Creation of the Kunstkamera - the first Russian museum. Kunstkamera

Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) Russian Academy Sciences (MAE RAS) - one of the largest and oldest ethnographic museums world, whose collection funds number over 1.2 million items. It is the successor to the first Russian state public museum, the famous Peter's Kunstkamera, founded by Peter I in 1714.

Most historians consider 1714 to be the year of foundation of the Kunstkamera, as well as the Library of the Academy of Sciences. The decree on the foundation of the Kunstkamera was not found; it, apparently, did not exist. The foundation of the museum is associated with the Tsar’s order to transport it from Moscow to the new capital Russian Empire personal collections and library of Peter I, as well as books and collections of “naturalia” of the Apothecary Chancellery, 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 were later transferred to the Kikin Chambers, where they were first shown to visitors in 1719. The creation of a public museum was entrusted to the President of the Pharmacy Chancellery, physician Robert Areskin, and the specially appointed “overseer of rarities and naturals” Johann Schumacher.

This date, 1714, was also named by I.D. Schumacher (secretary of the Academy of Sciences and director of the Kunstkamera and Library in 1724-1761) in the book “Chambers of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences...” (1744 edition): “The Library and Kunstkamera were established in 1714, and in 1724 they were annexed to the Academy of Sciences "

Even earlier, starting in 1704, Peter I issued a series of decrees (“On the bringing of born monsters, also found unusual things...”, etc.), which laid the foundation for the collection of collections for the future museum. Initially, the personal collections of Peter I and collections on anatomy and zoology were kept in the Apothecary 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 the Great's Baroque, this building was adjacent to the most important buildings of the capital - the building of the Twelve Colleges, the Exchange, the palaces of the closest associates and members royal family. The Kunstkamera building is rightfully considered 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 government Senate. The Kunstkamera and the Library, created simultaneously with it, became the first institutions, the “cradle” of the St. Petersburg (Russian) Academy of Sciences.

The transfer of the first Russian museum to 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 exhibition of the country's best scientific forces 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 major Russian scientists worked within the walls of the Kunstkamera, and among them M.V. Lomonosov, who compiled a description of the minerals stored in the Museum.

The decrees of Peter I in 1718 ordered that “extraordinary stones, human and animal bones, old inscriptions on stones, iron or copper, old guns, dishes, everything that is very old and unusual” be handed over for a fee to the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera.

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 seafarers were received here. In particular, special Academic expeditions were sent to various regions of Russia to collect collections.

Formation of ethnographic funds of the museum in the 18th - early 19th centuries. associated with the names of I.I. Georgi, I.A. Gildenstedt, I.G. and S.G. Gmelinykh, S.P. Krasheninikova, G.I. Langsdorf, I.I. Lepekhina, Yu.F. Lisyansky, F.P. Litke, D.G. Messerschmidt, G.F. Miller, N.Ya. Ozeretskovsky, P.S. Pallas, I.P. Falka and others. In the XIX - XX centuries. The MAE received collections from I.F. Krusenstern, I.G. Voznesensky, N.N. Miklouho-Maclay, V.V. Juncker, A.L. Yashchenko, A.M. Manizera, L.A. I am. Mervartov, P.K. Kozlova, V.K. Arsenyeva, N.S. Gumilyov and many others. In addition, the collections of the Kunstkamera also included collections of a number of famous European travelers J. Cook, I.F. van Overmeer-Fisher, F.F. von Siebold, L. Frobenius and others. 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 years XIX 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 Kunstkamera building. On December 5, 1878, at the suggestion of the director of the Ethnographic Museum, Academician A.A. Schiffner and the director of the Anatomical Museum, academician K.M. Baer Physics and Mathematics Department of the Academy of Sciences decided to establish the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, which was approved by decree on November 10, 1879 State Council. Thus, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAE) in St. Petersburg became not only one of the oldest ethnographic museums in the world, most of which were created in 1870-1910, but also inherited priceless and oldest ethnographic collections from the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera, many of which there are no analogues in museums in Europe and America.

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 leading up to the 200th anniversary of the Kunstkamera in 1914 were undoubtedly the “golden age” in the history of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The exhibition space has doubled, new museum exhibitions have been created, and its budget has increased significantly. In 1909, a Board of Trustees of rich and influential persons was created at the MAE, with whose money a number of expeditions were organized to replenish the collections (to Ceylon, India; to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, to Abyssinia, etc.). For 20 years, from 1894 to 1914. MAE ethnographic collections have grown by almost 100 thousand storage units. During the anniversary celebrations, the Museum was visited by Emperor Nicholas II, members of the Senate and State Council.

The invaluable ethnographic, anthropological and archaeological collections housed 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 humanity.

