Christina was allegedly also assisted in this laboratory by the Hofmeister working for the Dietrichsteins, the alchemist and Freemason Jean Nicolas Dufour.

Maria Christina von Dietrichstein advocated enlightenment ideas – inspired by Joseph von Sonnenfels, who was born in Mikulov – together with her husband, Prince Karl Johann von Dietrichstein, who was also strongly influenced by Freemason ideology. Prince von Dietrichstein spent a lot of time travelling in the service of the emperor, and so the management of the Mikulov estate was taken over by princess von Dietrichstein, who introduced a new method of farming and the cultivation of corn and potatoes, amongst other crops. After the fire at Mikulov in 1784, the princess moved to the chateau in Židlochovice near Brno, where she organised a remarkable event – in collaboration with the natural scientist Thaddäus Haenke she had a hot-air balloon take off from the chateau garden in 1784.

Connected places: Maria Christina von Dietrichstein’s mineralogical collection at Mikulov Chateau
Birthplace of Thaddäus Haenke in Chřibská
Thaddäus Haenke Monument in Malá SkálaMineralogická sbírka Marie Kristiny Dietrichstein na zámku Mikulov; Rodný dům Tadeáše Haenkeho v Chřibské; Pomník Tadeáše Haenkeho v Malé Skále

Keywords: alchemy; geology; mineralogy; Cabinet of the Products of Nature, mineral collection, alchemy laboratory, hot-air balloon, enlightenment

Bohatý, M., Brichtová, D.: Historická mineralogická a paleontologická sbírka Marie Kristýny kněžny Dietrichsteinové v Regionálním muzeu v Mikulově. RegioM: sborník Regionálního muzea v Mikulově.Mikulov 2013, s. 69–108.

Fišera, M., Bohatý, M.: Historie sběratelství nerostů v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku od nejstarších dob do začátku 20. století. In: Sběratelé nerostů Čech, Moravy a Slezska. Praha 2015, s. 9–36.