Kaliningrad Amber Museum

Dohnatower: Location of the Kaliningrad Amber Museum
Exposition on the subject of Amberroom
The largest piece of amber in Russia; weight: 4.280 grams
Lizard in amber

The Kaliningrad Amber Museum is a museum located in the Russian city of Kaliningrad devoted to housing and displaying amber artworks. It is located in the city center, on the shore of Lake Verkhneye.[1] Construction on the museum began in 1972.[2] The museum opened in 1979[3] and houses about 14,000 individual pieces. The museum occupies part of a reconstructed fortification,[3] originally built by Karl Friedrich Emil zu Dohna-Schlobitten in the Napoleonic wars.[1]

Among the exhibits are the world's second-largest piece of amber[4] and a 4-foot-tall (1.2 m) vase named The Abundance,[3] as well as a collection of over 3,000 amber inclusions.[5] One of the most famous organic inclusions is a small lizard.

The exposition is arranged on three floors in 28 show-rooms, with a total area of 1,000 square meters. It contains five sections:

A part of the exhibition is dedicated the "Staatliche Bernstein-Manufaktur Koenigsberg" (amber factory Koenigsberg), a German company for extraction and treatment amber in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) and Palmnicken (today Jantarny) until 1945.

In 2013 about 160,000 guests visited the museum. Every year 1,200 excursions are given and about 30 exhibitions are organized.

One of the most important Museum activities is organization and holding of the International Biennial of Amber Art Works «Alatyr» (an Old Russian name of amber) since 2004, since 2012 – the All-Russian Jewelry Art Exhibition.

The museum is very active in publishing. 26 books have been published between 2006 and 2014, mostly in Russian and English.

External links

References

  1. 1 2 "The building of the museum". Kaliningrad Amber Museum. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  2. ↑ "Establishment of Museum". Kaliningrad Amber Museum. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  3. 1 2 3 Rice, Patty D. (2006). Amber: Golden Gem of the Ages. AuthorHouse. p. 119. ISBN 1-4259-3849-3.
  4. ↑ Bain, Carolyn. Lonely Planet Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania. p. 26.
  5. ↑ "Incluses". Kaliningrad Amber Museum. Retrieved 2010-07-03.

Coordinates: 54°43′21″N 20°31′24″E / 54.72250°N 20.52333°E / 54.72250; 20.52333

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