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). Within the walls of the MAE, domestic scientific schools associated with names and creative heritage such scientists as I.I. Zarubin (Central Asian studies), N.V. Küner (traditional culture of the peoples of East Asia), R.F. Barton (Philippines), L.I. Lavrov (Caucasian studies) D.A. Olderogge (African studies), Yu.V. Knorozov (decipherment of ancient writings South America). It is difficult to overestimate the role of such outstanding ethnographers of Siberian history as L.Ya. Sternberg, V.G. Bogoraz and V.I. Yochelson, in the formation of not only domestic Siberian studies, but also world ethnographic science as a whole. Special role in the development of the MAE archeology department and the formation of its collection fund belongs to the outstanding archaeological scientists of Russia - P.P. Efimenko and S.N. Zamyatnin.

Throughout its history, the Museum occupied a special place in the structure of the Academy of Sciences. Among the people who ran the Museum in various years, there were outstanding scientists: naturalist, zoologist, traveler, academician L.I. Schrenk, natural scientists academicians P.S. Pallas, S.G. Gmelin, N.Ya. Ozeretskovsky, orientalists and historians academicians V.V. Bartold, B.A. Dorn, V.V. Radlov, V.V. Struve, A.A. Schiffner, Africanist, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences D.A. Olderogge, linguists academicians E.F. Karsky and I.I. Meshchaninov.

In 1933, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences decided to create, on the basis of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, the Research Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology named after. N.N. Miklouho-Maclay (IEA AS USSR). During the Second World War, due to the urgent need to quickly obtain analytical materials on the peoples involved in the zone of strategic interests and hostilities Soviet army, in Moscow in 1943 the head division 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 named after. 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 state-financed organization Science Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) RAS is not only an academic museum, but also one of the leading research centers Russian Academy of Sciences. The traditions of the great Russian ethnographers and anthropologists of the 18th - 20th centuries continue here. By presidential decrees Russian Federation(No. 294 of December 18, 1991 and No. 1487 of November 30, 1992) MAE RAS classified as particularly valuable objects cultural heritage peoples of the Russian Federation, included in the State Code of Especially Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.

In 2014, the Kunstkamera celebrated its 300th anniversary. November 24-25, 2014 The international scientific conference “Kunstkamera - the first museum of Russia: 300 years of traditions and development” was held. November 26 A ceremonial meeting was held dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the oldest scientific institutions in Russia - the First Public Museum of Russia, the Kunstkamera and the Library of the Academy of Sciences. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Kunstkamera and the Library of the Academy of Sciences on their anniversary. Gifts and certificates from the government of St. Petersburg were presented by Andrey Maksimov, chairman of the city Committee on Science and Higher Education.

(G) (I) Possesses antiquities that reveal the history and life of many peoples. But many people know this museum for its collection of “freaks” - anatomical rarities and anomalies. The Kunstkamera building is early XVIII V. symbol of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Kunstkamera tower is crowned with an Armillary Sphere.

Etymology

In 1777-1779, the interiors were decorated with 4 sculptural allegorical groups, busts and medallions of outstanding scientists (sculptor M. P. Pavlov), in 1819-1825 - paintings (artist F. Richter). Due to the abundance of materials in the 1830s, the Kunstkamera was divided into a number of museums: Ethnographic, Botanical, Mineralogical.

Architecture

The building of the “Chambers” was founded in 1718. The construction was led by the architect Mattarnovi, who developed the design of the building. From 1719 to 1724, starting with the foundations already completed, construction was carried out by Gerbel. The architect made a number of changes to the Mattarnovi project: the low gable roof topped with a gallery was replaced with a high hip roof with two corners of the slope broken; corner projections receive smooth walls and end with large baroque pediments with volutes; the roof ridges of the two wings of the building are isolated from the volume of the tower, highlighting it as much as possible; instead of a low tower ending with a balustrade, another tier with a dome appears. The prototype of a three-tiered tower with a dome and an astronomical sphere could be the tower Munzthurm (Mint) Schluter. In one of the memos, Gerbel reports,

that the brick in the building is laid on an iron-like appearance from the water, and higher up from the face it is red, and in the middle and in the walls there is a lot of white.

By October 1722, the walls were erected and the roof installed. The finishing of the premises and installation of museum equipment took place from 1723 to 1724. At the same time, a number of alterations and strengthening of the vaults were carried out, two floors of the tower were erected, and H. van Boles developed a detailed design for the carpentry and metalwork of the dome.

After Gerbel's death in 1724, the work was carried out by the architect Chiaveri. Due to discovered structural defects, it was decided to rebuild the central part. In 1726, the collections were moved to the still unfinished building. Since 1729, under the leadership of Zemtsov, various “repairs and additions” were made inside the building. With the installation of 12 statues in the niches of the northern and southern facades in 1735, the construction of the building finally ended.

• Australia and Oceania

Here are the primitive tools of hunters and gatherers.

• Anatomical section

This section contains exhibits with anatomical deformities and various natural rarities, for example, sirenomelia, two-headed lamb, Siamese twins and much more.

