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Kunstkamera Museum

Located on Vasilevsky Island along the Neva River in St. Petersburg, the Kunstkamera Museum is the oldest museum in the world.

 

The Dome-Shaped Building on the Left: “Kunstkamera”

The entrance to the museum is through this yellow building.

 

 

Due to its location, you can capture some stunning photos of the building, but its interior is not as uplifting as its exterior. Therefore, if you think you might be affected by what you’re about to read, I suggest you refrain from reading further.

A Photo Taken During the Canal Tour

Anatomy Hall
(http://web1.kunstkamera.ru/english/ source)

 

The name Kunstkamera comes from the German “konst-kamer,” meaning “art room.” However, it can also be translated as the "room of curiosities" or "room of rare items." Its full name is actually Kunstkamera Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography.

Museum Entrance

 

The Museum was founded by Tsar Peter I in 1714. In the early years of the museum, there were also people with physical disabilities living and working in the museum.

Source: web1.kunstkamera.ru/english/

The museum does not only exhibit strange creatures. There are also sections on North America, Japan, China, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Australia, and Oceania. However, in this article, I will only talk about the curiosities section. Below, you can see some photos from the other sections.

Mongolian - Chinese Clothing

 

Each piece of clothing has been carefully preserved. You can even see stains on them.

Hunted Human

Tea can be brewed this way too : )

 

The most interesting part of the museum, which houses nearly 2 million items from different cultures, is the anatomy section. In this section, you can see examples of strange creatures that will leave you astonished. Half-human, half-animal creatures, conjoined newborn babies, insects, two-headed animals, etc. One’s blood runs cold in front of all these. Some of them are astonishing to look at, while others are repulsive. The fact that all of these collections belong to Peter shows why he was called “Mad Peter.”

 

Source: Michaelwtravels.com

Peter brought an anatomy expert from the Netherlands, Dr. Ruysch, to conduct anatomical studies. He himself participated in the experiments.

The Tools They Used

They injected animal cells into fetuses in the mother's womb and removed the babies through cesarean section. These practices, which freeze the blood, also involved dissecting the babies alive, emptying their insides, and examining them.

Source: web1.kunstkamera.ru/english/

It is evident that they were dissected alive.
In these experiments, should we feel sorry for the deceased mothers or for the horned babies that are a mix of animals and humans? Looking at these babies, one feels uneasy. It is difficult to understand how a person could do this. These studies are nearly 300 years old and have been preserved in jars without deteriorating.

Source: web1.kunstkamera.ru/english/

Peter did not stop at these activities. He told the Russian people that he would pay money for each strange baby they brought to him. The poor Russian people, especially women (not meant to be derogatory, but as an expression of my sympathy), hoping to earn money, jumped on their stomachs, kicked their bellies, and sold their damaged babies to Peter.

Source: web1.kunstkamera.ru/english/

It is forbidden to take photos in the museum's anatomy section. Each room has a woman called a "babushka" (grandmother) on duty. They loudly shout when you get too close to the jars or stand in front of one for too long. They are very vigilant. Despite all this supervision, I somehow managed to take two photos. I’m not sure if I would dare to do the same now!

Secretly Taken Photo-1

A girl with hydrocephalus /Secretly Taken Photo-2

The museum welcomes hundreds of visitors every day. This museum is not included in Turkish tour programs. Therefore, if you are going to Russia, I suggest you visit it on your own rather than through a tour (not just Russia, but I believe one should discover every country on their own). I can say that this was the only place where we didn’t come across any Turkish tourists. At the entrance of the museum, we were greeted by a long line, which is common at every museum. However, there is no chance of using ticket machines here. We had to wait in line (45 minutes)

Entrance Ticket/ It costs 250 Rubles to enter the Kunstkamera. You do not need an audio guide inside because each exhibit also has an English description.

Entrance Ticket

Since it is summer vacation, we don't see students in the museum. But we learn that in Russia, cultural lessons are given to all children starting from the age of 10 to help them get to know the city they live in. This is an excellent application for education. Moreover, students visit museum sections related to their topics every time they come, and they end up visiting the same museum several times until they graduate. However, I do question whether it is appropriate for children to visit such a museum!

Dissected Human Body

Baby Hand

The dissected bodies, with even the tiny eyelashes of the babies remaining intact, and the injection of animal cells into the mother's womb with the knowledge of the time, really freeze my blood. I feel like if I stayed any longer, someone might start dissecting me too. I leave the museum, still feeling the impact.