Judge Björn Schaefer ruled on Friday that Dr von Hagen's exhibits, human bodies preserved using a technique called “plastination” are not in fact legally "human remains" and can therefore be exhibited.
“I think the plastinated bodies are more like skeletons, which can also be used for teaching”, von Hagens' wife and curator Angelina Whalley said.
The way is now open for what von Hagens, the inventor of the plastination technique whose critics labelled him 'Dr Death', called his “long-cherished dream of a human museum in Berlin” in February.
Local authorities in Berlin had initially forbidden the museum, but von Hagens appealed the decision.
Von Hagens plans to exhibit 20 preserved human bodies and up to 200 preserved parts in his exhibition, “BodyWorlds” (Körperwelten) at the television tower (Fernsehturm) at Alexanderplatz.
The case had been marred by a press release from the local government pre-judging the outcome, which von Hagens' company had claimed showed the judge was biased.
But Schaefer said that he had known nothing about the publication before it happened and was thus cleared of bias by his fellow judges.
An estimated 40 million people have seen von Hagens' preserved bodies, which have been displayed in exhibitions around the globe.
Comments