The history of the development of each business is very interesting and informative. In Nizhny Novgorod, there is the only river fleet museum in the country that tells about the evolution of merchant and passenger ships from ancient times to the present day.
History of creation
The idea of creating an exhibition hall that would reflect the path traveled by the shipping industry belongs to the first director of the museum, Fedor Nikolayevich Rodin. In the city of Saratov in 1921, a hall was opened, which was called the Museum of the Volgar. But in 1935 it was decided to transfer the entire exhibition to the city of Gorky. Here, too, the institution changed its address several times, and only in the 70s of the last century the 4th floor was allocated in the building of the Academy of Water Transport, where the museum is still located.
Address
The Museum of the River Fleet (Nizhny Novgorod), whose address is Minin Street, 7, will delight visitors with a rich and unique exhibition. Authentic documents, ship drawings, photographs, personal belongings of people whose life is connected with the development of this direction are exhibited in the halls. Guides will tell a lot of interesting things to those who look into the museum of the river fleet (Nizhny Novgorod). Opening hours: from 9:00 to 16:00 on weekdays. The last Friday of the month is a sanitary day, and the entrance for visitors is closed.
Exposure location
The Museum of the River Fleet is located in two rooms. The first consists of seven halls, and the second of two. The area of the premises is 500 and 50 m2, respectively.
The exposition is displayed in chronological order so that visitors can see how the river fleet began and what heights have reached at present.
A visit to this institution will be interesting to history buffs, future engineers, students and schoolchildren, as well as those whose life is connected with ships.
Hall tour
A market signal announces the start of the tour. The first hall presents the history of the development of shipping. Visitors are invited to watch a small presentation, which tells about the Volga River, about the great people who stood at the origins of the fleet.
Here you can see a photo of the boat, which was raised from the bottom of Lake Ladoga. According to scientists, he is about 5 millennia. Pioneers began their journey on such ships. Models of later ships that plowed the waters of a mighty river from the 9th to the 18th century are also exhibited here. These are shitiki, geese, whites, plows, barks. Almost all of these ships were able to withstand not only the pressure of the water element, they could still be dragged by land from one water artery to another.
Everyone knows the picture “Barge Haulers on the Volga” from school. The work of people harnessed and dragging ships was very hard and exhausting. One of the expositions in the hall is dedicated to the Volga burlachestvo. Here are the personal belongings of people who literally killed themselves in such hard work, tags, which were used to calculate with mercenaries, and enslaving agreements. The diorama repeating the plot of Repin’s picture helps to feel stronger the excessive burden that these people had to pull.
Part of the exposition is dedicated to the great Russian inventor Kulibin. Thanks to his brilliant creations, the river fleet reached a qualitatively new level. He proposed improvements that helped get rid of the work of the hacks. The Museum of the River Fleet exhibits drawings made by a talented engineer, a register of his inventions, as well as an original spotlight, which the inventor introduced to Catherine II in 1797.
Further, the exhibition tells about horse-drawn cars, the development of passenger shipping and the appearance of motor ships.
Heroic past
This hall is dedicated to the feats of arms of rivermen during the Civil and Patriotic Wars. A separate topic is dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. This exposition was opened for the 70th anniversary of a significant event. Here you can learn about the heroic deeds of people who defended their homeland and at the cost of their lives did not miss the enemy.
Engine room
Of course, the story of river shipping would not be complete without a narrative of how ships developed. In one of the halls, models of diesel engines and steam engines are presented, which set in motion huge vessels capable of carrying tons of cargo and hundreds of people.
From Victory to the present day
The heavy wheel war took place all over the country, destroying everything that had been created in many areas to the ground. People returned from the front, inspired by victory, and active construction and development began, including the river flat. In the museum you can see models of oil carriers, container ships, a sea railway ferry, ships capable of not only walking along rivers, but also going to sea.
The second part of the exposition
After completing the initial inspection of the exhibits, all comers go on to continue an informative and fascinating tour. The second room is divided into two rooms, the first is dedicated to the passenger fleet, and the second to the technical one.
Here you can see models of tourist liners cruising along the Volga, as well as new models of hovercraft, hydrofoils or the so-called ekranoplanes, which can even go through shallow areas. Technical models of self-propelled and non-self-propelled scows, dredger, icebreakers and other ships capable of carrying tons of cargo.
The Museum of the River Fleet is worth a visit to all those interested in the history of Russia.