Exhibition 'City of Pure Reason'

About exhibition

'City of Pure Reason' is an exhibition reflecting urban life in Königsberg from the early 17th century to the late 1930s. It covers four centuries of history told through old engravings. The exhibition allows visitors to trace the main events in the history of East Prussia — from the decline of the Middle Ages and the dissolution of the Teutonic Order up to the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic works mainly address themes such as the Enlightenment, the city's secular and everyday life, the Napoleonic Wars, and the development of urban and defensive architecture. The Enlightenment of the 18th century is inextricably linked with the name of the great philosopher Immanuel Kant. He was a professor at the University of Königsberg, the Albertina. In addition to engravings, the exhibition's themes are revealed through the museum's holdings: editions of Immanuel Kant published during his lifetime, the seal of the University of Königsberg (the Albertina), the uniform of a Russian and a Prussian soldier from the Napoleonic Wars, coins from the Königsberg mint of the 17th–18th centuries, and 19th-century silver tableware.