Frankfurt, Germany

Guten Tag! I’m Maria Sibylla Merian. My life’s passion is the study of insects, especially butterflies. Therefore, I am leaving from Frankfurt in 1699 to travel to Surinam and broaden my research. My purpose is dangerous in the minds of the people who think of butterflies as witches, they steal milk, butter, and cream – hence the term butterfly.

I was born into a family of artists, which led me to train as a flower painter and engraver. Alongside the artistic encouragement, I grew up strictly religious. Thanks to this environment I could devote myself to the scientific observation of caterpillars and their transformation into butterflies.

Travel with Sibylla Merian to Surinam and observe, how her viewpoint and his center of the world will be changed.