Anatomical museums are invariably of great interest to tourists. When museums of history or arts do not arouse sufficient interest, then before the upcoming vacation, you should choose an exposition that will really touch the living.
Museum Vrolik
1. Perky Museum Museum Vrolik (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was founded by father and son Vrolik. Translated from Anglo-Dutch, the word "vrolik" means "fervent", for this reason the museum received such a strange name.
2. Gerardas Vrolik, and William Vrolik were professors of medicine and studied mutations in humans. They collected a huge collection of mutations, which eventually turned into a museum. The exhibits include Siamese twins, children of the Cyclopes, two-headed monsters. Mutant freaks of various stripes make an indelible impression on visitors.
The Human Body Exhibition
3. Exhibition The Human Body Exhibition, or an exhibition of the human body, was first exhibited in Florida in 2005 and has since been held in many cities around the world.
The geography of the exhibition is more than impressive: Winnipeg, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Atlanta, Vienna, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Niagara Falls (Ontario), Bogota, Cordoba, Barcelona, Cincinnati, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo , Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, Zagreb, Budapest, Belgrade, Lisbon, Atlantic City, San Diego, Las Vegas, New York, San Antonio, Washington, Omaha, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Sacramento, Tucson, Cleveland , Seattle, Detroit, Riga, Warsaw, Puerto Rico, Ljubljana, and Boise, Haifa, as well as Houston, Tegucigalpa, San Salvador (El Salvador), Bucharest, London. Embalmed human bodies, dissected in such a way as to show, on the one hand, the complexity of the structure of the human body, and, on the other hand, show its beauty and harmony, are used as exhibits of the exhibition. How beautiful it looks, judge for yourself.
4. It should be noted that the people whose bodies are exhibited as exhibits, during their lifetime, gave written consent to the use of their bodies after death as drugs. Anyone who liked the exhibition can make a posthumous will on the spot and replenish the exhibition after death.
Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg
5. The Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg was founded in 1714 by order of Peter the Great.
The Kunstkamera contains more than a million exhibits. If earlier the exhibits were used for scientific purposes, then at present it is exclusively a museum of human mutations and deformities, where visitors can see with their own eyes incredible metamorphoses that nature does with human flesh.
6. It is worth saying that in addition to the so-called "freak exhibition", this museum famous for its numerous exhibits that tell the historical past of many peoples of the world.
Museum of the human body in the Netherlands
8. The museum was created for twelve years. The creation of the collection took twenty-seven million dollars. The building is located inside the model of a giant man, which makes it possible to walk freely inside and get acquainted with the structure and work of the organs and systems of the human body. Museum staff necessarily have a medical education and intelligibly answer all kinds of questions from visitors.
9. If you want to improve your knowledge of human anatomy, then the museum of the human body in the Netherlands - perfect place for this.
Plastinarium (Plastinarium)
10. Museum "Plastinarium" (Guben, Germany) opened in a small town on the border with Poland. The museum was organized by Gunther von Hagens, nicknamed "Doctor Death". As exhibits, he uses the purchased corpses of people, among the exhibits there are also the corpses of executed prisoners. Before becoming exhibits, the bodies are processed in a special way, as a result of which fat and water are removed from them, their place is replaced by a substance resembling plastic in structure.
11. In the museum you can find various sculptural compositions from dead bodies. So you can see sculptural composition where corpses play cards or ride horses. A visit to the museum gives rise to twofold feelings: many museum visitors cannot stand the spectacle they see and lose consciousness, some admire what they see and consider the doctor a genius.
Museums of St. Petersburg: Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera)300 years of science and history 
Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) Russian Academy Sciences (MAE RAS) is one of the largest and oldest ethnographic museums in the world, the collection funds of which include over 1.2 million items. It is the successor of the first Russian state public museum, the famous Petrovsky Kunstkamera, founded by Peter I in 1714.
