"The Cabinet of Rarities"
Located on the Neva Embankment in the historical center of St. Petersburg Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (otherwise Kunstkamera) is one of the largest museums of its kind. Its collection is an exposition on the culture and life of the peoples of the world, but most of all it is famous for its collection of "freaks" - anatomical rarities and anomalies. The very concept of "Kunstkammer" comes from the German word "Kunstkammer" and means "Cabinet of rarities."
The official day of foundation of the first Russian Kunstkamera is January 31, 1714. After in 1712 the capital of Russia was moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Peter I ordered to transport all his personal collection and the library of the "Sovereign Cabinet" to St. Petersburg, which were placed in the Summer Palace. "Cabinet" was so huge that a separate room was allocated for it. This premise became the first "house" of the Kunstkammer.
Prehistory
Petr traveled a lot and it's no wonder that he drew the idea of creating his cabinet of rarities abroad . And he even called it in the European manner "Kunshtkamera" . @ To do this, the king collected a huge collection of animals, plants, minerals, as well as anatomical drugs, which he constantly replenished . And with the same purpose in 1718 an order was issued "On the delivery of born freaks, also found unusual things" . By his decree, Peter the Great wanted to enlighten the ignorant, thinking them, that "the freaks are born from the action of the devil, through witchcraft and corruption: what can not be done, for one Creator of all creatures is God, not the devil" . Interesting is the fact that Peter's Kunstkammer was created one of the last. So, the very first mention of the Kunstkamera dates back to 1553 - just then, in Vienna, Ferdinand I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, founded the Kunstkamera of the Habsburgs. It was followed by Augustus of Saxony, who founded the Kunstkammer in Dresden around 1560.
From 1563 to 1578. in Munich, completed the formation of another collection of rarities from the collection of Albrecht V, the Duke of Bavaria. Parallel to this, in 1573 near Innsbruck work was carried out on a similar project on the orders of Ferdinand II, the Archduke of Tyrol. To the Prague's own collection, the Archduke added the part of the Vienna Kunstkammer inherited from his father - both collections were placed in the Ambras palace, where they are still today. New Kunstkammer were opened in Berlin, Stuttgart, Kassel, Schleswig and Copenhagen.
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First Natural Science Collections of the Kunstkammer
In 1665 in Amsterdam, the Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch initiated the creation of its own collection. Later the same Ruysch founded the first anatomical theater, which in 1697 was visited by Peter I.
Rjujsha methods were known far beyond the borders of Holland, and they developed a way to fill the thin blood vessels special solidifying liquid allowed him to see and understand the tiniest capillaries in the circulatory system. However, the secret of this method remains unknown until now.
Replenishment of the Ruysch collection continued until 1717 and by this time already had more than 2 thousand exhibits. In the same year, Peter decided to purchase the entire collection of the Dutch anatomist. In the appendage to purchase Ruysch revealed the Russian tsar secret embalming corpses with a special composition -. Liquor balsamicum
Along with a collection of anatomical cabinet Peter bought a collection of exotic animal products, fish, reptiles and insects at the Dutch apothecary Albert Seba. Subsequently, both these collections formed the basis of the Russian Kunstkamera.
An extraordinary modern museum
In 1747 the building of the Kunstkamera captured a fire. Among the objects affected by the flames - a considerable number of books and the entire ethnographic collection - anatomical drugs also suffered. And only in 1766, after a long time of repair and restoration of the destroyed collections, the Kunstkamera opened its doors to visitors again. And in 1903 - in the year of the 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg - the Kunstkamera was given a new name, which it still bears - the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter the Great.
Now the anatomical cabinet is of great scientific interest for medical students, and is also a popular place for fans of "unusual" museums and adrenalinists. And, however, art galleries can be found in almost any tourist city - there are so many that it is impossible to count! And how many do you know of museums with anatomical drugs?
For almost 300 years in St. Petersburg one of the greatest collections of our days is stored, which counts 915 items and is located in one of the halls of the second floor in the building on the University Embankment . The exhibits are stored under a double "armor" - flasks with alcohol-protected "patterns" protect the thick glass of huge cabinets in which close rows are exhibited by curiosities . In addition to collections of shells and sea mollusks, the most interesting are bottles with abnormal babies or their parts . And no matter how terrible it sounds, but it's really interesting! Here there are embryos, and already-born dead children with various vices - fused eyes (cyclopia); absent or underdeveloped limbs (amelia); with a tail like a mermaid (sirenomelia) and others .
Contradictory feelings cause this "monster cemetery" - and aversion and curiosity at the same time . But if you can still overcome the first, then, believe me, the second pay off doubly . After such an "unforgettable" excursion into the "practice" of anomalies, devastation comes, and all thoughts disappear somewhere at once - and what can these thoughts be about? There is nothing to think about . And most importantly - one should not hammer your head with stupid . Kunstkamera visited? Put another tick in your list of "uncommon" museums in the world and finish with this. .
Practical information
Coordinates of the museum:
- address of the Kunstkammer: St. Petersburg, Universitetskaya emb., House 3 (entrance for visitors from the Customs lane)
- phone of the Kunstkamera: (812) 328-08-12
- official site
Opening hours of the Kunstkamera:
- daily from 11:00 to 18:00 (cash desk is open till 17:00)
- the museum is closed: on Monday, on the last Tuesday of every month
- summer schedule of the museum: from June 1, 2010 to August 29, 2010 museum opening hours from 11.00 to 19.00 (checkout till 18.00)
Ct Ticket price:
- for Russian citizens:
- adult - 150 rubles
- preferential (school, pension) - 50 rubles
- for foreigners:
- adult - 250 rubles
- preferential , student, etc.) - 150 rubles
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© Galina Iskakova