Exhibition halls MARITIME KOENIGSBERG-KALININGRAD and PACKGAUS

Territory

A port was located on the present territory of the Museum of the World Ocean. Port facilities and buildings had been built there since the 17^th century. Very often they burned down and were then reconstructed and changed.

The port warehouses where the Maritime Koenigsberg-Kaliningrad and Packgaus exhibition halls are located now were constructed in the 19^th century. A moorage wall and a cobblestone road were most likely made in the same period. In the mid-19^th century a railway bridge (that still remains) was constructed and later – a large railway junction for transship cargo being transported from warehouses to be loaded into wagons and then transferred to its destination.

The territory along the Pregol river was damaged during WWII. The moorage wall and the cobblestone road were restored by the museum in 2000-2003, the buildings – in 2006-2007. Today the buildings, the moorage wall, the cobblestone road, the railway bridge and open-air museum exhibits are reminiscent of the old town corner of the mid-19^th century.

Expositions

The Maritime Koenigsberg-Kaliningrad exhibition hall houses a similarly-named exposition and a restored ship of the 19^th century found in the Yantarny sandpit. A gallery for temporary exhibitions is located on the first floor. Prominent Russian and foreign exhibitions are displayed in the Packgaus. The building was restored within a year and on July 13, 2007 it was opened to take part in the City’s Day celebrations. The Packgaus exhibition building is the city’s only exhibition hall satisfying the requirements of the top museums of the world. The hall is equipped with a Hanwell climate control system and the necessary security barriers. Showcases are equipped with specialized light-emitting diodes safe for museum exhibits.

Kant’s Bench

Kant’s Bench is one of the dominating structures nearby the exhibition buildings. Presumably in the late 18^th early 19^th centuries, Immanuel Kant, the outstanding philosopher and Albertina professor, used to walk here. This route was called Kant’s path. In his declining years he liked to visit this area and watch the vibrant life of the old Koenigsberg port. Kant used to say: “If you want to see the whole world you should not leave Koenigsberg, just visit the port and see it!” Today you can walk along Kant’s path, see artifacts of the old town, take a seat on Kant’s bench and touch the great philosopher’s hat and walking stick.

Putti fountain

A sculpture composition by Stanislaus Cauer at the territory of the Old Port landscape park always attracts visitors’ attention. Charming “little angels” appeared at the museum in 2010. Before that the fountain “travelled” a lot. Before the war, the “Puttenbrunnen” – that is a correct name – was found near the guardhouse of the Koenigsberg Castle. That is why it was not destroyed in 1944 during the bombing by the British aviation. After the war, the “little angles” changed their location again and were put at the territory of the Kaliningrad Port Hospital. For several decades, they were abandoned in the courtyard. Patients did not get better when they looked at the fountain in very poor conditions, so physician-in-chief V. Svistunov decided to hand the German sculptor’s art work to the Museum of the World Ocean. Here, at the museum, the fountain was restored and for the first time launched in 2011.

Today every person can enjoy the restored and born-again fountain and monument at the territory of the museum. “Kids” have become an integral part of the city’s history and an important part of its landscape.