most rooms have a beautifully decorated ceiling
the mitre that was granted to Prince Gideon Chetvertinsky in 1685
a dolmen from the North Caucasus was the last resting place for up to 70 people
a 3000 years old boat, recovered from the banks of the River Volga
the central vault shows the genealogical tree of Russian rulers
Lenin loved to roam Moscow with expensive cars like this Rolls Royce
a well-used throne from the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great
a sled for the children of the Tsar in the form of a goose
children inspect the terrestrial globe from Willem Blaeu from the early 1600's
a 17th century icon called Christ Pantocrator
the State Historical Museum
The crimson colored
museum was built in neo-Russian style and opened in 1883 at the coronation of Tsar Alexander III.
The Soviets vandalized
the museum and had all the interiors plastered over, but in the 1990's everything was painfully restored. to the original
splendor of lush decorations in Russian Revival style.
The central vault of the gold colored Entrance Hall shows the genealogical
tree of 68 Russian rulers since the 10th century.
Many items of the huge collection are on display in 39 halls,
each decorated in the style of the specific time period or region.
Some of the showpieces are:
- A prehistoric boat, retrieved
from the Volga river and at least 3000 years old.
- A
dolmen from the north Caucasus
- A huge collection of Bronze Age
Scythian weaponry
and other items.
- A terrestrial globe from early 16h century by
Willem Blaeu.
-one of
Lenin's Rolls
Royces. He may have been leader of the working class, but boy did he love expensive cars.
We visited the Museum in August
2019.
at the entrance of the museum on the Red Square
the grand ceremonial Entrance Hall
this bronze age weapon worked both ways
a text message on birch bark , carved between the 11th and 15th century in Novgorod
in the evening the Historical Museum is nicely lit
a map of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus
