The Amber Museum is housed in the Dohna Tower, a tall round 19th-century Prussian fortification tower on the edge of the old city. The museum is one of the best in the world for understanding amber — the fossilised tree resin that has made this region both wealthy and distinctive for centuries. The permanent collection covers the geology and formation of amber, its historical trade routes, and its role in art from antiquity to the present.
The exhibition includes spectacular pieces: large raw nodules, amber with dramatic inclusions (insects, lizards, even small vertebrates preserved in extraordinary detail), and a long history of amber carving and decorative use. The recreation of panels from the legendary Amber Room — the 18th-century decoration removed by the Nazis from the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg and never recovered — is a sobering highlight. The tower building itself is worth exploring: the circular rooms at each level have a satisfying fortress character.