The Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts, originally a Stadthalle (city hall), was planned by Oberbürgermeister Siegfried Körte in 1907 and opened in the Vorder-Roßgarten district in 1912 according to designs by Richard Seel. It included concert halls, a restaurant, and a garden cafe by the Schlossteich. The Königsberger Philharmonie often performed in the 1,600-seat center. The Stadthalle was used as a military hospital during World War I. The building was heavily damaged by the 26 August 1944 Bombing of Königsberg in World War II. After the war it was part of Soviet Kaliningrad.
The former Stadthalle was restored from 1981-86. Since 1991 it has hosted the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts. The museum, founded in 1946, previously had multiple locations throughout the city. It includes exhibits on regional nature, archaeology, history, World War II, and post-war Kaliningrad. The museum also has branches in the city and the Kaliningrad Oblast.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.