The year of foundation of the Kunstkamera, as well as the Library of the Academy of Sciences, is considered by most historians to be 1714. The decree on the founding of the Kunstkamera has not been found, it, apparently, did not exist. The foundation of the museum is associated with the order of the tsar to transport from Moscow to the new capital Russian Empire personal collection of collections and the library of Peter I, as well as books and collections of "naturals" of the Apothecary Office, including those purchased during the Great Embassy to Europe.
In St. Petersburg, the collections were placed in the Summer Palace, which had just been built for the tsar, and later transferred to the Kikin Chambers, where in 1719 they were first shown to visitors. The creation of the public museum was entrusted to the President of the Apothecaries' Office, medical doctor Robert Areskin, and Johann Schumacher, who was specially appointed "supervisor of rarities and naturals".
This date, 1714, is also named by I.D. Schumacher (Secretary of the Academy of Sciences and Director of the Kunstkamera and the Library in 1724-1761) in the book “The Chambers of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences…” (1744 edition): “The Library and the Kunstkamera were established in 1714, and in 1724 they were attached to the Academy of Sciences ".
Even earlier, starting in 1704, Peter I issued a series of decrees (“On the bringing of born freaks, as well as unusual things found ...”, etc.), which laid the foundation for collecting collections for the future museum. Initially, the personal collections of Peter I and collections of anatomy and zoology were kept in the Aptekarsky Prikaz in Moscow.
Simultaneously with the organization of the museum, the design and construction (1718-1727) of a special building for the museum began. Built on the banks of the Neva in the style of Peter's baroque, this building was adjacent to the most important buildings of the capital - the building of the "Twelve Colleges", the Stock Exchange, the palaces of the closest associates and members of the royal family. The building of the Kunstkamera is considered to be one of the earliest museum buildings in the world. It is the symbol and logo of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Ten years later, Peter the Great carried out the second part of his "academic" project. On January 28 (February 8), 1724, by order of the emperor, the Academy of Sciences was established by decree of the ruling Senate. The Kunstkamera and the Library created simultaneously with it became the first institutions, the "cradle" of the St. Petersburg (Russian) Academy of Sciences.
Gottorp Globe. The only surviving detail of the first globe is now on display at the Kunstkamera. This is a door decorated with the heraldic shield of the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp. At the time of the fire, the door was in the basement and therefore was not damaged. During World War II, it was taken to Germany, and returned in 1948.
Great Gottorp Globe
The transfer of the first Russian museum to the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences played a decisive role in its fate. The concentration of the richest collections within its walls, the introduction of scientific processing and systematization, as well as supervision of the exposition of the best scientific forces of the country, turned the Kunstkamera into a truly scientific institution, which had no equal in the organization of work in all of Europe.
From the very beginning, the museum was not only the scientific base of the Academy of Sciences, but also the most important cultural and educational institution. Many prominent Russian scientists worked within the walls of the Kunstkamera, among them M.V. Lomonosov, who compiled a description of the minerals kept in the Museum.
In the decrees of Peter I in 1718, it was ordered to hand over for a fee to the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera "unusual stones, human and animal bones, old inscriptions on stones, iron or copper, an old gun, dishes, everything that is very old and unusual."
These decrees played an extremely important role in the formation of the collections of the Kunstkamera, and later the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography - for more than two centuries, collections collected by famous Russian travelers and navigators came here. In particular, special academic expeditions were sent to various regions of Russia to collect collections.
Many diplomatic gifts were also transferred to the Kunstkamera, and later to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Russian emperors, collections collected by Russian diplomats in different parts of the world.
In the 30s XIX years V. Based on the collections of the Kunstkamera, seven independent academic museums were created: Ethnographic, Asian, Egyptian, Anatomical, Zoological, Botanical, Mineralogical and the Cabinet of Peter I. The Ethnographic and Anatomical Museums continued to be located in the building of the Kunstkamera.
During the celebration of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg in 1903, the museum received the name of the founder of the Kunstkamera - Peter the Great.
