An exposition from the city on the Neva arrived in Kazan. The exhibits of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera, according to the organizers, should not only shock visitors, but also warn them against the consequences of "bad excesses"...
Usually impressionable, pregnant women and children are warned against such spectacles. However, it was schoolchildren who were invited to Kazan for Grand opening traveling exhibition"Archives of the Kunstkamera". Exhibition manager Irina Chudina assures: "shock therapy" is very useful for the younger generation.
“Let schoolchildren see with their own eyes the liver of an alcoholic and the skeleton of a drug addict girl,” says Irina. "It's more impressive than just words."
How much did human vices it is difficult to say about the birth of future exhibits collected over more than two centuries. In general, the “cabinet of rarities” (this is how the word “Kunstkamera” is translated) arose in Russia in the 18th century by decree of Peter the Great. Impressed by such Western collections, Peter acquired the first exhibits for his cabinet of curiosities in 1717 from the Dutch anatomist Frederick Ruysch. The money for the freaks was simply fabulous - 30 thousand guilders.
“Three fully equipped warships could have been bought in those days for that kind of money,” says Irina. - Peter did not skimp at home either, buying exhibits for his collection from the local population. For example, for a two-headed calf, he paid a bag of silver coins equal in weight to the calf itself. Considering that at that time people could live for more than one day on one penny, one can imagine how the owner of the calf got rich!
Baby who is 266 years old
The most ancient exhibit of the exhibition is Siamese twins, born in 1742 in the Tver province. The two-headed miracle was born in peasant family Aristarchus and Euphrosyne, who already had 12 children. Whether the fatal number 13 is to blame or some other mystical reasons, but the birth of a baby with two heads was accompanied by a number of incredible events. According to eyewitnesses, on the day of the birth, the weather deteriorated sharply, the heavy thunderstorm. Aristarkh at that time was preparing firewood in the forest. Lightning struck a tree, it fell and crushed the father of the Siamese twins to death. And at that very moment, in the village, a midwife jumped out of the house of the woman in labor, taking delivery, shouting: “Devil, unclean!” People accused the mother of being a witch, and began to persecute the family: they set fire to the hut, killed the cow-nurse, beat the older children. The unfortunate Efrosinya went mad and strangled the two-headed child with her own hands... The insane one was assigned to a clinic, and the fused brothers became an exhibit of the Imperial Anatomical Museum.
Baba Manya from a can
There is an exhibit at the exhibition that especially impresses visitors. The tiny creature in the jar is a 56 year old adult woman! The girl was born in 1863 with an anomaly - microcephaly (an underdeveloped brain) and without the pituitary gland (gland that produces growth hormone). She did not add a centimeter to her normal, in general, for a newborn 51 cm, she only aged according to her age. She spent her whole life under observation in the laboratory. She led a semi-vegetative existence - she only ate and performed natural needs. Due to the underdevelopment of the hemispheres, she could neither communicate normally nor move independently. Those who watched the live "inch" dressed her up like a doll, and even took her out for a walk. In the laboratory where this creature lived, he was affectionately called Baba Manya. So she lived until the age of 56. Maybe it would have existed longer, but then a revolution broke out. The laboratory was no longer financed, there was no one to take care of Baba Manya, and the unfortunate creature died of starvation...
There is another, downright mystical and even eerie circumstance associated with this exhibit. They say that Baba Manya can turn her back on visitors in her jar! It happens right before the eyes of witnesses, but it is difficult to predict when it will happen next time.
Octopus kitten and other "cute" little animals
If the parents of the previous characters could somehow be suspected of vices like alcoholism, then bad habits are definitely not to blame for the birth of creatures from the zoological part of the collection. On the other hand, nature also jokes in this way for a reason. Bad ecology, environmental pollution - a person also had a hand in all this. All this is also from the "excesses" that he allows himself. As the exhibition staff say, the collection is replenished even today. One of the "youngest" exhibits is a stuffed animal of a two-headed fox. She was nicknamed Glutton: once a single stomach simply could not cope with the huge amount of food that two muzzles absorbed, and the animal died. There is an “octopus” kitten in the collection (it really has 8 legs), a two-headed piglet (they say its owner has gone crazy) and a bird that is very symbolic for Russia - a two-headed eagle. During the life of a bird, one head fed the other - perhaps mistook for a chick.
