Kandt House Museum

About this place

The Kandt House Museum is a small white and pink house in the Nyarugenge district, the only building left from 1908 in Kigali. It belonged to Richard Kandt, the German doctor and explorer who was the country's first German resident administrator and who chose this spot for its capital. The museum tells Rwanda's story from that time, along with a live display of the country's reptiles. Kandt picked the site in 1907 under the name Nyarugenge, and it became Kigali in 1908 because the colonists found the name hard to say. Work on the administrative buildings began around then. The house was renovated in 2004 and became a natural history museum showing Rwanda's natural resources. On 17 December 2017 it took its present name, with a new display on the country before and during German colonial rule. The house stands in a small garden, with white walls, a red tile roof and a wide stair among trees and flowers. Inside are old black-and-white photographs of Rwanda's valleys and rivers, maps and objects from the period. Behind the house is a reptile corner with Nile crocodiles and snakes, among them the black mamba, which is what children like most. It is about 2 km from the Kigali Genocide Memorial in a straight line and sits on a hill above the city, so take a taxi or moto. A guided tour in English or French adds a lot. It usually closes on the morning of the last Saturday of the month, the community work day. Ask before taking photos in the rooms.