The years preceding the 200th anniversary of the Kunstkamera in 1914 were undoubtedly the "golden age" in the history of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The exposition areas have doubled, new expositions of the museum have been created, and its budget has increased significantly. In 1909, the Board of Trustees of the rich and influential people was created at the MAE, with whose money a number of expeditions were organized to replenish the collections (to Ceylon, to India; to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, to Abyssinia, etc.). For 20 years, from 1894 to 1914. The ethnographic collections of the MAE grew by almost 100,000 items. During the anniversary celebrations, the Museum was visited by Emperor Nicholas II, members of the Senate and the State Council.
The priceless ethnographic, anthropological and archaeological collections kept in the Museum are among the most complete and interesting in the world. They number more than 1.2 million exhibits, reflect the diversity of cultures of the peoples of the Old and New Worlds and are part of the cultural heritage of all mankind.
Associated with the Museum scientific activity such outstanding domestic researchers of the 19th century as the founder of Russian and European anthropology, academician K.M. Baer, traveler, scientist, public figure N.N. Miklouho-Maclay (traditional cultures of Australia, Oceania)
In 1933, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR decided to establish the Research Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology named after V.I. N.N. Miklukho-Maclay (IEA USSR Academy of Sciences). During the Second World War, in connection with the acute need to quickly obtain analytical materials on the peoples who were involved in the zone of strategic interests and hostilities Soviet army, in Moscow in 1943 the head unit of the IEA of the USSR Academy of Sciences was created, and the Museum became the Leningrad part of this institute.
In 1992, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) again becomes an independent institution within the Department of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (now the Historical and Philological Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences).
Today the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) RAS is not only an academic museum, but also one of the leading research centers of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The traditions of the great Russian ethnographers and anthropologists of the 18th - 20th centuries continue here. Decrees of the President Russian Federation(No. 294 of December 18, 1991 and No. 1487 of November 30, 1992) MAE RAS classified as a particularly valuable object cultural heritage peoples of the Russian Federation, is included in the State code of especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation.
The museum is located in two buildings: in the building of the Kunstkamera and the Museum wing attached to it in 1887.
The building of the Kunstkamera was built in the Peter the Great Baroque style. This is the first museum building in Russia and, apparently, oldest building in the world, built specifically for the museum. The building is crowned with a tower with an armillary sphere symbolizing the model of the solar system.
According to legend, Peter I chose the place for the construction of the museum. He drew attention to an unusual pine tree, an outlandish part of which is presented in the museum.
The initial design of the building was, in all likelihood, drawn up by the architect Andreas Schlüter, and then developed on the basis of his drawings by G. Mattarnovi with the personal participation of Peter. Later works led by architects N. Gerbel and G. Chiaveri. The whole complex of works was completed in 1734 by the architect M. Zemtsov.
Meridian circle (telescope for exact definition coordinates of heavenly bodies). T.L. Ertel, Germany, 1828
After a fire in the building of the Kunstkamera in 1747, some rooms were decorated. So, on the ceiling of the hall on the second floor of the eastern wing of the Kunstkamera (library hall; now the Baroque Hall, where the exhibition "Natural Science Collections of the Kunstkamera" is located), the artist D. Gianni in 1757 created a stucco pattern, and the sculptor M. Pavlov in the 70s gg. 18th century - two high reliefs - "Celebrating Europe" and "Triumph of Russia". The plafond and high reliefs have survived to this day. The wooden tower, which burned down during a fire in 1747, was restored only after 200 years. At the same time, the famous armillary sphere crowned the tower (project by R.I. Kaplan-Ingel)
Exposition "The First Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences". Center: armillary sphere (France, late 18th century).
The building of the "Chambers" was founded in 1718. The construction was led by the architect Mattarnovi, who developed the design of the building. After him, other architects were engaged in the construction of the building until 1734: Gerbel, Chiaveri, Zemtsov. Construction progressed very slowly, with long interruptions. By the beginning of 1725, when Peter died, only the walls had been erected. In 1726, the collections were moved to the still unfinished building.
The building was built in the Peter the Great Baroque style and consists of two 3-storey molded buildings connected by a baroque multi-tiered tower with a complex domed top. The museum collections occupied the eastern wing of the building, in the middle part there was the Anatomical Theater, in the tower - the Gottorp Globe (since 1754 - the Great Academic) and the observatory, in the western part - the institutions of the Academy of Sciences. M. V. Lomonosov worked here.