• History of the Kunstkamera and Russian Science XVIII V.

The section includes three exhibitions, united under the code name “Museum of M.V. Lomonosov”. The exhibition “Meeting 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" - highlight early period history of the Kunstkamera, when the tower of the building housed the Astronomical Observatory, the exact time service and the conventional line of the St. Petersburg meridian.

Famous employees

Editions

• Kooymans L.= De doodskunstenaar. De anatomische lessen van Frederik Ruysch. - St. Petersburg. : Nauka, 2008. - 448 p. - ISBN 978-5-02-025550-0.

see also

• Astronomical Observatory of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences

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Notes

Links

• Official site
• on YouTube
• Information about the site
• Information about the museum on the website
• Online
• Kunstkamera // Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language: in 4 volumes / ch. ed. B. M. Volin, D. N. Ushakov(vol. 2-4); comp. G. O. Vinokur, B. A. Larin, S. I. Ozhegov, B.V. Tomashevsky, D. N. Ushakov; ed. D. N. Ushakova. - M. : GI "Soviet Encyclopedia" (vol. 1) : OGIZ (vol. 1) : GINS (vol. 2-4), 1935-1940.
• // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. , 1907-1909.
• Kunstkamera- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
• Kunstkamera // Encyclopedia “Around the World”.

Excerpt characterizing the Kunstkamera

Anatole left the room and a few minutes later returned in a fur coat belted with a silver belt and a sable hat, smartly put on his side and suiting him very well. beautiful face. Looking in the mirror and in the same position that he took in front of the mirror, standing in front of Dolokhov, he took a glass of wine.
“Well, Fedya, goodbye, thank you for everything, goodbye,” said Anatole. “Well, comrades, friends... he thought about... - my youth... goodbye,” he turned to Makarin and the others.
Despite the fact that they were all traveling with him, Anatole apparently wanted to make something touching and solemn out of this address to his comrades. He spoke in a slow, loud voice and with his chest out, he swayed with one leg. - Everyone take glasses; and you, Balaga. Well, comrades, friends of my youth, we had a blast, we lived, we had a blast. A? Now, when will we meet? I'll go abroad. Long lived, goodbye guys. For health! Hurray!.. - he said, drank his glass and slammed it on the ground.
“Be healthy,” said Balaga, also drinking his glass and wiping himself with a handkerchief. Makarin hugged Anatole with tears in his eyes. “Eh, prince, how sad I am to part with you,” he said.
- Go, go! - Anatole shouted.
Balaga was about to leave the room.
“No, stop,” said Anatole. - Close the doors, I need to sit down. Like this. - They closed the doors and everyone sat down.
- Well, now march, guys! - Anatole said standing up.
Footman Joseph handed Anatoly a bag and a saber, and everyone went out into the hall.
-Where is the fur coat? - said Dolokhov. - Hey, Ignatka! Go to Matryona Matveevna, ask for a fur coat, a sable cloak. “I heard how they were taking away,” Dolokhov said with a wink. - After all, she will jump out neither alive nor dead, in what she was sitting at home; you hesitate a little, there are tears, and dad, and mom, and now she’s cold and back - and you immediately take him into a fur coat and carry him into the sleigh.
The footman brought a woman's fox cloak.
- Fool, I told you sable. Hey, Matryoshka, sable! – he shouted so that his voice was heard far across the rooms.
A beautiful, thin and pale gypsy woman, with shiny black eyes and black, curly, bluish-tinged hair, in a red shawl, ran out with a sable cloak on her arm.
“Well, I’m not sorry, you take it,” she said, apparently timid in front of her master and regretting the cloak.
Dolokhov, without answering her, took the fur coat, threw it on Matryosha and wrapped her up.
“That’s it,” said Dolokhov. “And then like this,” he said, and lifted the collar near her head, leaving it only slightly open in front of her face. – Then like this, see? - and he moved Anatole’s head to the hole left by the collar, from which Matryosha’s brilliant smile could be seen.
“Well, goodbye, Matryosha,” Anatole said, kissing her. - Eh, my revelry is over here! Bow to Steshka. Well, goodbye! Goodbye, Matryosha; wish me happiness.
“Well, God grant you, prince, great happiness,” said Matryosha, with her gypsy accent.
There were two troikas standing at the porch, two young coachmen were holding them. Balaga sat down on the front three, and, raising his elbows high, slowly took apart the reins. Anatol and Dolokhov sat down with him. Makarin, Khvostikov and the footman sat in the other three.
- Are you ready, or what? – asked Balaga.
- Let go! - he shouted, wrapping the reins around his hands, and the troika rushed down Nikitsky Boulevard.
- Whoa! Come on, hey!... Whoa, - you could only hear the cry of Balaga and the young man sitting on the box. On Arbat Square, the troika hit a carriage, something crackled, a scream was heard, and the troika flew down Arbat.
Having given two ends along Podnovinsky, Balaga began to hold back and, returning back, stopped the horses at the intersection of Staraya Konyushennaya.
The good fellow jumped down to hold the horses' bridles, Anatol and Dolokhov walked along the sidewalk. Approaching the gate, Dolokhov whistled. The whistle responded to him and after that the maid ran out.
“Go into the yard, otherwise it’s obvious he’ll come out now,” she said.
Dolokhov remained at the gate. Anatole followed the maid into the yard, turned the corner and ran onto the porch.
Gavrilo, Marya Dmitrievna’s huge traveling footman, met Anatoly.
“Please see the lady,” the footman said in a deep voice, blocking the way from the door.
- Which lady? Who are you? – Anatole asked in a breathless whisper.
- Please, I've been ordered to bring him.
- Kuragin! back,” Dolokhov shouted. - Treason! Back!
Dolokhov, at the gate where he stopped, was struggling with the janitor, who was trying to lock the gate behind Anatoly as he entered. Dolokhov, with his last effort, pushed the janitor away and, grabbing the hand of Anatoly as he ran out, pulled him out the gate and ran with him back to the troika.

