And about three years ago, another amber museum was opened in St. Petersburg — A. Krylov. But the Sun Stone Museum in Kaliningrad, although it shared some of the exhibits with the Krylov Museum, still has a much richer collection.
Hello!
The Amber Museum in Kaliningrad impressed us, of course, with its impressive collection. But the building itself — the round tower of the Don built in the middle of the 19th century — deserves no less attention than the exposition itself. There are two photos in the gallery.
The building in the first years after construction was used for its intended purpose, as a fortification. Weapons and ammunition were stored here, the military served. But already at the beginning of the 20th century, many defensive structures were destroyed — as unnecessary. The tower has become an architectural heritage site. Tourists came here, and in some rooms there were souvenir workshops and souvenir shops.
However, with the outbreak of World War II, the Don Tower again turned into a military facility. They dismantled the brick with which the embrasures were laid, installed guns … The tower became one of the main defensive points, which lasted until the autumn of 1944.
After the war, the tower was abandoned for a long time and began to collapse. One or the other organization used it as a warehouse. Work on the restoration and transformation of the building into a museum began only in the early seventies. If they had delayed a little longer, then the building might not have been saved …
We started to wonder and take pictures already in the courtyard of the tower. Very picturesque! Lots of greenery, a swimming pool, nice art objects… Scroll through the gallery.
A very picturesque and cozy courtyard of the Kaliningrad Amber Museum. Photo of the author.
A very picturesque and cozy courtyard of the Kaliningrad Amber Museum. Photo of the author.
A significant part of the first floor of the museum is occupied by souvenir shops. It’s beautiful, of course … I might want to stay here, but my husband somehow took me by the elbow and led me past, past …
The exposition of the museum is very rich! But many works are represented by copies. The originals are in the capital’s museums… Scroll through the gallery…
Heraldic panels. Photo of the author.
The Swedish sailing ship Vasa, named after the ruling dynasty of those years. The Swedes were very proud of him, but the ship turned out to be unlucky, and sank in the first campaign. Photo of the author.
Wonderful ants-musicians. All different! We got stuck in front of this shop window for a long time… Photo by the author. Heraldic panels. Photo of the author.
Several small showcases presented samples of the Kaliningrad jewelry factory. And on one of the windows I saw «my» beads and a bracelet! My grandparents gave them to me for my birthday when I was a teenager (first half of the eighties). Were bought from us in the Altai Territory, in a local department store. And I don’t think it’s expensive at all. The bracelet needs to be repaired, its elastic bands have stretched from time to time. And I still wear beads. In an article about going to the theater , I posted my photo, I just have these beads on, I love them very much.
On the left — «my» beads and a bracelet, the one on top and closer to the beads. Photo of the author. On the left — «my» beads and a bracelet, the one on top and closer to the beads. Photo of the author.
Here’s one that I didn’t like at all! I think it’s gross and tasteless. Such a vivid example of «socialist art».
Watch «Epoch» … Complete bad taste, in my opinion. Photo of the author. Watch «Epoch» … Complete bad taste, in my opinion. Photo of the author.
And in the museum there are several unique portraits made of amber. See how skillfully the artist selected the shades of the stone: from milky to marsh green!
In Kaliningrad, without Kant — nowhere :)))
Amber portrait of Immanuel Kant. Photo of the author. Amber portrait of Immanuel Kant. Photo of the author.
And this is our Alexander Sergeevich. I really liked the portrait! Agree, the sad-pensive mood of the poet is conveyed amazingly!
Portrait of A. S. Pushkin. Photo of the author. Portrait of A. S. Pushkin. Photo of the author.
The author of the portraits is Alexander Alexandrovich Zhuravlev (1943-2009). In addition to portraits of I. Kant and A. S. Pushkin, the artist created portraits of the emperors Peter I and Alexander II, P. Tchaikovsky, L. Tolstoy, Yu. Gagarin. Today, apart from A. A. Zhuravlev, there are no other artists who could create portraits from amber.
Some halls of the museum were provided for expositions of contemporary authors. But I guess I don’t understand anything about contemporary art. I didn’t photograph anything there — it didn’t catch on. But a few metal figurines seemed very interesting:
The only examples of modern art that I liked from all that was shown in those days. The turtle is especially good, isn’t it? Photo of the author. The only examples of modern art that I liked from all that was shown in those days. The turtle is especially good, isn’t it? Photo of the author.
Most of the other “works” were, for example, some kind of plastic smoothly curved bullshit (resembling a gray fat worm) with a name like “Striving for Perfection” … Well, or: “Know the Universe” …
Thank you for reading to the end, keeping me company on a walk around the museum! I would be glad if you share your opinion about the museum, about the exhibits in the comments …
Health to all and good mood, regardless of the weather.
