Bursa Forestry Museum

Bursa Forestry Museum – Bursa

Located on Çekirge Street in the historic Saatçi Mansion, the Bursa Forestry Museum is recognized as Turkey’s first and only forestry museum. Architecturally, the mansion stands as a remarkable example of 19th-century Ottoman Baroque style, featuring an elegant garden with a fountain, pavilion, and diverse tree species—making it a place of both cultural and natural beauty.

The Saatçi Mansion served various roles throughout its history: it was used as a residence for many years, functioned as the Bursa Forestry School between 1939 and 1949, and later as the Regional Forestry Directorate until 1983. The building was reorganized as a museum in 1989 and has since been dedicated to preserving the legacy of Turkish forestry.

Museum Collection and Exhibits

The museum houses over 3,000 artifacts related to forests and forestry from the Ottoman era to the present. Its collections include:

• Historical photographs depicting the lives of forestry workers
• Traditional forestry tools and cutting instruments
• Forest communication devices
• Detailed maps and topographic materials
• A significant fossil collection

Among its most notable fossils are:

• 350-million-year-old Carboniferous fossils
• 50-million-year-old pine and walnut fossils
• A rare 2-million-year-old sequoia fossil

Additionally, to introduce visitors to the wildlife inhabiting Turkish forests, the museum displays taxidermy animals, insect collections, and cross-sections of various tree species.

Museum Sections

The Bursa Forestry Museum is organized into thematic sections:

• Forest Life Section: Taxidermy animals from national parks and an extensive insect collection
• Fossil Section: Featuring one of Turkey’s richest plant fossil collections, including a remarkable 6-million-year-old sequoia fossil that has preserved its woody texture
• Forest Plants and Cutting Tools Section
• Forestry Engineering Instruments Section
• Historical Documents and Archival Records Section
• Maps and Satellite Images Section
• Forest Communication Devices Section

One of the museum’s most eye-catching pieces is the 700-year-old cross-section of a Scots pine tree brought from Artvin Borçka.

Among its standout pieces are the historic tree stamps, presented in both their old and modern forms.

The museum also includes an Atatürk Corner, a temporary exhibition hall, and a library.