Organ as evidence
Separate part collections is a collection of human organs. Moreover, congenital anomalies are not observed in most of these exhibits. All features purchased. Either from an unhealthy or "hectic" lifestyle. The liver of an alcoholic, all in terrible cirrhosis, weighs about 7 kilograms instead of the normal one and a half. Near the heart, pierced by a bullet. It belonged to the terrorist Vasily Kamenev, who blew up and robbed churches and was once shot dead by monks. The wound turned out to be unique: the bullet pierced through the heart without hitting a single vessel. After that, Kamenev lived for another three hours. Another exhibit is evidence of a cruel crime that took place almost a century and a half ago. The history of its appearance in the collection is connected with the name of Saltychikha - the Moscow noblewoman Daria Saltykova, a sophisticated sadist and serial killer, who scored more than a hundred of her serf girls. One of the victims was pregnant. From severe beatings, her uterus ruptured ... Now this terrible evidence has become an exhibit called "A fetus that fell into the abdominal cavity."
“Life is beautiful no matter what!”
According to Irina Chudina, this is exactly the idea that the organizers laid in the second part of the exhibition - an exposition of holography called "Ghost Paintings". amazing volumetric images“Protrude” from the framework or, conversely, fascinate with their depth. Moreover, to see this, the visitor does not need any special glasses or other devices. The technology originated over 100 years ago, but at first it was colorless (in black and white).
“Only modern optical scientists have invented equipment that made it possible to convey an object in volume,” says Chudina. - Metals - gold, silver and copper - helped to add color to the images. An image of an object is applied in layers on a photographic plate, and a three-dimensional effect appears.
The guides offer to admire the collection of holographic images created at the Vavilov State Optical Institute after the Kunstkamera Archives. As conceived by the organizers of the exhibition, this beauty will soften the impressions of the first part, and visitors will leave the exhibition, albeit shocked, but not depressed...
For over 300 years, the unique collections of the Kunstkamera have continued to attract visitors. About interesting facts about at least interesting museum- in our material
Cabinets of kunshtov
Traveling around Europe in 1697-1698, Peter I became so interested in the “kunsht cabinets” (that is, miracles) in rich houses that he decided to collect a similar collection at home. To do this, the ruler assigned a separate room and began to actively purchase exhibits.
Photo: cityguidespb.ru 2 Collection expansion
In 1718, the tsar signed a decree ordering to bring everything that is “very old and unusual”, so that the collection began to grow very rapidly, and as a result, it was decided to build a separate building for it.
Fine
Whereas in exchange for the freaks delivered to St. Petersburg, Peter I promised a large reward, those who hid "gifts of nature" from the state were expected to be fined several times the size of the reward.
Photo: wildwildworld.net.ua
4
Location selection
One day, while walking along Vasilevsky Island, the emperor saw a strange pine tree, one of the branches of which had grown into the trunk, forming a half ring. Peter I liked it so much that he ordered to cut out an interesting fragment and build a building for the museum on the site of the tree. Part of this pine is still kept in the museum.
protracted construction
However, the new building of the “Chamber of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, the Library and the Kunstkamera” was never destined to be seen by Peter I: the construction of the museum lasted sixteen years, and by the time of the death of the tsar (1725), only walls had been erected. By 1726, the collections were transferred to the still unfinished building, erected in the style of Peter the Great's Baroque.
Photo: cityguidespb.ru 6 royal encouragement
The Kunstkamera opened its doors to visitors in 1719. Peter I decided to make viewing the collection free of charge, and even give visitors a treat - a cup of coffee or a glass of vodka. Thus, the emperor made sure that viewing of unique exhibits was available to absolutely everyone.