Marya Dmitrievna, finding a tearful Sonya in the corridor, forced her to confess everything. Having intercepted Natasha’s note and read it, Marya Dmitrievna, with the note in her hand, went up to Natasha.
“Bastard, shameless,” she told her. - I don’t want to hear anything! - Pushing away Natasha, who was looking at her with surprised but dry eyes, she locked it and ordered the janitor to let through the gate those people who would come that evening, but not to let them out, and ordered the footman to bring these people to her, sat down in the living room, waiting kidnappers.
When Gavrilo came to report to Marya Dmitrievna that the people who had come had run away, she stood up with a frown and folded her hands back, walked around the rooms for a long time, thinking about what she should do. At 12 o'clock at night, feeling the key in her pocket, she went to Natasha's room. Sonya sat in the corridor, sobbing.
- Marya Dmitrievna, let me see her for God’s sake! - she said. Marya Dmitrievna, without answering her, unlocked the door and entered. “Disgusting, nasty... In my house... Vile little girl... I just feel sorry for my father!” thought Marya Dmitrievna, trying to quench her anger. “No matter how difficult it is, I’ll tell everyone to be silent and hide it from the count.” Marya Dmitrievna entered the room with decisive steps. Natasha lay on the sofa, covering her head with her hands, and did not move. She lay in the same position in which Marya Dmitrievna had left her.
- Good, very good! - said Marya Dmitrievna. - In my house, lovers can make dates! There's no point in pretending. You listen when I talk to you. - Marya Dmitrievna touched her hand. - You listen when I talk. You have disgraced yourself like a very lowly girl. I would do that to you, but I feel sorry for your father. I'll hide it. – Natasha did not change her position, but only her whole body began to jump up from silent, convulsive sobs that choked her. Marya Dmitrievna looked back at Sonya and sat down on the sofa next to Natasha.
- He’s lucky that he left me; “Yes, I will find him,” she said in her rough voice; – Do you hear what I’m saying? - She faked hers big hand under Natasha's face and turned her towards her. Both Marya Dmitrievna and Sonya were surprised to see Natasha’s face. Her eyes were shiny and dry, her lips were pursed, her cheeks were drooping.
“Leave... those... that I... I... will die...” she said, with an angry effort she tore herself away from Marya Dmitrievna and lay down in her previous position.
“Natalya!...” said Marya Dmitrievna. - I wish you well. You lie down, just lie there, I won’t touch you, and listen... I won’t tell you how guilty you are. You know it yourself. Well, now your father is coming tomorrow, what will I tell him? A?
Again Natasha's body shook with sobs.
- Well, he will find out, well, your brother, groom!
“I don’t have a fiance, I refused,” Natasha shouted.
“It doesn’t matter,” continued Marya Dmitrievna. - Well, they will find out, why will they leave it like that? After all, he, your father, I know him, after all, if he challenges him to a duel, will it be good? A?
- Oh, leave me alone, why did you interfere with everything! For what? For what? who asked you? - Natasha shouted, sitting up on the sofa and looking angrily at Marya Dmitrievna.
- What did you want? - Marya Dmitrievna cried out again, getting excited, - why did they lock you up? Well, who stopped him from going to the house? Why should they take you away like some kind of gypsy?... Well, if he had taken you away, what do you think, he wouldn’t have been found? Your father, or brother, or fiancé. And he’s a scoundrel, a scoundrel, that’s what!
“He’s better than all of you,” Natasha cried, standing up. - If you hadn’t interfered... Oh, my God, what is this, what is this! Sonya, why? Go away!... - And she began to sob with such despair with which people only mourn such grief, which they feel themselves to be the cause of. Marya Dmitrievna began to speak again; but Natasha shouted: “Go away, go away, you all hate me, you despise me.” – And again she threw herself on the sofa.
Marya Dmitrievna continued for some time to admonish Natasha and convince her that all this must be hidden from the count, that no one would find out anything if only Natasha took it upon herself to forget everything and not show to anyone that anything had happened. Natasha didn't answer. She didn’t cry anymore, but she began to feel chills and trembling. Marya Dmitrievna put a pillow on her, covered her with two blankets and brought her some lime blossom herself, but Natasha did not respond to her. “Well, let him sleep,” said Marya Dmitrievna, leaving the room, thinking that she was sleeping. But Natasha was not sleeping and, with fixed, open eyes, looked straight ahead from her pale face. All that night Natasha did not sleep, and did not cry, and did not speak to Sonya, who got up and approached her several times.
The next day, for breakfast, as Count Ilya Andreich had promised, he arrived from the Moscow region. He was very cheerful: the deal with the buyer was going well and nothing was keeping him now in Moscow and in separation from the countess, whom he missed. Marya Dmitrievna met him and told him that Natasha had become very unwell yesterday, that they had sent for a doctor, but that she was better now. Natasha did not leave her room that morning. With pursed, cracked lips, dry, fixed eyes, she sat by the window and restlessly peered at those passing along the street and hurriedly looked back at those entering the room. She was obviously waiting for news about him, waiting for him to come or write to her.
When the count came up to her, she turned restlessly at the sound of his man’s steps, and her face took on its former cold and even angry expression. She didn't even get up to meet him.
– What’s wrong with you, my angel, are you sick? - asked the count. Natasha was silent.
“Yes, I’m sick,” she answered.
In response to the count's worried questions about why she was so killed and whether anything had happened to her fiancé, she assured him that nothing was wrong and asked him not to worry. Marya Dmitrievna confirmed Natasha’s assurances to the Count that nothing had happened. The count, judging by the imaginary illness, by the disorder of his daughter, by the embarrassed faces of Sonya and Marya Dmitrievna, clearly saw that something was going to happen in his absence: but he was so scared to think that something shameful had happened to his beloved daughter, he He loved his cheerful calm so much that he avoided asking questions and kept trying to assure himself that nothing special had happened and was only grieving that due to her ill health their departure to the village had been postponed.

