# Kunstkamera, St Petersburg

> The Kunstkamera is Peter the Great’s cabinet of curiosities, founded in 1714 and now the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography on the Neva, opposite the Hermitage. Tickets cost 500 ₽. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, with last entry at 17:00, and closes on Mondays and the last Tuesday of the month. Allow 1.5–2 hours.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera

- City: [St Petersburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg), Russia
- YesGo score: 50/100 (Yes, go)
- Time on site: 1 h 30 min
- Entry: 500 ₽
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Adult ticket: 500 ₽ (the museum’s English page still shows an older 400 ₽)
- Reduced ticket: 300 ₽ — students, schoolchildren and pensioners of Russia and Belarus only, with ID
- Free: Children up to and including age 6
- Free day: Third Thursday of the month, September–April (English page only)
- Opening hours: Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00; last entry and ticket desk 17:00
- Closed: Mondays, last Tuesday of each month, 31 Dec, 1 Jan, 9 May
- Gottorp Globe & Observatory: Guided tour by booking only
- Entrance: From Tamozhenny Lane, at the side of the building
- Metro: Admiralteyskaya or Vasileostrovskaya, 15–20 min walk
- Not allowed: Bags over 30 × 30 × 20 cm, umbrellas, coats in the halls, flash, tripods
- Accessibility: No lifts or ramps; wheelchairs and pushchairs allowed in the halls
- Coordinates: 59.94167, 30.30444
- Facts checked: 29.10.2026

## Key facts

- **1714** — Peter the Great founded the Kunstkamera, Russia’s first museum (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”; Kunstkamera Chronicle, published by the museum)
- **1717** — Peter bought Frederik Ruysch’s anatomical collection in Amsterdam — over 2,000 specimens (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”; Izvestia, 25 April 2025)
- **1719** — the collections first opened to the public, in the Kikin Hall (source: RIA Novosti, Kunstkamera background note; Wikipedia, “Kikin Hall”)
- **1718–1734** — construction of the building on Vasilyevsky Island (source: Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”; RIA Novosti)
- **Georg Mattarnovy** — first architect; Gerbel, Chiaveri and Zemtsov finished the building (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”)
- **Petrine Baroque** — the style of the building and its observatory tower (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”)
- **1713** — Peter acquired the Gottorp Globe, an early star of the collection (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”)
- **5 Dec 1747** — a fire destroyed the tower, the observatory and the interiors (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”)
- **Lomonosov** — worked in the building; a museum to him is in the tower (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”; official museum website)
- **1879** — the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography was founded (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Kunstkamera”)

## Kunstkamera tickets and prices

**An adult ticket is 500 ₽.** The 300 ₽ reduced ticket is only for students, schoolchildren and pensioners of Russia and Belarus, so most foreign visitors pay the full price. Children up to and including age 6 go free. The museum’s Russian ticket page lists these prices; its English page still shows an older 400 ₽.

Tickets are sold for timed sessions on the museum’s official website and at the desk by the entrance. **Paying as a foreign visitor:** Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad have not worked in Russia since March 2022, so online booking is realistic only with a Russian card. Otherwise queue at the desk on the day with roubles or a Russian payment option.

The **Gottorp Globe** and the **First Astronomical Observatory** in the tower are not included in a standard ticket — you see them only on a booked guided tour. The museum’s own tours in a foreign language start at 6,500 ₽ for up to four people.

The English page also mentions free entry on the third Thursday of the month from September to April. The Russian list of free admissions doesn’t, so check before planning around it.

> **Closed Mondays — and the last Tuesday of every month** The Kunstkamera shuts every Monday and also on the last Tuesday of each month, its cleaning day. That Tuesday catches out a lot of visitors. It is also closed on 31 December, 1 January and 9 May. Last entry is 17:00, an hour before closing — after five they won’t let you in.

## Is the Kunstkamera worth visiting?

Yes, if you like odd museums. For 500 ₽ you get Russia’s first museum in a Baroque building on the Neva, Peter the Great’s famous jars of preserved specimens, and rooms full of samurai armour, Native American feather headdresses and African masks.

Go in with the right expectations. This is mainly an **ethnography museum** — most halls are about peoples of the world. Since 2022 most of the anatomical “freaks” have been taken out of the main hall; the best of Ruysch’s specimens remain in one cabinet. If those jars are your only reason to go, you may feel short-changed.

If you have just one day in St Petersburg, spend it at the [Hermitage](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage). The Kunstkamera is the perfect second museum: it is right across the river, compact, and quite unlike anything else in the city.

> **The anatomical collection isn’t for every child** The Peter the Great hall displays 18th-century specimens in jars: babies with birth defects, body parts and organs. There is no age limit, but sensitive children — and adults — should know what’s coming. You can skip that hall; the ethnography rooms are calm and kids usually enjoy them.

