Murmansk is not distinguished by an abundance of historical monuments, along with other major cities of our country. However, he is already very beautiful, original and therefore attractive to every lover of tourism. In this article, I would like to look at the best museums in Murmansk, the mode of operation, interesting facts.
Museum of Local Lore
The oldest in the region is the museum of local lore. The institution, located at 90 Lenin Avenue, is engaged in the search, storage, acquisition and popularization of historical monuments.
The main feature of the museum is a unique exposition of the seabed, which is one of a kind on the territory of Russia. The geological exhibit was once extracted from a depth of about 12 km during the drilling of the Kola well.
In general, the museum’s expositions are able to tell institutions about the history of the region, from ancient times to the present day.
Art Museum
We continue to survey the museums of Murmansk. The next on our list is the city’s art museum, which can be found at 13, Kominterna Street. The institution operates from Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Art Museum (Murmansk) is the only institution in the Arctic dedicated entirely to the visual arts. It is based in an old building erected in the distant 1927. It is noteworthy that the building was once the first stone in the city. The rest of the buildings at that time were made of wood.
The Art Museum (Murmansk) keeps within its walls mostly works by Russian masters of fine art. Recently, modern expositions are increasingly exhibited here. Today, about 4000 items are stored here.
In addition to exhibition activities, the institution is engaged in pedagogical and educational work. The art museum regularly organizes informative lectures, meetings with famous personalities, artists.
Museum of the Northern Fleet
The Museum of the Northern Fleet (Murmansk) can be found at: Tortseva Street, 15. Since 1964, the institution is based in the premises of the House of Officers. Under the exposition there are 10 halls, the total area of which is about 1200 m 2 . Other museums in Murmansk cannot boast of such an impressive territory allotted for exhibition halls.
The museum exhibits materials that relate to the history of the Northern Fleet, its origin. This is first of all: documents of sailors, old photographs, exhibits of the Great Patriotic War. The expositions presented in the museum are able to introduce the visitor to the institution with the peculiarities of the development of the submarine fleet, naval aviation, and the history of individual ships. To date, the museum has more than 65,000 exhibits.
Nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin"
Surveying the most remarkable museums of Murmansk, one cannot ignore the icebreaker "Lenin" - an ancient ship, which in itself is one large exposition. The presented museum receives its visitors at the following address: Portovy passage, Pontoon pier of the Marine station. The institution operates from Wednesday to Sunday from 12 a.m. to 15 p.m.
The icebreaker "Lenin" is the world's first surface ship that had a nuclear power plant. The ship was built in 1956 in Leningrad. In 1959, the icebreaker set sail for the first time. The ship has been in operation for 30 years.
Today, the icebreaker is permanently parked in the port of Murmansk. Gradually, work is underway to transform it into a museum. Visiting such a place will be interesting to everyone who is interested in the history of the Russian fleet.
Museum of the Murmansk Shipping Company
Concluding our survey of the best museums in Murmansk, let’s talk about an institution dedicated to shipping. The museum is located at: Volodarsky street, house 6. Visiting the exhibition halls is available on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00.
The Museum of the Murmansk Shipping Company was organized in 1977. This is one of the few institutions where expositions are presented, which in detail reveal the history of the development of the northern sea routes by domestic sailors.
During the existence of the museum, unique in its kind photo documents were concentrated here, large-scale portrait galleries were organized. Among the expositions of the institution you can see old ship bells, marine devices of the past era, models of ship nuclear reactors, stuffed arctic animals, etc.
A real admiration for museum visitors is the collection of miniature ship models. The smallest model - the ship "Vologda" - is only 14 cm in length.
Of interest to the viewer is also a diorama, which tells about the development of the Northern Sea Route. Here you can see the ship standing under unloading. On his deck are authentic figures of sailors. The exhibition is surrounded by a realistic glow that mimics the aurora.