Welcome to ‘Exploring the Danube at the Edward Worth Library’

The Edward Worth Library is a rare books collection, bequeathed to Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin, by Dr Edward Worth (1676-1733), who was one of the Hospital’s earliest Trustees. This web exhibition, curated by Mr Antoine Mac Gaoithín, Library Assistant at the Edward Worth Library with contributions from Dr Elizabethanne Boran, Librarian of the Edward Worth Library, explores the library’s six-volume set of Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus: Observationibus Geographicis, Astronomicis, Hydrographicis, Historicis, Physicis (The Hague & Amsterdam, 1726) by the Italian nobleman, general and scientist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658-1730). It is the seventeenth in a series of websites exploring the holdings of the Worth Library. For further details please contact our website: www.edwardworthlibrary.ie.

Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus: Observationibus Geographicis, Astronomicis, Hydrographicis, Historicis, Physicis (The Hague & Amsterdam, 1726), i, frontispiece.

Marsili, also spelt as Marsigli, served in the Austrian imperial army as a military engineer and surveyor during the Great Turkish War (1683-99) and led the Austrian border commission that demarcated the Habsburg-Ottoman border following the Treaty of Karlowitz that ended the war. He also devoted his life to scientific pursuits during and following his military career. He was elected to several scientific academies and was the founder of the Accademia della Scienze dell’Istituto di Bologna in his home city. The protracted production and eventual publication of the Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus is investigated as well as its subscribers and Edward Worth’s copy of the set. This online exhibition explores the geography, astronomy, hydrography, archaeology, minerals, fish, birds, and plants and insects of the Danube that are discussed in the six volumes. We welcome your feedback on our exhibition and can be contacted on our ‘Contact Us’ webpage.