In 1777-1779, the interiors were decorated with 4 sculptural allegorical groups, busts and medallions of prominent scientists (sculptor M. P. Pavlov), in 1819-1825 - with paintings (artist F. Richter). Due to the abundance of materials in the 1830s. The Kunstkamera was divided into a number of museums: Zoological, Ethnographic, Botanical, Mineralogical.
Sections of the museum
North America
The tour of the museum begins from the 1st floor, where an exposition is presented that reveals the culture and life of the indigenous population of North America.
The Kunstkamera has the richest collections of traditional culture and life of the indigenous peoples of the North American continent - the Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians. Special interest evoke compositions: a scene of treatment of a sick person by a shaman, a ritual dance for calling rain, and others. Here you can see representatives various peoples from Alaska to California.
Japan
This exhibition presents the life and culture of the Japanese and the Ainu. Fishing was one of the main trade activities on the island, and the Kunstkamera has a large collection of various tackle: hooks, nets, traps. The samurai armor exhibited at the exhibition amaze with its finish and complex design.
Africa
The hall dedicated to Africa introduces visitors to the history and life of many peoples inhabiting Africa south of the Sahara. The exposition presents various tools of labor that were the main tools of farmers. Objects skillfully carved from wood and bone are also on display.
China and Mongolia
50 national minorities live in China, and the exposition dedicated to the peoples of China characterizes only the main aspects of their way of life and culture. China is considered the birthplace of porcelain, and the museum has many items made of porcelain, as well as objects made of cloisonne, stone, wood and bone.
In the hall of Mongolia, the dwelling of a nomad - a yurt, as well as exhibits with traditional Mongolian ornaments, are of interest. They were decorated with clothes, tools, saddles, blankets and much more.
India and Indonesia
The section of the museum dedicated to the peoples of South Asia is one of the richest. The Kunstkamera has a large collection of carved wood brought from different parts of India. There are also collections of various masks, vintage theatrical costumes, puppet theater puppets.
The Indonesian section draws attention to kris daggers. The blade of these daggers was made of special steel and often had the shape of a tongue of flame. Also of interest are the exposition materials that tell about the shadow theater.
Anatomical section
On the 2nd floor, the central place, and in general in the entire museum, is occupied by the first natural science collection of the Kunstkamera, collected by Peter I himself. In the hall where the "freaks" are placed, photography is not allowed. I managed to capture only the mask removed from the face of the Russian emperor after his death.
Death mask of Peter
This section contains exhibits with anatomical deformities and a variety of natural rarities, such as sirenomelia, two-headed lamb, Siamese twins and much more.
The original collection of the Kunstkamera consisted of more than 2,000 exhibits and was bought by Peter I in 1717 from its creator, Frederick Ruysch, a Dutch anatomist, for 30,000 [source not specified 520 days] guilders.
After the famous decree of Peter on February 13, 1718 on the collection of monsters, the Kunstkamera regularly received freaks, both living and dead. Teratology, i.e. the science of freaks and all kinds of monsters was considered at that time not only entertaining, but also useful: with its help it was possible to show that freaks are born without the intervention of the devil, but for natural reasons. Monsters were rated very highly, and a large fine was levied for concealing them, and therefore they entered the Kunstkamera in abundance. They were dissected here, in the Anatomical Theater, and exhibits were prepared from them.
The pride of the Kunstkamera was the famous collection of the Dutch anatomist Ruysch. Peter met him in 1698 in Holland during the Great Embassy. Ruysch became famous for his unique injection method: he poured a colored hardening composition into the vessels of the human body. Thanks to this, it was possible to see the smallest branching of vessels in various organs. In this skill, called the "ruyche art", the Dutch anatomist remained unsurpassed both during his lifetime and after his death.
