“Saxony has completely forgotten about Tschirnhaus!”

This complaint made by Curt Reinhardt in 1903 seems equally valid today - more than 100 years later. For many people still know very little about the achievements of this universal scholar of the early Enlightenment era, whose worked touched upon the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and philosophy.

In the practical sphere, some of Tschirnhaus' discoveries led to the establishment of an early glass factory, whose production also served as the basis for the lenses needed for his optical instruments. In recognition of his scienitific achievements he was named the first German member of the prestigious Academy of Sciences in Paris. And in his capacity as director of Böttger's laboratories under the Saxon ruler Augustus the Strong, he played a major role in the discovery of European porcelain.

Even today, Tschirnhaus' monumental, geometrically and technically precise instruments still number among the highlights of the collection of the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon in Dresden.