The Military History Museum of Artillery has been collecting a collection of weapons for 300 years. The funds store rarities dating back to the 15th century, and modern weapons that can carry nuclear weapons. The exposition is full of historical finds, many of which have no analogues.
History of creation
The Military Historical Museum of Artillery appeared in St. Petersburg, like most of the sights of the beginning of the city’s history, at the behest of Peter I. The first collection from 1703 was located in Zeichhaus on Liteiny Prospect, where old cannons were preserved. The museum moved to the current building, on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in 1869.
The construction of the “crown fortification” (kronverka) was initiated in 1705 in order to protect the northern approaches to the Peter and Paul Fortress. All construction work was completed in 1709. The long construction was caused by a fire that occurred in 1706. The premises of the defensive structure housed warehouses - food, artillery, cannon, were also equipped with shipyards, barracks of the fortress garrison and the weapons storage of the Preobrazhensky regiment.
In 1752, reconstruction was carried out, and at the beginning of the 19th century the entire arsenal of weapons that were available was transferred to the fortress. The territory of Kronverka began to perform the functions of a particular shipyard. In 1808, the building housed the School of Shipbuilding and Navigation. The sovereign Nicholas I proposed to open the military-historical museum on the crown, he also proposed a plan. Design work was entrusted to the architect P.I. Tamansky.
Kronverk with a museum
The foundation of the building was completed in 1851. Construction was carried out from the right wing, the interior was designed by architect V.K. Reir. The two-story building has the shape of a horseshoe; mezzanines are located above the galleries of the first floor.
The architecture of the facades resembles the European fortifications of the Middle Ages. The length of the building along the center line is 472 meters, the thickness of the outer walls from the front is about 1.8 meters, and the inside is 1.3 meters.
Commissioning took place in 1860, the building passed into the jurisdiction of the Artillery Department. In January of the following year, guns began to be transported from the Old Arsenal, which was located on Liteiny Prospect, to a new place of exposure.
They closed the southern part of the courtyard with gates and a gorge wall in 1861, and put the Kronverksky Strait along the embankment line in granite and built a marina. In 1868, the empty casemates, located in the right wing, were converted into museum halls, where relics of the artillery museum were placed.
Collection history
Tsar Peter I personally was engaged in filling the collection, about which he issued a special decree sent to all governors of the Russian Empire. Exhibits arrived from all over the country, for example, 37 guns (guns and mortars) were received from the Smolensk province for consideration. The tsar periodically inspected the weapons sent, after which part was sent for re-melting for new weapons, and the most valuable replenished the collection of the arsenal.
Everyone who could and wished contributed to the museum business. In 1722, merchants P. Borsukov and F. Anikeev received from the Swedes one of the guns of the famous Russian master Andrei Chokhov — the Tsar Achilles cannon — and donated it to the museum. The “Inrog” cannon from the time of the reign of Ivan the Terrible was brought to the capital by the German Johann and handed over to the Artillery Department, from where it went to the Zeichhaus. The first inventory of the collection was carried out in 1725, at the same time a decision was made to transfer all the historical military values of St. Petersburg and Moscow to the Military History Museum of Artillery.
The full-fledged museum life of the collection began with its placement on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress. For heavy weapons a part of the yard was allocated. Initially, the collection was called the “Hall of Memorial Items”, since 1903 the name was changed to the Artillery Museum of History. He gained wide fame after 1872, when part of the exhibition took part in the Polytechnic Exhibition, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter I.
The beginning of scientific activity
The research and scientific work in the museum began with the appointment of the director of military historian N.E. Brandenburg. His efforts created an archive, a library, and a catalog began to be published. The funds were replenished with historical values from the arsenals of the Russian Empire - Kiev, Bryansk, Kazan and others. A considerable part of the collection was transferred to monasteries - Solovetsky, Tikhvinsky, Kirillo-Belozersky, as well as funds from other institutions and organizations - the Armory, the Archaeological Commission, etc. The collection was launched Receive modern weapons.