From the day his wife arrived in Moscow, Pierre was preparing to go somewhere, just so as not to be with her. Soon after the Rostovs arrived in Moscow, the impression that Natasha made on him made him hasten to fulfill his intention. He went to Tver to see the widow of Joseph Alekseevich, who promised long ago to give him the papers of the deceased.
When Pierre returned to Moscow, he was given a letter from Marya Dmitrievna, who invited him to her very important matter concerning Andrei Bolkonsky and his fiancee. Pierre avoided Natasha. It seemed to him that he had a feeling for her that was stronger than what he should have had married man to his friend's fiancee. And some kind of fate constantly brought him together with her.
"What happened? And what do they care about me? he thought as he got dressed to go to Marya Dmitrievna. Prince Andrei would come quickly and marry her!” thought Pierre on the way to Akhrosimova.
On Tverskoy Boulevard someone called out to him.
- Pierre! How long have you arrived? – a familiar voice shouted to him. Pierre raised his head. In a pair of sleighs, on two gray trotters throwing snow at the tops of the sleigh, Anatole flashed by with his constant companion Makarin. Anatole sat upright, in the classic pose of military dandies, covering the bottom of his face with a beaver collar and bending his head slightly. His face was ruddy and fresh, his hat with a white plume was put on one side, revealing his hair, curled, pomaded and sprinkled with fine snow.
“And rightly so, here is a real sage! thought Pierre, he sees nothing beyond the present moment of pleasure, nothing disturbs him, and that is why he is always cheerful, content and calm. What would I give to be like him!” Pierre thought with envy.

The Kunstkamera is the first museum opened by Peter the Great and is named after Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great, collections of rare works are presented here human activity and natural exhibits. The museum's collection includes over a million exhibits that reveal ethnographic and historical features peoples of the world.

Thematic exhibits are dedicated to the countries of Africa and Asia and North America, Middle and Near East. The bulk of the objects collected in the Kunstkamera reveal the main features of the life of the peoples of the above-mentioned corners of the world. The greatest interest among tourists is the collection of rarities and anatomical anomalies, therefore Many people associate the Kunstkamera with a museum of “freaks”.

The Kunstkamera is located in the center of St. Petersburg, on Universitetskaya embankment, next to the spit of Vasilievsky Island, the museum is a 15-minute walk from the Admiralteyskaya metro station, 30 minutes from the Vasileostrovskaya station.

The cost of a ticket to the museum is:

• 200 rub. for adults,
• 50 rub. for children,

Opening hours are from 11.00 to 18.00 every day except Monday.