Live exhibits
A "creepy" feature of the museum is the hall of living exhibits. These were people from non-standard appearance And different kind deformities. "Monsters" lived at the Kunstkamera. One of the most famous was shorty Foma, who lived within the walls of the museum for 16 years. His height was 126 cm, and on his feet and hands there were only two fingers, so that the limbs resembled the claws of a crab.
Photo: pg21.ru 8 Ruysch Collection
The collection of the Dutch anatomist Frederic Ruysch is one of the pearls of the exposition. Alcoholized babies and separate parts human body scientist collected for 50 years. It took Peter I 20 years to persuade Ruysch to part with his collection for a very substantial sum. Together with the exhibits, a recipe for the preservation and embalming of corpses was also brought to Russia.
Gottorp globe
The collection of the museum was full of the most diverse and amazing things. The amazing Gottorp Globe, which was presented to the ruler as a gift, was no exception. This huge ball with a diameter of about 3 m, on the outer surface of which there was a map of the earth, and inside - the starry sky, which survived the fire and blockade, was restored and is now located on the fourth floor of the Kunstkamera.
Photo: kolibri31.ru Sections of the museum
The Kunstkamera contains the richest collections on the history, culture and life of peoples from different parts of the world: North America, Japan, Africa, China, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Australia and Oceania. The well-known anatomical section deserves special attention, where exhibits with physical deformities and various natural rarities are collected.
11 little known facts about the Kunstkamera
A story about how Peter the Great treated the guests of the museum with vodka, and a headless skeleton walked around the halls. We recall the most curious and interesting facts of one of the most ancient museums peace.
1. Monster Tree
Once Peter was walking around the island and noticed a pine tree, in which one of the branches had grown into the trunk and thus formed a semicircle.
The emperor admired the pine tree, nicknamed it "monster tree" and, having ordered it to be cut down, decided to build a building for the museum in its place.
2. Who built the building for the museum
The construction of the building lasted for sixteen years. Initially, the architect Mattarnovi was engaged in it, and after Gerbel, Chiaveri and Zemtsov, under whom the building acquired its final baroque appearance.
Alas, Peter I never saw the new building, since by the time of his death the walls had just been erected, and by 1726 the collections had been moved to the unfinished building.
3. How Peter I treated the guests of the museum with vodka
When the museum's collection was located in Kikin's chambers (in the house of the disgraced boyar Aleksanlr Kikin, who was near Smolny Cathedral), the museum Peter ordered that museum curiosities be available to absolutely everyone: both for nobles and for commoners.
Moreover, the emperor showed concern for the leisure of those who came to look at the "deformities big company: "Whoever comes with a company to watch rarities, then treat them to my expense with a cup of coffee, a glass of vodka or something else."
4. Amazing globe
The collection of the Kunstkamera before the fire of 1747 was full of amazing gizmos. For example, on the third floor there was an amazing globe-planetarium, which was presented as a gift to Peter. It was a ball with a diameter of about three meters, on the outer surface of which there was a map, and inside - an image starry sky.
Through a special hatch it was possible to get inside the globe and watch the rotation celestial bodies. Alas, in the flames of a fire in 1747, the globe was completely destroyed and subsequently it had to be created anew on a metal frame.
During the years of the blockade, he was even taken out of Leningrad, but then returned. Now a copy of the grandiose globe is on the fourth floor.
5. Human bone flute
Another unique piece of the collection is a flute made from a human femur. Once it was made by a shaman of one of the Mongolian tribes.
It was believed that a mere mortal should not blow into it, the instrument was used exclusively for ritual purposes - to call otherworldly forces.
6. Giant Man
From his fascinating trip abroad, along with many unique antiquities and relics, Peter I brought to St. Petersburg the Frenchman Nicolas Bourgeois - a man 226.7 cm tall, who, along with other "overseas gifts", earned unprecedented interest from the court and ordinary people.
