Tribute to the 150th anniversary of the Geological Institute
The year 2019 was one of outstanding importance in the history of Hungarian geology. It was then that the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Geological Institute was celebrated. At the time of its foundation it was named Hungarian Royal Geological Institute, but later – in its determinative period – in professional circles it became better known as “MÁFI” — the acronym for the Geological Institute of Hungary. Due to recent organisational changes and the amalgamation of partner institutions “MÁFI” has been merged with the Geological and Geophysical Institute and later with the Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary.
Besides several prestigious events, the 150th anniversary of the setting up of the Geological Institute was commemorated in the frame of an Itinerant Conference organised in Balatonfüred by the Hungarian Geological Society and its sister organisation, the Association of Hungarian Geophysicists. This took place on October 3–5, 2019.
From the time of its inauguration, the Geological Institute of the Monarchy enjoyed a close relationship with the Hungarian Geological Society. The first director and the senior geologists of the Geologischen Reichsanstalt in Vienna constructively supported the elaboration of the Hungarian Geological Society’s scientific programme. Later, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 a proposal was made by the Hungarian Geological Society on the basis of which a geological department was established in the Hungarian Royal Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. One year later, on 18th June 1869, the Deed of Foundation of the first scientific research institute in Hungary — the Hungarian Royal Geological Institute — was signed by Emperor Franz Joseph I. As a result of this, the most difficult and specialised activity of geological mapping became one of the main occupations of the newly-established Geological Institute. (Previously, this had been the responsibility of the Geological Society.) Thus began a fruitful and close relationship between the Geological Society and the Geological Institute. This was clearly demonstrated by the fact that in the 1870s the Society donated the entire stock of its library to the newly-founded Institute, and from the 1880s the Society’s scientific journal, the Bulletin, was published jointly by these organizations for nearly half a century.
The book 150 years of the Geological Institute of Hungary (edited by Edit Babinszki) was published for the anniversary celebration held in the “ArtGeo” Palace in Stefánia Road, Budapest on 21st June 2019, which was designed by the architect Ödön Lechner. The book presents the history of the Institute and its scientific work and main achievements since the establishment, as well as the 120-year-old building of the Institute. Before the festive event of 2019 the legal successor of the Institute – the Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary – held a one-day conference highlighting the recent achievements of the Institute. The main focus of this high-profile gathering was on the most important geological–geophysical issues facing our planet and the associated geopolitical challenges.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the inception of the Geological Institute, a celebration issue of the Bulletin has been published by the Hungarian Geological Society. Scientific publications, of course, cannot represent the wide-ranging and remarkably extensive scientific activity of the Institute’s 150-year history; they reflect only a representative part of the scientific activity that has led to the current Geological research spectrum. The purpose of this publication is primarily to present excerpts from the activities and research results of the Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary. This is now the leading institution representing Hungary’s research in the area of earth sciences and acts as the legal successor of the Geological Institute.
Budapest, 19 February 2020
Tamás Budai - President of the Hungarian Geological Society
Gyula Maros - President of the Section of General Geology
