Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts

Kaliningrad, Russia

The Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts is a museum along the Lower Pond in Kaliningrad, Russia. The building was originally the Stadthalle, a performing arts center in Königsberg, Germany. The Stadthalle was planned by Oberbürgermeister Siegfried Körte in 1907 and opened in the Vorder-Roßgarten district in 1912 according to designs by Richard Seel. It included concert halls (Körtesaal, Krohnesaal, and Gebauhrsaal), a restaurant, and a garden cafe by the Schlossteich. The Königsberger Philharmonie often performed in the 1,600-seat center. The Stadthalle was used as a military hospital during World War I. The building was heavily damaged by the 26 August 1944 Bombing of Königsberg in World War II. After the war it was part of Soviet Kaliningrad. The former Stadthalle was restored from 1981-86. Since 1991 it has hosted the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts. The museum, founded in 1946, previously had multiple locations throughout the city. It includes exhibits on regional nature, archaeology, history, World War II, and post-war Kaliningrad. The museum also has branches in the city and the Kaliningrad Oblast.