Northern Palmyra was guarded by three symbols: the angel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the boat on the roof of the Admiralty and the sphere of the Kunstkamera. Literate Peter I saw the key to the development of the city and the country in the unity of Orthodox values, natural elements and laws of nature. Despite the fact that the planetary roof burned down after standing for a little over a decade, and was restored to its former form only after 200 years, the Kunstkamera continued to fulfill its good role as a stronghold of enlightenment in Russia. It housed the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, which was the progenitor of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, the city university and many other educational institutions.

The museum collection was based on a collection of unusual things of Peter I. It was he who called the museum in a foreign manner "Kunshtkamera", i.e. "Cabinet of rarities". Peter I gave the collection an impressive scope. Exhibits for the first Russian museum of curiosities were brought from all over Russia.

Peter I collected things not because of their cost, but various anatomical, zoological, mineralogical and other rarities, which, in his opinion, were of value to science.

The building itself, where the Kunstkamera is now located, was built specifically for it in 1734. It is a magnificent example of the baroque of the Petrine era and is the oldest museum building in the world.

Now the museum has rich collections representing the traditional culture and life of different countries and peoples. These are halls dedicated to North America and its indigenous population, Japan, Africa, China and Mongolia, India and Indonesia, Australia and Oceania. They collected a lot of cultural items, weapons, tools and other things from all over the world. But the most famous anatomical room, which presents a collection of deformities and oddities, such as Siamese twins, two-headed calf and others. Separate expositions are devoted to the first astronomical observatory of the Academy of Sciences and Mikhail Lomonosov.