He took with him to the grave the secret of embalming the corpses of adults and children: he dissected them so skillfully that they seemed alive. Ruysch kept his skillful samples dry or in glass jars, pouring them with alcohol infused with black pepper. In order to make them look pleasant and natural, he decorated them with beads, flowers, lace robes. Contemporaries perceived them as the eighth wonder of the world.
Ruysch subordinated the placement of exhibits to the old, allegorical way. His collections demonstrated the idea of the vanity and transience of life that was popular at the time. Ruysch believed that "death is a mercy bestowed by an almighty creator."
History of the Kunstkamera and Russian science of the 18th century.
On the last 3rd floor, which is open for free visits (4th and 5th floor only for those who have previously signed up for a tour), the atmosphere of an 18th-century scientific institution is recreated. Such world-famous scientists as N. and D. Bernoulli, J. Delisle, G.F. Miller, L. Euler, invited by Peter I to the St. Russian member Academy.
The section includes three expositions, united under the code name "Museum of M. V. Lomonosov". The exposition “Conference Hall (“Conference Hall”) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences” presents the daily activities of the first scientific institution in Russia and the biography of M. V. Lomonosov. Two other expositions - "Astronomical Observatory of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences" and "Great Gottorp Globe-Planetarium" - illuminate early period the history of the Kunstkamera, when the tower of the building housed the Astronomical Observatory, the exact time service and the conditional line of the St. Petersburg meridian.
I Hall under reconstruction
II Exposition "North America"
III Exhibition "The World of One Object"
IV Exposition "Japan"
V Hall under reconstruction
VI Exposition "Africa"
VII
Hall under renovation
VIII Exhibition "Near and Middle East"
IX Exposition "China. Mongolia. Korea."
X Exposition "Indochina"
XI Exposition "India. Indonesia."
XII Hall under reconstruction
XIII Exposition "The First Natural Science Collections of the Kunstkamera"
XIV
The exposition "M.V.Lomonosov and the Academy of Sciences of the 18th century."
XV Hall for temporary exhibitions
4th floor
First Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences
Astrolabe-planisphere - goniometric astronomical instrument for determining the position of stars. Gaulterus Arsenius. Flanders. XVI century
Astronomical quadrant - an instrument for measuring the height of celestial bodies. Muhammad b. Ahmad al Musa. Damascus. 14th century
Southern pavilion of the exposition.
Sundial-globe. I. Bruckner. Instrumental Chamber of the Academy of Sciences. Mid 18th century
In the tower of the Kunstkamera in the 18th century, observations were made of starry sky, time and cartography services worked. Having been here, the visitor of the Museum will see a variety of scientific instruments, measuring instruments, astrolabes of complex design, elegant clockwork, spyglasses and telescopes.
Within the walls of the observatory of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera, domestic astronomy, meteorology, geography, geodesy, topography, and time service were born. The first St. Petersburg meridian passed through it, which became the basis for mapping the country and planning the city.
Outstanding scientists of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences L. Euler, G. V. Kraft, H. N. Winsheim, F. H. Mayer, G. Gainsius and others worked here. Observations were carried out in the building of the Kunstkamera until the completion of the construction of the Pulkovo Observatory in 1839.
Reproduced at the exhibition workplace 18th century astronomer. A large retractable spotting scope is one of the few surviving instruments of M. V. Lomonosov. With its help, he observed the passage of Venus through the disk of the Sun in 1763.
5th floor
Great Gottorp Globe
Star map of the Great Academic (Gottorp) Globe
Stars of various sizes of the Great Academic (Gottorp) Globe.
Large academic (Gottorp) globe.
The door of the Gottorp globe with the coat of arms of the Dukes of Gottorp-Holstein.
The earthly and celestial globe was made in the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein by mechanic A. Bush and engravers A. and H. Rothgizers in 1651-1664. designed by Adam Olearius, during the reign of Duke Frederick III.
