Since the time of Rus, gingerbread cookies, guns and samovars have been the calling card of Tula. These entertaining and tasty gizmos Tulchans and now pay a considerable place in their culture. Armory and gingerbread museums are very popular and respected by city guests. And the museum of samovars is a separate story, because a samovar is not just an object, but a whole history and tradition of tea drinking in Russia. The Tula Samovars Museum is one of the keepers of this art. Therefore, to come to Tula and not visit it is like not getting drunk at an oasis in the desert.
Where to find
The Tula Museum of Samovars secured an address in the historical center of the city - on Mendeleevskaya Street in house number 8, not far from the Kremlin and the central square. In many cities of Russia there are similar museums, but it is a local institution, which, incidentally, does not say that it is full-scale, will send its visitors on an exciting journey to the origins of creating a samovar.
It opened in Tula in 1990. The museum exposition is regularly updated and updated. The Tula Samovars Museum, together with the museums of weapons and gingerbread, is one of the “three whales” of the city’s culture.
The origins of the museum
The establishment of the institution was greatly assisted by the Tula Museum of Local Lore and the Stamp samovar factory, the only one operating to this day. The entire collection of samovars is located in several rooms on two floors of the building. Do not wait for a luxurious interior, here you must go for the history and unique facts from the life of Russian people. The collection has about 300 exhibits. The Tula Samovars Museum in Tula has kept samples of samovars since the 18th century, many of them genuine works of art.
From the history of homemade
When visiting the museum, it is better to use the services of a guide who will not only talk about the most famous Tula families that made samovars, but also about the factories for the production of these devices, and about the very history of this household miracle device.
The first samovars in the world did not appear in Russia, but presumably in ancient Rome. There, a hot stone was thrown into the vessel with water, from which the water began to boil. In Asia, a device was invented for heating water and making tea with a blower. Everyone knows that the Asiatic tea traditions are rooted in antiquity, it is no wonder that they actively developed their inventions. Europe also had its own “samovars”, on the designs of which they worked both in Holland and in France. A frequent guest in Holland was the Russian Tsar Peter the Great. It is believed that he brought the idea and prototype of the Russian samovar from there. The great development of the metallurgical industry in the Urals was the impetus for the fact that it was here that the first samovars began to be produced.
The beginning of the Tula home making
The first Tula dynasty, which began to produce samovars at the end of the 18th century, was the Lisitsyn family. Two craftsman brothers made samovars not only for ordinary people, but also made exclusive options for noble people and the royal family. They picked up the baton for the production of water heaters of the Batashevs, Shemarins, Fomins families. The products of each of these dynasties are stored by the Tula Samovars Museum. Tula carefully treats its history. It is also interesting that price lists for samovars of the 19th century and some interesting documents from factories, for example, requirements for employees when hiring, were preserved.
In every Russian house of the XVIII-XIX centuries there was a samovar. But not only Russians paid tribute to this subject of household appliances. Samovars were purchased and ordered by foreigners. They appreciated the quality of Tula products in Europe and America, as evidenced by medals and diplomas that were won by Russian samovars at international exhibitions. The award-winning samovar factories made medal stamps on their products, which was a criterion for the highest quality of products, and in some way protected them from fakes.
Even the Soviet years did not break down the Tula samovar-makers, who quickly shifted to a new policy, and began to decorate their products with the sickle and hammer logos, and even a red star.
After three hundred years, the samovar became a symbol of Russian folk life. And tea, which under the kings was available only to noble persons, became available to ordinary people. A whole era has passed. But the city of Tula, the museum of samovars retained the memory of that time and are proud of their masters. By right, the most bought local souvenirs are decorative items that are a symbol of Russian hospitality and home comfort.
Not a single samovar
Museum "Tula Samovars" is the keeper and collector of all the facts of the development of the tea ceremony, the popular varieties of tea, its preparations in Russia and the favorite "noble" drinks. In the halls of the museum are interiors of tea rooms of the XIV century, as well as exquisite tea pairs and sets.
The museum stores objects and equipment for making samovars, used from the origins of its appearance, valuable samples that are the pride of the museum are the largest and smallest samovars. The Tula Samovars Museum will acquaint its visitors with the ancestor of a modern multicooker - a traveling specimen, as well as a samovar for making porridge and soups, which combined several departments for the simultaneous preparation of tea and food. The collection also includes the ancestor of the samovar - the beaten man. Of course, the creators of the museum did not forget that the samovar is a direct ancestor of modern electric kettles, and the museum’s collection contains interesting samples of the first electric kettles, and also tells about the transformation of the samovar into a modern kettle.
Separately, it is necessary to consider souvenir product samples: here are birch bark, and clay, transparent glass and porcelain painted, wooden and sugar!
The Museum "Tula Samovars" is not limited to one direction. Museums in Tula are known for their versatility. In the institution described, in addition to a permanent exhibition, exhibitions are held that affect the very history of the tea ceremony in Tsarist Russia and the Soviet years. All about tea etiquette and table setting, popular samovars, treats and the best varieties of tea can be found in the museum. A lecture by a skilled guide will be a real history lesson.
And a samovar
The samovar is sung in the works of Russian classics. Like boots and balalaika, he became a symbol of the Russian soul for foreigners. Many masters of decorative art took part in decorating this tsar of the Russian tea ceremony.
Whatever forms the samovar took: cookies, a vase, a jar, a glass, an egg, the most common were cubic and cylindrical. For the poor - wood, for the rich - electric, copper, nickel silver, brass. Marching samovars with removable legs and heavy giants for a whole company of soldiers - history knows a lot of options.
Through centuries
Years go by, and Tula is not going to stop there, it is not without reason that the proverb says: “Give a piece of iron to Tula; Now the only existing Stamp samovar factory produces about 1.5 million souvenir machines per year. Full electric samovars come out of the walls of the enterprise.
The homeland of the Russian samovar is Tula, the museum of samovars is the face of the city.