## What to see inside

- **Peter the Great’s Kunstkamera** — the round central hall with the tsar’s first collections: Ruysch’s anatomical specimens and natural curiosities.
- **Japan, China, Korea and Mongolia** — samurai armour, theatre masks, porcelain and Buddhist sculpture.
- **North America** — feather headdresses, Alaskan kayaks and clothing made from hides.
- **Africa, Latin America, Indochina, South Asia and the Middle East** — weapons, costumes and ritual objects.
- **Multinational Russia** — the Imperial Hall, which replaced the old displays of anomalies in 2022.
- **Lomonosov Museum** — the study and instruments of Russia’s great 18th-century scientist, who worked here.
- **The tower** — the First Astronomical Observatory and the Gottorp Globe, a giant globe you can sit inside to watch a starry sky; guided tour only.

## Opening hours and the best time to go

The museum opens **Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00**, but the ticket desk and entry close at **17:00**. It is shut on Mondays, the last Tuesday of the month, 31 December, 1 January and 9 May. During Russian school holidays it sometimes opens without days off — the official site posts those schedules.

Arrive at 10:00 or after 15:00. The halls are small, and around midday tour groups fill the anatomical room. In summer the queue for the ticket desk can stretch outside.

Coats must go to the cloakroom, and so must umbrellas and bags bigger than 30 × 30 × 20 cm. Photos are allowed everywhere without flash or a tripod. There are no lifts or ramps, which matters if stairs are a problem.

## How to get to the Kunstkamera

1. The easy way: from [Palace Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-square) walk across the [Palace Bridge](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-bridge) — about 1 km, 12–15 minutes. Turn left after the bridge; the Kunstkamera is the first building on the embankment, turquoise with a tower.
2. Nearest metro: **Admiralteyskaya** (Line 5, purple) or **Vasileostrovskaya** (Line 3, green), each 15–20 minutes on foot. From Admiralteyskaya, head to Palace Square and over the bridge.
3. From **Nevsky Prospekt** station (Line 2, blue), walk down [Nevsky Prospect](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) to Palace Square and across the bridge — about 25 minutes.
4. The visitor entrance is round the side, from Tamozhenny Lane, not on the river front. The courtyard is open 8:00–20:00.
5. Any bus or trolleybus crossing the Palace Bridge stops on Universitetskaya Embankment by the museum.
6. In summer, river boats call at a pier right by the Kunstkamera.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] It isn’t Monday or the last Tuesday of the month
- [ ] I’ll be inside before 17:00
- [ ] Roubles or a Russian card — foreign Visa and Mastercard won’t work
- [ ] Bag no bigger than 30 × 30 × 20 cm, no umbrella
- [ ] Kids know about the anatomy hall — or we’ll skip it
- [ ] Gottorp Globe: tour booked in advance

## Kunstkamera vs Zoological Museum vs Hermitage

|  | Kunstkamera | Zoological Museum | Hermitage |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | World ethnography and Peter’s anatomy collection | Stuffed animals, skeletons, mammoths | Art and palace interiors |
| Where | Universitetskaya Emb. 3 | Next door, same embankment | Across the Palace Bridge |
| With kids | Yes, except the anatomy hall | Yes — the best pick | Hard beyond 2 hours |
| Time needed | 1.5–2 h | 1–1.5 h | 3 h or more |

With children, YesGo suggests the [Zoological Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum) next door, then just the ethnography halls of the Kunstkamera. With one day in town, the Hermitage comes first, and the Kunstkamera is the bonus if you still have energy.

## St Petersburg’s historic sights compared

Every historic place in St Petersburg rated by YesGo.

- [State Hermitage Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) — YesGo score 76/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · 500–1,200 ₽
- [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) — YesGo score 75/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 700 ₽, under 7 free
- [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) — YesGo score 74/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Grounds free, cathedral 1,000 ₽
- [Kazan Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kazan-cathedral) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Bronze Horseman](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/bronze-horseman) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free
- [Palace Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-square) — YesGo score 71/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [St Isaac's Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/st-isaacs-cathedral) — YesGo score 69/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 700 ₽, colonnade 700 ₽
- [Cruiser Aurora](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/cruiser-aurora) — YesGo score 67/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 1,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) — YesGo score 65/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free
- [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 700 ₽
- [Kunstkamera](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · 500 ₽
- [Peterhof](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peterhof) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 4 h · Lower Park from 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Kronstadt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kronstadt) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Free, museums extra
- [New Holland Island](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/new-holland) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
- [Alexander Nevsky Lavra](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/alexander-nevsky-lavra) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free, necropolises 200–400 ₽
- [Griboyedov Canal](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/griboyedov-canal) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free
- [Yusupov Palace on the Moika](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yusupov-palace) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · from 950 ₽
- [Mariinsky Theatre](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mariinsky-theatre) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Price depends on the show
- [Summer Garden](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/summer-garden) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
- [State Russian Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · from 700 ₽
- [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 2,200 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Fabergé Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/faberge-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
- [Zoological Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
- [Oranienbaum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/oranienbaum) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Park 1,100 ₽, palace 1,800 ₽
- [Pavlovsk Palace and Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace) — YesGo score 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽

## The Hermitage, the Spit and the Kunstkamera in a day

Morning at the Hermitage, cross the Palace Bridge, then the Kunstkamera and the Zoological Museum on the same embankment, and the Peter and Paul Fortress over the Birzhevoy Bridge to finish. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and walks.