History of the museum

The museum was founded by Peter the Great; it all started with the overseas offices of the “kunshtov”, which the tsar visited during his trips to Europe. He bought and brought to Russia entire collections and individual rare items. The founding date of the museum is considered to be 1714.., when the first exhibits of the collection were placed in the Summer Palace in the not yet rebuilt St. Petersburg.

In 1718, a decree was issued, according to which people had to hand over all animals, plants, skeletal fragments, stones, trees, weapons, as well as items with ancient inscriptions that differed from the norm, to the museum. Soon the area of ​​the premises became insufficient to accommodate all the objects, after which the museum was moved to the former residence of the disgraced nobleman - Kikin’s Chamber, and exhibits of the royal collection became available for public viewing.

It is worth noting that visiting museums in Europe was already paid, but Peter believed that money should not be taken from those who thirst for knowledge; on the contrary, 400 rubles were allocated annually from the treasury. to treat visitors to tea and vodka.

In the first chambers of the museum one could see skillfully dissected heads of children, individual parts of the human body that had any deviations from the norm. All exhibits were placed in glass jars from the collections of the Dutch anatomist Ruysch.

Two cabinets contained herbariums and boxes with butterflies, shells and animals. The next room contained anatomical specimens in various stages of development, as well as lizards, stuffed elephants and monsters. The other three rooms contained collections of animals and birds, amber and many other amazing exhibits. Medals and coins were displayed in the “münz cabinet”. The exhibition also included displays of dwarfs and deformed people.

In 1718, under the leadership of the architect Mattarnovi, construction of a new building “Chambers” began by 1725, which was completed only after the death of Peter.

Museum collection

The modern Kunstkamera is very different from the first museum; over 300 years something has been lost, many objects burned in the fire of 1747, and many new exhibits have also appeared, collected from all over the world. The very first exhibits of Kunkstakmera, brought by Peter, have also been preserved.

The museum presents the richest collections reflecting the life and traditional culture indigenous people from different parts of the world. The entire museum is divided into several halls, each of which is dedicated to a continent or part of the world:

• North America,
• Oceania,
• China
• Mongolia,
• India
• Indonesia,
• Australia.

In the hall dedicated to India and Indonesia, the largest number of exhibits is presented; here you can look at carved wood, various masks, puppet theater dolls, antique theatrical costumes. In the Indonesian section, kris daggers made in the shape of fire may be of interest.

The hall of the North American continent is dedicated to the life and culture of its indigenous peoples - Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos. Of great interest to visitors are the compositions of the ritual dance to call rain, the treatment of the sick by a shaman, etc.

Anatomical section

This room contains natural rarities and exhibits with anatomical deviations. Here you can see:

• to Siamese twins,
• two-headed calf,
• sirenomelia,
• baby with cyclopia, etc.

The basis of the exhibition is the collection of the Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch, which numbered over 2,000 exhibits and was sold to Peter in 1717 for 30,000 guilders. With this money at that time it was possible to build and equip 2 frigates.

The Kunstkamera was very popular among city residents; many of the exhibits became legendary. One of them talks about the head of Mary Hamilton, preserved in alcohol, executed under Peter. One day, the flask with the exhibit was opened, the head disappeared, and the alcohol was used for its intended purpose. The museum staff turned to the sailors standing opposite the ship for help; a year later, upon returning from the sea voyage, the sailors brought three Basmachi heads to replace the missing head of the English lady.

Another legend tells about Nicholas Bourgeois, who was brought from France by Peter in 1717. The giant's height reached 2 meters 30 cm. After death, the skeleton became an exhibit of the Kunstkamera; during a fire in 1747, the skull disappeared, which was replaced by another of a suitable size. According to legend, since then the skeleton has been walking around the museum in search of its head.

It cannot be mentioned that in the period 1741-1765, Mikhail Lomonosov worked in the tower of the building, founder of the Academy of Sciences and the first Russian university. The first planetarium appeared in the tower, and an astronomical observatory operated. It was during these years that the most destructive fire occurred, as a result of which the entire building was destroyed by fire and part of the exhibits burned down. Over time, the building was completely restored, and the curiosities were replaced by others.

All progressive personalities and scientists of those times knew about the Kunstkamera; famous travelers and discoverers F. F. Bellingshausen, D. Cook, N. N. Miklouho-Maclay and many others supplied exhibits for the museum.

Already in 1800, the Kunstkamera had about 2 million exhibits from all over the world; the collection consisted of 250,000 ethnographic, 380,000 anthropological and 500,000 archaeological objects.

Ushakov's Dictionary

Kunstkamera

Kunstka measure, cabinet of curiosities, wives (German Kunstkammer).

1. Collection of rarities, natural history and others; room for such a meeting ( ist.). "- Where have you been? “In the Kunstkamera, my friend, I walked there for three hours.” Krylov.

