PTB (National Metrology Institute of Germany) (1887)

Mansions of Science for Accurate Measurement – Industrial manufacturing requires precise measuring equipment, the likes of which did not yet exist in the late 19th century for the emerging electrical industry. Industrialist Werner von Siemens and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz searched for a solution. On their initiative, the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR), or Imperial Metrology Institute, was founded in 1887. PTR scientists performed experiments that paved the way for quantum physics. Henceforth, renowned physicists like Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and Max von Laue were closely associated with the Institute. The Nazi period was a dark chapter in its history. Johannes Stark, a die-hard Nazi and promotor of a German physics, became its president. After WWII, the PTR was refounded in West Germany as the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), or National Metrology Institute. It is now a global leader in the field of metrology and the promotion of standardized measurements.