Die Vortragsreihe „Über die Wunder der Schöpfung“

Among the documents of Georg Gasser’s legacy, the archives of the Museum of Nature South Tyrol preserve a series of manuscripts of a work named “Über die Wunder der Schöpfung” (“On the Marvels of Creation”), which comprises five chapters meant both for oral presentation and for print as a book. Gasser actually presented this work as oral lectures at least twice – in 1907
and again in 1922 – whereas the book project remained unfinished. This project represents the only work of Gasser’s that deals largely with paleontology and evolution. Yet as opposed to his mineralogical publications, “Wunder der Schöpfung” cannot be viewed as a scientific work and rather represents an attempt to link scientific knowledge with religious beliefs and philosophical reflection. It nevertheless is a significant document about Gasser’s interest in the history of life and his efforts to communicate notions about natural sciences to the public in Bozen.