Nicolas lived as an imperial footman at court for seven years, after which he died of apoplexy. However, Peter I decided that even after his death, the faithful servant remains a unique and unlike curiosity, and handed over his body
7. Kunstkamera.
Until 1747, the skeleton stood peacefully in one of the showcases, but after the fire, the head strangely ... disappeared. The skeleton was not injured in the fire, but the head, apparently, decided to arbitrarily leave the uncomfortable place. Later, a new skull was installed in its place (I wonder whose?), And since then, according to rumor, the skeleton has been walking around the spacious halls and looking for its head, frightening the guards and watchmen.
8. Disappeared head of an English spy
A similar case with the loss of the head took place a little later, in the post-Petrine era: the head of the executed English spy and child murderer Maria Hamilton disappeared in an unknown direction along with alcohol from the flask in which it was located.
As usual, the main Russian enemy was blamed for the incident - drunkenness: they say that alcohol was not poured out, but simply drunk. The loss of the head was attributed to the English sailors, whose ship was at that time in the port of St. Petersburg.
The sailors promised to return the unusual exhibit to the museum, but they did not fulfill the promise: they disappeared on whole year, and then they brought three male heads to the Kunstkamera staff. However, the exchange was recognized as equivalent and the city authorities had no claims against the sailors after the “deal” was made.
9. Ominous clock
Remembering the amusing "tales from the crypt", it is worth mentioning the legend of the clock going backwards. Allegedly, there is a mahogany clock in one of the halls, brought to St. Petersburg from a distant journey by an unknown officer. They are good for everyone: the case is solid, the carving is beautiful and the dial is made skillfully, but here's the bad luck - their mechanism is not working.
But the clock was still left in the Kunstkamera. Since then, employees have observed a strange thing: the clock periodically starts working, but the hands move in the opposite direction from the normal direction. Having reached the mark "9:45" they whimsically stop.
Rumor has it that this is a bad sign: if this happens, then one of the employees will die soon.
10. Living exhibits of the museum
When the Kunstkamera was founded, among the jars with alcoholized embryos and human bones, there were people who acted as "living exhibits".
The most famous was Fedor Ignatiev, who lived within the walls of the museum for 16 years. He was only 126 centimeters tall, on his feet and right hand he had two fingers resembling claws, and on his left hand he had a pair of equally strange ... hands.
11. Freak Award
The reformer Peter I in 1718, when obscurantism and prejudices were rampant, issued a decree according to which freaks of "human, bestial, animal and bird" should be delivered to St. Petersburg. In exchange for them, the emperor promised a large reward.
Those who decided to hide the "gifts of nature" from the state, faced a fine ten times higher than the assigned reward.
The Kunstkamera is the first museum open to the public. It was created by order of Peter I in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century with the aim of collecting and researching rarities born both by nature and by human activity.
How did the Kunstkamera appear?
Kunstkameras appeared in European countries back in the 15th-16th centuries, during the Renaissance, when people's interest in new scientific knowledge and unique past. Here they collected collections of rare and extraordinary finds brought by expeditions, as well as interesting ancient tools, household items, original works decorative arts. All these collections were collected with the aim to surprise and amaze visitors. Most often, such cabinets of curiosities were organized at princely houses in order to demonstrate to guests the "scholarship" of the owners.
According to legend, one day, walking along the banks of the Neva, Peter the Great saw an unusual pine tree, the branch of which had grown into the trunk. This incident prompted the tsar to the idea of creating a collection (“a collection of curiosities” - translated from German), and the museum (Kunstkamera) was to be built exactly on the site of this pine tree (which was preserved as an exhibit), on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
Create your first collection
Peter I ordered that any identified evidence of anatomical deformity be brought to Robert Areskin's pharmacy in Moscow. And so various finds began to be brought from all the outskirts of Russia, and this was the beginning of the collection. It is noteworthy that they even paid money from the state treasury for them, and failure to report the presence of an interesting rarity was punishable by a fine.
