MUSEUM OF HYGIENE

25 Italyanskaya ulitsa 191011 St. Petersburg
Open: 10am - 6pm
Closed: Saturdays and Sundays
Tel. 210-8508
Nearest metro station: Gostiny Dvor

The Museum of Hygiene (prior to 1990, the Museum of Public Health) was opened in 1919 for the purpose of medical enlightenment and the dissemination of medical knowledge. It is located in the former palace of Ivan Shuvalov, an adviser of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, a patron of arts and the first President of the Academy of Arts. In this palace, built in 1753-55 by Sabbas Chevakinsky, Shuvalov often played host to many scholars and artists, including Mikhail Lomonosov. Subsequently, the palace was widely known as the "house of the general-prosecutor" and the residence of the ministers of justice. The original finish of the vestibule has survived and the remaining interiors have been reconstructed.

The exhibits dwell on campaigns against smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction, on sexual education, AIDS prevention and radiation hygiene. There| is a unique collection of anatomical preparations, an electrophysical "glass man" model and an artificial heart.