KUNSTKAMMER
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Address: Universitetskaya Emb., 3 |
The Kunstkammer (translating from
German - "chambers of curiosities") was founded in 1718. The building
was designed by the architect G. Mattarnovi. It was meant for the library
and the collections of "monsters and rarities" gathered by Peter I.
The construction works of 1718-1734 were supervised by several architects,
such as G. Mattarnovi, N. Gerbel, G. Kiaveri and others. The interiors
of the Kunstkammer were decorated according to architect Zemtsov's design.
In 1747 the fire destroyed the building, so only the charred walls were
left. The architect S. Tchevakinsky was the one to restore the Kunstkammer,
but the new building did not feature the upper circle of the tower.
This part of the building was restored only after World War II by architect
R. Kaplan-Ingel.
The Kunstkammer features a very favorable location.
Situated on the bank of the Neva River, the building could be seen from
far distances. M. Lomonosov explained that Peter the Great wanted people
to see the Kunstkammer building and think of the importance of sciences.
Since the Kunstkammer belonged to the Academy of Sciences, this explanation
sounds like a very realistic one.
In
1727 the collections of Peter the Great were transmitted from the house
of the disgraced grandee Kikin to the Kunstkammer. Since then the first
Russian museum was always full of visitors. Until the end of the 18th
century the building of the Kunstkammer housed some departments of the
Academy of Sciences founded by Peter the Great. Nowadays the Kunstkammer
contains the collections of Peter the Great's Museum of Anthropology
and Ethnography based on the gatherings of Saint Petersburg's founder.
Soon after the end of World War II the museum of M.
Lomonosov was opened in the Kunskammer. The great Russian scientist
worked in the building for over a quarter of the century. The exposition
of the museum is dedicated to the Academy of Sciences development and
Lomonosov's contribution to Russian science. The visitors to the museum
can see original documents and objects of Lomonosov's time, including
scientific tools, books, portraits, prints, some of which used to belong
to Lomonosov himself.
For three centuries since the museum's foundation
the collection of the Kunstkammer has been constantly growing. Many
famous travelers made outstanding contributions to the enlarging of
the museum collection. D. Cook, I. Kruzenshtern, Y. Lisnyansky, F. Bellinsgausen,
N. Mikluho-Maklay and others brought from their oversea travels real
treasures. Nowadays there are several permanent exhibitions devoted
to the ethnography of the peoples of Africa, America, China, Japan,
Indonesia, Australia, Oceania and other countries, and the exhibition
Anatomical Rarities of the Kunstkammer. At the ethnographic exhibitions
the visitors can see models of religious and dwelling houses from the
different ethnographic regions of the earth, traditional clothes, instruments
of labor, domestic utensils, ceramics, decorated glass objects, artistic
metal works, including objects of precious metals, musical instruments,
religious objects, ritual accessories, sets of traditional weapons,
and so on.
One of the most famous exhibits of the Kunstkammer
is the unique Globe-Planetarium of Gottorp. It was created in Germany
in the 17th century and during the Northern War was presented to Peter
the Great who brought it to Saint Petersburg. The diameter of the globe
is 3,1 meters. Outside the Globe all known by that time continents,
seas and rivers were pictured and inside there was the first planetarium
in the world.
