Museum-ship Vityaz in Kaliningrad photo

The research ship «Vityaz» is the main exhibit of the World Ocean Museum in Kaliningrad. Aboard the ship they went on over 65 oceanographic expeditions to different corners of world ocean. 

The ship was built at the shipyard of Bremerhaven in 1939. After World War II it was given to Russia as a reparation and since 1949 it had been the flagship of the research expedition fleet. During the expeditions scientists conducted biological researches of sea depths and discovered 1176 new species of sea animals and plants. They also examined the relief geology of certain parts of Pacific and Indian oceans. The length of the ship is 110 meters. Sixty crew members and the same number of researchers sailed on the ship.

Aboard the ship one can see most life support rooms, which remained intact: a rudder-house, a chart-house, a captain`s cabin, a gyros room, an engine room and a mess room where off-duty sailors used to spend their time. 

On the ship there are also several full-scale museum expositions. They are: the amber room where amber from different corners of earth is stored, as well as amber articles, the research cabin of a naturalist who explored the fauna of Pacific islands, the cabin of Miklouho-Maclay, a famous Russian explorer. Also it will be interesting to visit several museum exhibitions: those of corals from different regions, shark jaws and living creatures from various parts of world ocean.