Chamber of Art and Curiosities, Ambras Castle

The Chamber of Art and Curiosities or Chamber of Art and Wonders ("Kunst- und Wunderkammer") is a cabinet of curiosities (German: Kunstkammer) created in the 16th century by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and located in Innsbruck, Austria. Ferdinand II was the sovereign ruler of the County of Tyrol and Further Austria, and a prominent collector of art. He built this museum specifically to showcase his collections (1572-1583, supplement 1589).^[1]

Ferdinand II was the first to present a collection according to a systematic concept within a specially constructed museum building.^{[citation needed]} Ambras Castle is perhaps the oldest museum in the world.^{[citation needed]} The Chamber of Art and Curiosities is the only Kunstkammer to have been preserved at its original location.^{[citation needed]}

Examples of items in the collection include armour, weapons, portraits, natural objects, rarities, 'wonders of nature', contemporary scientific instruments, musical instruments, and precious items. In later times, these are classified as artificialia, naturalia, scientifica, exotica, and mirabilia.^{[citation needed]} The Strasser Collection of Glass (German: Glassammlung Strasser) boasts precious glassware from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The Habsburg Portrait Gallery (German: Habsburger Porträtgalerie) is laid out across three floors, and open to visitors in summer. The gallery hosts painting from artists such as Hans Burgkmair, Lucas Cranach the Younger, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Peter Paul Rubens, and Diego Velázquez. Today, these collections are administered by the KHM-Museumsverband, part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.