2. trans. About a gathering of eccentrics, freaks, representatives of an outdated time ( decomposition). This is not a scientific institution, but some kind of cabinet of curiosities!

Architectural Dictionary

Kunstkamera

(German Kunstkammer - cabinet of curiosities) a collection of various rarities. First appeared in the West. Europe around the 15th century. The emergence of cabinets of curiosities is associated with the increased interest in the natural and historical sciences during the Renaissance and the rapid accumulation of factual data in these branches of knowledge. Natural science collections, archaeological finds, tools, instruments, things related to historical events and persons, works of art, etc. Despite the diversity of exhibits and the primitiveness of the organization, the cabinets of curiosities played a positive role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. One of the largest in the world was Peter's Kunstkamera, founded in St. Petersburg in 1714 and opened in the Kikin Chambers for public viewing in 1719. It contained anatomical zoological and historical collections, collected in many regions of Russia according to government decrees of 1704-1718, collections acquired by Peter I in Holland in 1698, and his personal collections of weapons and works of art. After the founding of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1724), the Kunstkamera came under its jurisdiction and began to be replenished with new materials. Four departments were created in it: a) the Kunstkamera proper (art and ethnography), b) the Naturkamera (natural science), c) the Münzkammer (numismatics), d) the office of Peter I (historical materials). In 1728, the Kunstkamera was transferred to a new building, specially built (construction completed in 1734) for it on Vasilyevsky Island (architects G. Matarnovi, S. I. Chevakinsky, G. Kiaveri, M. G. Zemtsov). Scientific work The Kunstkamera was led by M.V. Lomonosov, P.S. Pallas, V.M. Severgin and other prominent Russian scientists. By the beginning of the 19th century. The Kunstkamera had accumulated a huge number of collections that required special study. In this regard, the Botanical, Zoological, Mineralogical and other museums of the Academy of Sciences and Memorial Museum Peter I. These museums still exist today. The building of the Kunstkamera now houses the Institute of Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great and the Memorial Museum of M.V. Lomonosov.

(Dictionary of architectural terms. Yusupov E.S., 1994)

Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words of the 18th-19th centuries

Kunstkamera

, s , and.

A collection of various rarities, which was opened in 1719 under Peter I in St. Petersburg.

* - Buddy, dear, great! Where have you been? - In the Kunstkamera, my friend, I walked there for three hours. // Krylov. Fables //; The Tsar rewarded the whole council, And he didn’t forget the witch: From the Kunstkammer as a gift he sent her a cinder in alcohol (The one who amazed everyone), Two echidnas, two skeletons From the same office. // Pushkin. Poems // *

encyclopedic Dictionary

Kunstkamera

(from German Kunstkammer - cabinet of curiosities, museum), in the past the name of various historical, artistic, natural science and other collections of curiosities and the place of their storage.

Ozhegov's Dictionary

KUNSTK A MEASURE, s, and.(obsolete). A museum, a collection of rarities and outlandish objects.

Efremova's Dictionary

Kunstkamera

1. and.
   1. Collection of various rarities (in the old days); the room where such a collection was kept.
   2. trans. Collection, association of strange, unusual, etc. of people.

Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Kunstkamera

(German: Kunstkammer) - the former name of collections of rarities of a historical, artistic, industrial and natural science nature, as well as the place of storage of such collections. They usually contained the most heterogeneous things and curiosities, remarkable either for their rarity, or for their relationship to history. person or event. In the XVI-XVII centuries. K. of this kind constituted an inevitable accessory of every princely court. Nowadays the term K. is abandoned, and the previous K. are either closed or distributed to different museums. In Russia, K. was founded by Peter the Great, who already during his first stay in Holland (1698) bought a significant number of birds, fish and insects. This collection, along with freaks and anatomical preparations, was kept in the main pharmacy in Moscow, under the jurisdiction of Archpriest Areskin. In 1714, from this collection, transported to St. Petersburg and placed in the library of the old Summer Palace, the Kunstkamer. K. was especially enriched after Peter I's second trip to Europe (1716), when the tsar bought a collection of minerals, shells and rare stones in Danzig, in Amsterdam - a collection of animals, fish, snakes and insects, famous in its time, preserved in alcohol, and the then famous anatomical cabinet of Ruysch. In 1718, a decree was passed on the delivery of freaks, archaeological finds, etc. to K. from all over Russia. In 1722, a special building with a library was built for K. Upon the opening of the Academy of Sciences, K. and the library came under its jurisdiction. Already in the last century, K.’s collections began to be distributed among various museums of the academy, in which for a long time only one part of K. was preserved, namely Peter the Great's office. The clothes of this sovereign, his weapons, furniture, everything that surrounded him in the privacy, what his hands touched - lathes, machines, models, etc. In 1837, this collection was put in order, but in 1843, models of ships and other vessels were transferred from the office to the main admiralty, and Peter’s books were ordered to be kept at the hydrographic depot. Finally, in 1851, other things in the cabinet were transferred to the Imp. The Hermitage, in which they form a special department. Wed. Belyaev, “The Cabinet of Peter the Great” (St. Petersburg, 1793; 2nd ed., 1800); "Inventory of objects preserved at the Imperial Academy of Sciences, in the department called the Cabinet of Peter the Great" (St. Petersburg, 1837; 2nd ed. 1844).

