The Kandt House Museum, formerly known as the Natural History Museum, is located in what is now the city of
Kigali,
Nyarugenge
Nyarugenge is a sector (''umurenge'') located in Nyarugenge District, Kigali Province, Rwanda.
Location
It is located in the southwest part of the city of Kigali. The coordinates of Nyarugenge Sector are:1°58'02.0"S, 30°03'20.0"E (Latitud ...
District, westbound. This location was chosen as the colonial capital in Rwanda of Germany in 1907 by a German resident (Administrator) Richard Kandt under the name of Nyarugenge.The name was changed to Kigali in 1908 because it was too difficult for the colonialists to pronounce.
But the name Kigali was named by King
Cyirima I Rugwe in the 14th century by naming now known as
Mount Kigali.
Then, under the idea of Richard Kandt, along with other colonial military leaders, the Rwandans began to build administrative buildings, including this museum building in 1908.
This is the only remaining historical building from 1908. As such, the building was renovated in 2004 and turned into a
natural history museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
showcasing
Rwanda's natural resources. Additionally, on 17 December 2017, the museum changed its name to the Kandt House Museum with a new exhibition showing the history of Rwanda before and within
German colonization under the new name of the Kandt House Museum. There is also an additional exhibit of live reptiles such as
Nile crocodiles
The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, easter ...
, snakes such as
black mamba,
python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
,
cobra, and others found in the Rwandan countryside.
This museum is under the
Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy.
References
{{Reflist
Museums in Rwanda
German colonisation in Africa
Museums established in 1908