Domus Anatomica was an

anatomical theatre An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a larg ...

which existed from 1644 until 1728 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

History

There are references to a modest ''lectorium medicorum'' in Copenhagen from 1605 but in 1621 the statutes of the university stressed that the construction of a proper

theatrum anatomicum An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a larg ...

would be desirable. In 1639

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

called

Simon Paulli Simon Paulli (6 April 1603 – 25 April 1680), was a Danes, Danish physician and Natural history, naturalist. He was a professor of anatomy, surgery and botany at the University of Copenhagen. The genus ''Paullinia'' is named after him.Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

from

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, appointing him professor of anatomy, surgery and botany, and Paulli, in 1643, took the initiative of converting one of the university's buildings overlooking Church of Our Lady's graveyard (later

Frue Plads Frue Plads (literally "Square of (Our) Lady") is a public square located on the north side of the Church of Our Lady in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It occupies a rectangular space which is bounded on the other sides by University of Copenhagen's ...

) into the new Domus Anatomica. The new institution was completed the following year although Paulli did not hold his first public lecture until 3 March 1645. Another scholar associated with the institution was

Thomas Bartholin Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. He provides a detailed description of the building in his book ''Cista medica Hafniensis'' from 1662. After his return to

from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1681, Niels Steensen, who had made a name for himself internationally through his anatomical discoveries, revived the Domus Anatomica. His conversion to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

disqualified him from a professorship; instead he had to make do with the title of Royal Anatomist. In 1674 he returned to Florence. The building was completely destroyed in the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (me ...

Theatrum Anatomico-chirurgicum Theatrum Anatomico-chirurgicum was an anatomical theatre which existed from 1736 until 1785 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built as a replacement for Domus Anatomica which had been destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728 and was itself succeeded ...

was built in its place.

References

{{reflist

External links

Thomas Bartholin: Domus Anatomica (1662)
(in Latin and Danish)] Buildings and structures completed in 1644 1644 establishments in Denmark