"If you're in St. Petersburg, be sure to visit the Kunstkamera!" - almost every tourist and guest of the northern capital receives such parting words. What is a cabinet of curiosities? Many people associate this word with something unusual, rare and spectacular. It smells of antiquity, something distant...

The article describes in detail what the Kunstkamera is, the history of its creation and its current situation.

Concept

There is a legend that Peter I, while walking along Vasilievsky Island, saw two amazing pine trees: a branch of one in some incomprehensible way grew through the trunk of the other. The impressionable sovereign remembered this one. He remembered the curiosity a few years later when visiting on a diplomatic mission in 1697-1698. England and Holland. Then he became acquainted with the so-called “cabinets of curiosities” of noble nobles, in which they kept all sorts of wonders: preserved organs in alcohol, stuffed animals, collections of rare insects. These were the very first cabinets of curiosities. The word translated from German means “art room.”

History of creation in Russia

Peter liked the marvelous rooms so much that after returning home, the first thing he did was arrange a similar office in his palace. In Holland, he learned a recipe for embalming and purchased the entire “Ruysch cabinet” for 30 thousand Dutch guilders. Subsequently, without skimping, the sovereign bought rare books, instruments, various instruments, unique artifacts and natural wonders abroad. Afterwards, he issued a decree according to which everyone who found some unusual or rare object had to transfer it to the created “cabinet of curiosities.” Amazing objects began to flow into the office from all corners of the vast Russian Empire. Soon there were so many of them that they could not fit in the palace. Much had to be stored in special basements, which greatly upset Peter, who wanted to display the wonders to everyone.

After moving the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg and moving to a new residence, he moved his rarities to a new place. He temporarily placed them in the palace of the disgraced boyar Kikin, who was expelled from the capital for participating in a conspiracy against the sovereign. The Tsar ordered the “Kikina Chambers” to be called the “Kunstkamera” in the foreign manner. This happened in 1714. This year the first Russian Cabinet of Curiosities was born, a photo of which today adorns every guide to St. Petersburg.

Construction of a building

Peter's collection grew very quickly. In 1717, again in Holland, Seb's entire office was purchased for 15 thousand Dutch guilders. Soon the Kikina Chambers could not contain all the valuables. To house his wonders with the possibility of showing them to everyone, the sovereign ordered the construction of a special building. An elite place was allocated for him, close to important government institutions.

The project was developed by the architect Mattarnovi. First stone of the future famous museum was founded in July 1718. Subsequently, the following people worked on the building: famous masters, like Gerbel, Zemtsov and Chiaveri.

The grand opening of the Kunstkamera took place in November 1728, although finishing work was completed only in 1734.

The difference between the Russian Kunstkamera and the European one

The first “cabinets of curiosities” arose in Europe during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. What is a cabinet of curiosities that belongs to a wealthy prince whose goal was to impress guests? It is simply a haphazard collection of rare or unusual objects, demonstrating the "learning" of their owner.

The Petrovskaya Kunstkamera, the description of which is given above, was initially conceived not as a collection of treasures, but as a collection of entertaining exhibits that could serve as educational and scientific purposes. The storage and systematization of values ​​was entrusted to enlightened people. IN different time the directors or employees of “Peter’s office” were Baiburin, Bartold, Gumilyov, Lomonosov, Struve, Sternberg, Pallas, Severgin and other scientists. They collected the most various material- not only freaks or interesting curiosities, but household items of great ethnographic and historical significance, scientifically valuable collections of insects, stuffed birds, reptiles, fish and animals, created anatomical and mineralogical departments.

After the creation of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1724, the main sources of replenishment of the Kunstkamera were objects brought from the scientific expeditions of Miller, Krasheninnikov, Messerschmitt, Lisyansky, Miklouho-Maclay, Bellingshausen, Kruzenshtern.

What is the Russian Cabinet of Curiosities? This is a museum, one of the oldest and richest in the world, the cradle of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Curious facts

From the first day, the Kunstkamera, the photo of which is presented below, by order of Peter I, was open to everyone. Entrance and viewing of the exhibits was free.

Peter I created a completely unusual department in the museum, the exhibits of which were animals and people with birth defects - cyclopia, multi-armedness, siren syndrome and other anomalies. Moreover, there were not only embalmed organs and creatures, but also living dwarfs, freaks and monsters living in the museum at the expense of the state treasury.

The Emperor knew every item of his collection by sight and was an excellent guide, happily telling his guests about them.

Today the museum has 1.2 million exhibits!