The Gottorp Globe is a diplomatic gift to Tsar Peter I from the Duke of Holstein Karl Friedrich during the Great Northern War. It was brought to St. Petersburg in 1717 and in 1726 installed on the third floor of the building of the Kunstkamera of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1747, the globe was damaged during a fire in the Kunstkamera: a metal frame, a few metal parts and a door with the coat of arms of the Duchy of Holstein remained from it. The globe was restored in St. Petersburg by mechanics B. Scott and F. N. Tiryutin, cartographer I. F. Truskot and painter I. E. Grimmel in 1748-1752.
The newly created Large Academic Globe repeats the dimensions of the burnt Gottorp globe, reproduces the current mechanism of rotation, astronomy with a map of the starry sky inside. Geographic map With outside The globe displays the geographical representations of Russian scientists of the second half of the 18th century.
The diameter of the globe is 3.1 m.
To the 300th anniversary of M.V. Lomonosov, an online catalog "M.V. Lomonosov and Russian Science of the 18th Century" was developed.
Kooymans L. Artist of death. Anatomical Lessons by Frederic Ruysch = De doodskunstenaar. De anatomische lessen van Frederik Ruysch. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2008. - 448 p.
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 purpose 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 of the 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 one 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 of the museum is 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.
On January 31, the Kunstkamera, the famous “cabinet of rarities”, turns 302 years old, but despite such a respectable age, the oldest museum in Russia still does not lose its grip and continues to amaze both adults and very young visitors with its unusual exhibits. In connection with this important date we have prepared for you a small educational program on the history of this legendary place - 7 facts that will truly surprise you.
Fact number 1: how did Peter I get the idea to open such a museum
Once the emperor was walking along Vasilevsky Island, when he suddenly noticed a very unusual tree - a pine tree, one of the branches of which had grown into the trunk, thereby forming a kind of ring. Peter I was extremely pleased with his find - a pine with light hand emperor was nicknamed "monster tree". Later, it was cut down, and the Kunstkamera Museum was built in its place.
Fact number 2: the subtleties of Russian hospitality, or why Peter I treated visitors to the museum with vodka
Initially, the unique collection of the Kunstkamera was located in the house of the disgraced boyar Alexander Kikin - in the so-called Kikin Chambers. Later, the emperor gave the order that outlandish exhibits should be available to everyone, regardless of their class - both commoners and philistines.
Among other things, Peter I clearly knew a lot about marketing, as he came up with the following curious “PR campaign”: “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.”
Fact #3: The Kunstkamera is a paradise for beginner shamans
Among the most interesting exhibits of the Kunstkamera is a unique flute made from a human femur. It sounds, of course, creepy, but, apparently, this was the idea - the instrument was made by a shaman of one Mongolian tribe.
Do not try to play a cheerful melody on this outlandish flute, unless you want to evoke some evil spirit - in the old days the instrument was used for ritual purposes, to communicate with otherworldly forces.
Fact number 4: in the Kunstkamera you can look inside the globe
Before the fire of 1747 in the collection oldest museum Russia had truly amazing exhibits, the loss of which was completely impossible to make up for. So, for example, lovers of geography and astronomy could be pleased with the globe-planetarium, which is a ball with a diameter of three meters, outside of which there was a map of the Earth, and inside - an image of the starry sky.
It was possible to get into the globe through a special hatch and at least for hours enjoy the rotation of the mysterious celestial bodies. Unfortunately, this unique exhibit was destroyed in a fatal fire in 1747, and it had to be restored on a metal frame. The copy turned out to be quite successful, so during the blockade, in order to preserve it, it was even taken out of the city - now it can be seen on the fourth floor of the museum.
Fact number 5: why Peter I exhibited the skeleton of a former servant in the museum
The Frenchman Nicolas Bourgeois was not just a good servant of Peter I: in addition to his complaisant character, he had another distinctive feature - his height was as much as 226.7 centimeters. It is not surprising that after the death of Nicolas from an apoplexy, the emperor decided that the body of a faithful servant could well serve to educate and entertain the people of St. Petersburg - so the Kunstkamera acquired its own giant man.
An interesting fact: during the fire of 1747, the skeleton of Nicolas Bourgeois did not suffer at all, however, he lost one very significant detail - his head. Who took it and why anyone might need it is still unknown. But according to legend, the head of a devoted servant of the emperor is still in the Kunstkamera, but still cannot find his body - but it perfectly frightens the watchmen and guards of the museum.
