THE KUNSTKAMMER (CHAMBER OF CURIOSITIES)
Universitetskaya (University) Embankment, 3
1718-34. Architects M.Zemtsov, G.Mattarnovi, N.Herbel, G.Chiaveri;
rebuilt in 1754-58, architect S.Chevakinsky

     The  building was designed for the library and the oldest Russian museum founded by Peter 1 in 
1714 end based on his private collections brought back from his European travels. Originally the 
museum had been housed in Kikin’s Chambers; later the Kunstkammer moved into a building 
especially designed to house it. the story of the construction was rather complicated. It involved many 
outstanding architects of the 18th century. The building consists of two three-story wings designed in 
Baroque and joined into a single whole by the central volume that is topped with a multi-tier tower. 
After the fire of 1747 the building was restored by the architect Chevakinsky, who introduced 
some changes into the exterior. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences 
the Kunstkammer’s interiors were decorated with sculptural allegorical groups, busts and medallions 
representing prominent scientists (of those, two bas-reliefs and a sculptured portrait by M.Pavlov have 
remained). In the 1830s, due to the growth of its collections, the Kunstkammer was divided into 
several museums: the museums of Zoology, Ethnography, Botany and Mineralogy. The Kunstkammer 
has played a major part in promoting natural sciences in Russia. Many Russian scholars have once 
worked here. The building now houses the Academy of Sciences Museum of Anthropology and 
Ethnography, Lomonosov’s Memorial Museum, and the Academy of Sciences Institute of Ethnology 
and Ethnic Anthropology.