Johannes Kepler

On the list of National Technical Museum in the group "instruments" are written objects of so called Rudolphinian circle. There are products of masters who worked on the court of Rudolph II in the period when Kepler acted in Prague. No one of Kepler's original instruments has survived, some of them are known from his publication only. It is known that Kepler used some of the instruments from Brahe's rich collection. However on the list is Burgi's sextant, which Kepler used probably when measuring opposition of the Mars. Among the instruments are works of Erasmus Habermel, Jost Burgi and Heinrich Stolle who stayed in Prague. Christoph Schissler lived and worked in Augsburg but supplied the instruments for Rudolph II. In the National Technical Museum collection is only one of his instrument. On the list are recorded 25 instruments altogether, first of all from the collections of Prague museums National Technical Museum and Museum of Decorative Arts.

In the group "written sources" we can find unbelievable quantity of 43 Kepler's titles, which are published in 108 pieces of books. Kepler was known as a scientist who was very active in publication. The books are stored in different Prague institutions (National Library, Library of National Museum, Strahov Library, National Technical Museum), the others are first of all in the State Scientific Library Olomouc and State Scientific Library Brno.

On the other hand the group "art works" is relatively poor. The portraits which depicts scientiests of Rudolphinian circle, Kepler, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Jessenius who was doctor of medicine and a dean of Prague's University. Jessenius was a friend and collaborator of both astronomers Kepler and Brahe. In this group is the only kwon portrait of J. Kepler, however it is oil panting from the workshop of foremost Rudolphinian master Hans von Aachen. The only relief plastic sculpture of Tycho Brahe has survived on the tomb stone of his grave in the Tyn Church, Oldtown Square, Prague.