Fact #6: Missing head of English spy Maria Hamilton
By the way, Nicolas Bourgeois was not the only one who lost his head - already in the post-Petrine era, the head of the executed English spy and child-killer Maria Hamilton was stolen from the museum - moreover, along with alcohol from the flask in which she stood.
Museum staff decided that alcohol was not poured out, but simply drunk. The British sailors who were at that time in the port of St. Petersburg were accused of stealing a valuable exhibit. The latter vowed to return Mary Hamilton (more precisely, what was left of her), but did not keep their promise and left. True, a year later their conscience apparently still tormented them, and they presented three male heads as a gift to the museum, as a result of which they were forgiven.
Fact number 7: living exhibits of the museum
After the foundation of the legendary Kunstkamera, along with objects of various cults, as well as test tubes and flasks with alcohol, there were living people as exhibits. So, for example, the townspeople of that time could visit the museum of Fyodor Ignatiev, a man of extremely small stature - only 126 centimeters. But this was not what made him so unusual - the poor fellow had right hand and the feet had two fingers, and on the left hand there were several pairs of the same strange hands ...
Address: Universitetskaya embankment, building 3
Opening hours: from 11:00 to 18:00, Monday is a day off, the last Tuesday of each month is a sanitary day
Price: adult ticket - 250 rubles, school, student, pension ticket - 50 rubles
The northern capital of Russia - St. Petersburg - has been the cultural and intellectual center of the country for several centuries. There are many in the city scientific institutions, museum collections, art galleries and interactive exhibitions. One of the brightest ethnographic and anthropological collections is the Kunstkamera of St. Petersburg, popularly referred to as the Museum of Freaks.
Anatomical section of the museum, despite huge collection exhibits from all over the globe, is the most visited department of the collection of the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg. According to the rules of the institution published on the website, tourists can take a photo of the museum only with the help of non-professional photographic equipment. However, according to the unspoken rule of the employees of the institution, shooting inside the anatomical section is prohibited.
What is the Kunstkamera and the history of its occurrence in St. Petersburg
Initially, the cabinet of curiosities was called the room of arts, in which noble persons and monarchs kept rare works of painting, sculpture, and literature. A little later, this concept began to mean a collection of all rare exhibits. The appearance of cabinets of rarities is attributed to the XVI - XVII century.
The concept of the Kunstkamera was brought to Russia by Peter the Great, who saw such meetings during his diplomatic mission in 1697-1698 in the cities of England and Holland. The monarch liked collecting rare exhibits so much that he personally bought their collections from European collectors. Returning to Russia. The emperor ordered the establishment of a similar museum in his homeland.
According to legend, the construction site of the Chambers of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, the Library and the Kunstkamera was also chosen randomly.. Walking along Vasilyevsky Island, the emperor noticed two fancifully fused pines. He ordered the trees to be cut down with the utmost care and added as an exhibit to the collection. At the site of their growth, the building was founded, which now houses the museum.
In 1747, a fire broke out in the building, which destroyed the tower of the building and the most famous exhibit of the collection - the Gottorp Globe, presented to Peter the Great as a diplomatic gift by the bishop-administrator of the Duchy of Gottorp. It was later restored.
The most famous exhibits of the Kunstkamera Museum in St. Petersburg
The museum's collection has a uniquely large number of exhibits that tell about the history, culture and life of many peoples of the world, anatomical anomalies and rarities. However, among the diversity of the collection several exhibition copies still stand out:
Other exhibits of the collection
Numerous ethnographic exhibits of the Kunstkamera Museum in St. Petersburg conveniently divided into departments, corresponding to certain events, topics, parts of the world or countries:
Conclusion
Exposition of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography so vast that it is unlikely to be fully explored in one day. Therefore, it is better to familiarize yourself with the list of excursions and tours around the Kunstkamera on the official website of the institution, and choose the most interesting ones for yourself.
Museum of the Kunstkamera
