The Stieglitz Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts ranks among the most significant museum in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The project had its beginnings in 1878 when Baron Alexander von Stieglitz (1814–84), a millionaire philanthropist, donated funds to build a museum for the benefit of students of the Central School of Engineering Design, which had been established by him earlier. The new museum was to accommodate Stieglitz's private collection of rare glassware, porcelains, tapestries, furniture, and tiled stoves.