1. [State Hermitage Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) — YesGo score 76/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · 500–1,200 ₽
2. [Palace Bridge and the bridge openings](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-bridge) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free from the embankment
3. [Kunstkamera](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · 500 ₽
4. [Zoological Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
5. [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) — YesGo score 74/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Grounds free, cathedral 1,000 ₽

> **The best view is from across the river** To see the building and its tower whole, look from the Admiralty Embankment near the [Bronze Horseman](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/bronze-horseman) or from the middle of the Palace Bridge. It is lit up at night — lovely during the summer bridge openings.

## Good to know

The name comes from the German Kunstkammer, a “chamber of art” or cabinet of curiosities; you will also see it spelled Kunstkammer. The Kunstkamera is not part of the Hermitage — it belongs to the Russian Academy of Sciences, with its own tickets.

## Tips

- Be there at 10:00 opening to have the anatomy hall to yourself before the groups arrive.
- 1.5 hours covers the main halls; add 45 minutes for the Lomonosov Museum and a tower tour.
- Never plan it for the last Tuesday of the month — the museum is closed for cleaning.
- The Zoological Museum is two minutes away — easy to combine.
- Afterwards, walk to the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island for the view of the [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) and the Hermitage.
- Take a guided tour if you want the story: without it, the jars of specimens just look strange.

## Questions

### How much is a Kunstkamera ticket?

500 ₽ for adults. The 300 ₽ reduced rate is only for students, schoolchildren and pensioners of Russia and Belarus; children up to age 6 go free.

### What are the Kunstkamera opening hours?

Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, with last entry and ticket sales at 17:00. Closed on Mondays, the last Tuesday of every month, 31 December, 1 January and 9 May.

### Is the Kunstkamera open on Monday?

No. It is closed every Monday and also on the last Tuesday of each month.

### Can I buy Kunstkamera tickets online as a foreigner?

The official site sells timed tickets, but foreign Visa and Mastercard cards don’t work in Russia. Without a Russian card, buy at the desk on the day and come early to avoid the queue.

### Is the Kunstkamera suitable for children?

Mostly, yes — the ethnography halls are fine for kids and under-7s go free. The anatomy hall with preserved specimens is upsetting for some children; you can skip it.

### How long do you need at the Kunstkamera?

About 1.5–2 hours for the main halls, 2–2.5 hours with a guided tour of the tower and the Gottorp Globe.

### How do I get to the Kunstkamera by metro?

Take Line 5 to Admiralteyskaya, walk to Palace Square and cross the Palace Bridge — 15–20 minutes. Vasileostrovskaya on Line 3 is a similar walk.

### Where is the Kunstkamera entrance?

At the side of the building, from Tamozhenny Lane — not on the river front at Universitetskaya Embankment 3.

### Are the deformed specimens still on display?

Fewer than before. Since 2022 most of the anomalies have been moved out of the main hall; the best of Ruysch’s specimens are still shown in a dedicated cabinet.

### Can you take photos in the Kunstkamera?

Yes, everywhere, as long as you don’t use flash, a tripod or extra lighting.

## How we checked

Prices, hours, closures and rules come from the Russian pages of the museum’s official site. Its English pages still show the older 400 ₽ / 200 ₽ prices (in force from May 2021), so we use the Russian ticket page. A free third Thursday (September–April) appears only on the English page and in city listings, not in the Russian list of free admissions — that row is marked “verifying”. The museum is open daily from 21 October to 8 November for the school holidays; that is a temporary schedule and isn’t in the regular hours. Construction dates differ: Russian Wikipedia and RIA Novosti give 1718–1734, English Wikipedia 1719–1727; we use the first. Sources disagree on the size of the whole collection (over 1.2 million items per Izvestia, nearly 2 million per English Wikipedia), so we give no number. The Tamozhenny Lane entrance and walking times come from guidebooks and our own estimate on the map.

## Sources

- Official website of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera): opening hours, tickets and services, free admission, visitor rules, exhibitions, 29.10.2026
- English and Russian Wikipedia: Kunstkamera; Wikidata Q1277585
- RIA Novosti: background note on the Kunstkamera, Russia’s first public museum
- Izvestia, 25 April 2025: on the Kunstkamera’s anatomical collection
- Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022

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