The goal of the sovereign of Russia was different from the motives of the owners of European collections - he acquired and collected exhibits to educate his fellow citizens. The first curiosities were acquired by him back in 1697 in Holland: stuffed birds and fish, dried insects and freaks in alcohol. At the same time, Peter I also acquired a unique recipe that helps to preserve corpses for history with the help of embalming.
Kunstkamera: history of creation
In 1714, the collection of rarities of the sovereign was transported from the capital to the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg and was named after the German motif - the Kunstkamera. This year is considered the official date of foundation of the museum. The first cabinet of curiosities was full of living exhibits - monsters, as well as dwarfs and giants who were forced to live at the museum. The first curators of the museum were R. Areskin and I. Schumacher.
After 4 years, the exhibits were moved to Kikin's chambers, as there was no more room left in the palace. After the museum moved, the collection became open to all comers, and Peter I even sometimes personally conducted excursions in it for foreign ambassadors and Russian nobles.
The museum building was built from 1718 according to the designs of several successive architects, it was completed after the death of Peter I M. Zemtsov, and 12 wooden sculptures master Koch, who personified the sciences.
In 1735, the Kunstkamera museum was moved to this building along with all the exhibits. Admission was free, and as a treat it was proposed to "tempt coffee and zuckerbrods."
The first "offices" of the Kunstkamera, the creation of museums
By the beginning of the 40s of the 18th century, the museum (Kunstkamera) consisted of 4 "rooms":
- "Natur-camera", where there were rarities in natural science.
- The Münzkamera contained a collection of old coins.
- Directly "Kunstkamera" represented the rarities of applied art and the peculiarities of life of various peoples.
- "The Cabinet of Peter the Great", where there were things belonging personally to the sovereign himself.
In 1747, a huge fire broke out in the building, and part of the collection perished. It was possible to restore the lost exhibits only by 1766. Later, additional add-ons and improvements to the museum building were repeatedly carried out. After 200 years, an armillary sphere was added on top, symbolizing the model solar system(architect R. Kaplan-Ingel).
At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. the museum's collection was enriched with finds not only by Russian scientists, but also by foreign ones. These were exhibits brought from the scientific expeditions of Captain Cook (Polynesia) and Miklouho-Maclay ( New Guinea), materials of expeditions in Siberia and Kamchatka, Antarctic travels, and others.
In the 1830s, the Kunstkamera (St. Petersburg) was divided into several separate museums: Zoological, Ethnographic, Botanical, Mineralogical, Egyptian and Asian, as well as the “Cabinet of Peter the Great”. They were housed in two buildings.
In 1878 the two museums were merged into one, and in 1903 it was given the name of its founder. So it is now called - the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter the Great, which contains all the collected scientific exhibits about the origin of man and various types cultures.
Modern halls of the Kunstkamera
The modern Kunstkamera is a museum whose collection is very different from the first, created by Peter I himself 300 years ago, although some exhibits have survived to this day. Having visited the museum, the tourist learns about the origin and development of man, about the origin and diversity of races on Earth. It presents some of the richest collections of the whole world, which reflect the life and traditions of the peoples of different parts of the world:
- North America - the section is devoted to the life of the Aleuts and Eskimos. Various compositions are presented ritual dances: calling rain, sun, harvest, treatment of the sick by a shaman and many others.
- Oceania, India and Indonesia - exhibits brought from these continents are presented: carved wood, puppet theater, old theatrical costumes and various masks; in the Indonesian hall you can see kris daggers.
- China, Mongolia and Japan - items on display here applied arts these countries (incense burners, figurines, clothing and footwear, clockwork toys, an ethnographic mannequin, etc.).
- Australia.
Museum of M. V. Lomonosov
Another museum of the Kunstkamera, located in the tower of the building, is dedicated to the brilliant Russian natural scientist and poet Lomonosov, who worked in this institution in the middle of the 18th century (from 1741 to 1765). Today, here you can find his personal belongings, scientific instruments that he used during his experiments, maps, as well as various literary works and labors.
The ancient books collected by the scientist, works of painting and sculpture, pieces of furniture and arts and crafts will be of interest.
Gottorp globe
Located at the top of the building. Its history is very remarkable: it was made in the 17th century. mechanics and engravers from the Duchy of Holstein, and then presented to Peter the Great as a diplomatic gift. The sovereign brought it to St. Petersburg, and in 1726 it was installed on the 3rd floor of the Kunstkamera building. It was a huge ball with a diameter of 3.1 m, a map of the Earth was placed outside, and the starry sky was placed inside. To get there, one had to go through a special hatch.
After a terrible fire, the globe-planetarium was badly damaged, practically only a frame and metal parts remained. Fortunately, in the 1750s, a quite successful copy of it was made. During the war, the globe, as a great value, was even taken out for the period of the siege of Leningrad in order to save it for the museum. Today, this amazing exhibit can be found on the 5th floor of the museum.
The Kunstkamera is an amazing place where many unique exhibits are exhibited. Let's talk about some of the most interesting, which are legendary:
- Servant Skeleton. At the beginning of the 18th century in France, Peter I saw a giant man (2.3 m). His name was Nicholas Bourgeois. The sovereign brought him to Russia and hired him as a personal footman. When the Frenchman died, his remains were transferred to the Kunstkamera. During the fire, the skull disappeared, and another one was fixed in its place. Since then, they say that the skeleton of N. Bourgeois walks around the museum at night in search of his head.
- Missing head of Mary Hamilton. Maria Hamilton is an English spy and child murderer. Her head was kept in the Kunstkamera, from where it was stolen along with the flask with alcohol in which it was located. British sailors, who were just standing in the port of St. Petersburg, were accused of kidnapping. They promised to return the remains of the skull, but they never did and sailed away. A year later, the British sent three heads to the museum as a token of apology.
- Live exhibits. As mentioned earlier, some exhibits of the Kunstkamera were alive. For example, Fedor Ignatiev is a very vertically challenged(no more than 130 cm), who also had only two fingers on his hands and feet.
- Flute. One of the most interesting exhibits museum - a flute made from a human femur. This musical instrument made by a Mongolian shaman and used in rituals associated with communicating with spirits.
- Anatomical collection of Ruysch — the collection assembled by the Dutch professor is considered one of the most famous and valuable for which the Kunstkamera (St. Petersburg) is famous. It consists of babies and their different parts body (937 units). Ruysch collected it for 50 years, and in order to persuade the Dutchman to pass it on, Peter the Great spent almost 20 years and acquired it in 1717, promising Ruysch that he would preserve such an unusual collection for posterity.
Conclusion
The Kunstkamera is a truly amazing museum. Some of its exhibits amaze, others frighten with their ugliness. Here you can find babies drunk in alcohol, people with various anomalies and animals (for example, a fox with two heads). There are a lot of legends about the Kunstkamera and its exhibits. This museum is a place that is really worth visiting.
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Need to know: 10 little-known facts about the Kunstkamera
A story about how Peter the Great treated the guests of the museum with vodka, and a headless skeleton walked around the halls. We recall the most curious and interesting facts of one of the oldest museums in the world.
Once Peter was walking around the island and noticed a pine tree, in which one of the branches had grown into the trunk and thus formed a semicircle. The emperor admired the pine tree, nicknamed it "monster tree" and, having ordered it to be cut down, decided to build a building for the museum in its place.
The construction of the building lasted for sixteen years. Initially, the architect Mattarnovi was engaged in it, and after Gerbel, Chiaveri and Zemtsov, under whom the building acquired its final baroque appearance. Alas, Peter I never saw the new building, since by the time of his death the walls had just been erected, and by 1726 the collections had been moved to the unfinished building.
When the museum's collection was located in Kikin's chambers, Peter ordered that museum curiosities be available to absolutely everyone: both for nobles and for commoners. Moreover, the emperor showed concern for the leisure of those who came to look at “ugliness in a large company: “Whoever comes with a company to watch rarities, then treat them to me with a cup of coffee, a glass of vodka or something else.”
The collection of the Kunstkamera before the fire of 1747 was full of amazing gizmos. For example, on the third floor there was an amazing globe-planetarium, which was presented as a gift to Peter. It was a ball with a diameter of about three meters, on the outer surface of which there was a map, and inside - an image of the starry sky. Through a special hatch it was possible to get inside the globe and observe the rotation of celestial bodies. Alas, in the flames of a fire in 1747, the globe was completely destroyed and subsequently it had to be created anew on a metal frame. During the years of the blockade, he was even taken out of Leningrad, but then returned. Now a copy of the grandiose globe is on the fourth floor.
Another unique piece of the collection is a flute made from a human femur. Once it was made by a shaman of one of the Mongolian tribes. It was believed that a mere mortal should not blow into it, the instrument was used exclusively for ritual purposes - to call otherworldly forces.
MAN IS A GIANT
From his fascinating trip abroad, along with many unique antiquities and relics, Peter I brought to St. Petersburg the Frenchman Nicolas Bourgeois - a man 226.7 cm tall, who, along with other "overseas gifts", earned unprecedented interest from the court and ordinary people. Nicolas lived as an imperial footman at court for seven years, after which he died of apoplexy. However, Peter I decided that even after his death, the faithful servant remains a unique and unlike curiosity, and transferred his body to the Kunstkamera. Until 1747, the skeleton stood peacefully in one of the showcases, but after the fire, the head strangely ... disappeared. The skeleton was not injured in the fire, but the head, apparently, decided to arbitrarily leave the uncomfortable place. Later, a new skull was installed in its place (I wonder whose?), And since then, according to rumor, the skeleton has been walking around the spacious halls and looking for its head, frightening the guards and watchmen.
A similar case with the loss of the head took place a little later, in the post-Petrine era: the head of the executed English spy and child murderer Maria Hamilton disappeared in an unknown direction along with alcohol from the flask in which it was located. As usual, the main Russian enemy was blamed for the incident - drunkenness: they say that alcohol was not poured out, but simply drunk. The loss of the head was attributed to the English sailors, whose ship was at that time in the port of St. Petersburg. The sailors promised to return the unusual exhibit to the museum, but they did not fulfill the promise: they disappeared for a whole year, and then they brought three male heads to the Kunstkamera staff. However, the exchange was recognized as equivalent and the city authorities had no claims against the sailors after the “deal” was made.
It is worth mentioning the legend of the clock going backwards. Allegedly, there is a mahogany clock in one of the halls, brought to St. Petersburg from a distant journey by an unknown officer. They are good for everyone: the case is solid, the carving is beautiful and the dial is made skillfully, but here's the bad luck - their mechanism is not working. But the clock was still left in the Kunstkamera. Since then, employees have observed a strange thing: the clock periodically starts working, but the hands move in the opposite direction from the normal direction. Having reached the mark "9:45" they whimsically stop. Rumor has it that this is a bad sign: if this happens, then one of the employees will die soon.
When the Kunstkamera was founded, among the jars with alcoholized embryos and human bones, there were people who acted as "living exhibits". The most famous was Fedor Ignatiev, who lived within the walls of the museum for 16 years. He was only 126 centimeters tall, on his legs and on his right hand he had two fingers resembling claws, and on his left hand he had a pair of the same strange ... hands.
In 1718, when obscurantism and prejudice were rampant, Peter I issued a decree according to which freaks of "human, bestial, animal and bird" should be delivered to St. Petersburg. In exchange for them, the emperor promised a large reward. Those who decided to hide the "gifts of nature" from the state, faced a fine ten times higher than the assigned reward.