Since 1889, the museum hosted celebrations on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the development of Russian artillery, which aroused the interest of society and the military in the collection, library and activities of the institution. The museum halls received visitors three days a week, archives and a library were open for use by the military, historians, researchers.
Revolution and war
When the revolution broke out, the Military History Museum of Artillery in St. Petersburg was evacuated to Yaroslavl to save funds. On three barges inland about 75% of all funds went, which amounted to more than 200 thousand archival documents and 70 thousand unique items. But there, it was not possible to preserve all the values.
The territory of the Spassky Monastery, where exhibits and documents were stored, became the battlefield of the revolutionary masses. The clashes ended in a fire in which about 2 thousand banners burned, all the trophies of the First World War, about 300 items of ancient weapons. Also, the archive of the second half of the 18th century was completely lost, the part of the collection stored on the barge was damaged.
A lot of damage was caused by the flood that happened in Leningrad in 1924, but nevertheless, the employees managed to preserve everything that was possible, and the collection was expanded with the income from 27 museums.
Under the blockade, the Military History Museum of Artillery (St. Petersburg) was repeatedly subjected to shelling, but the funds remained reliably sheltered and replenished with captured weapons and relics of World War II. In 1946, the museum was transferred to the department of the Academy of Artillery Sciences. The first post-war exhibition opened on November 24, 1946, it was completely devoted to relics of the past war. Reassignment of the museum helped establish a deeper study of the collected collection, issue several catalogs, organize the collection and explore the possibilities for creating appropriate storage conditions for especially valuable exhibits.
Fund enlargement
Since 1948, the Military History Museum of Artillery began to issue a multi-volume publication devoted to the history of Russian artillery. In 1963, funds were replenished with a collection of the Central Historical Military Engineering Museum, which had been collected for 150 years. The collection includes historical models of the location of troops in the battles of World War II with Napoleon of 1812, the Russian-Turkish campaign of 1877-1878, the Northern War of 1700-1721.
The Military History Museum of the Engineering Troops was replenished with new exhibits and archives in 1965 when the Military Museum of Communications was annexed . Among the valuable relics is the first electromagnetic telegraph of 1832, invented by P.L. Schilling, the radio receiver of A.S. Popov in 1895. Of considerable interest is the Bodo telegraph apparatus, with the help of which a message was received about the complete surrender of Germany in 1945.
The next enlargement was due to the transfer to the Military History Museum of collections from the M. Kutuzov House-Museum, located in Poland. Specially for the exhibits of this collection, the Kutuzov Hall was created.
Description
At the present stage, the Military History Museum of Artillery is the largest collection of values and documents not only in Russia but also in the world. Within the walls of the konverka the largest collections of historical weapons, archival documents, military-engineering equipment, awards and banners of different eras, small arms and cold weapons are collected. Museum halls are decorated with paintings by famous artists, sculptures, portraits of emperors and generals.
Open funds are located in 13 rooms with a total area of 17 thousand square meters. The museum fund consists of 850 thousand unique items that are of scientific, historical, and artistic interest. The attention of the public and scientists is enjoyed by the Ustyug peepers (14th-16th centuries), gunsmiths tools of Jacob dated to the 15th century, rifled weapons of the 16-18th centuries.
The pride of the collection is the invention of Russian masters of weapons - Mosin S.I., A.P. Engelhard, V.S. Baranovsky and the most extensive collection of small arms and cold steel in the world. Some exhibits were donated by the designers themselves, such as, for example, a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
Artistic and historical value is presented by the ceremonial timpani chariot made by Russian craftsmen and intended for the export of a small cannon and banner of the amusing army of Tsar Peter I. At the stands of the halls you can see military awards of almost all Russian emperors, crystal products and silver works by famous artists of their time, personal weapons of many commanders, emperors, Soviet military leaders.
Outdoor area
In 2002, after the reconstruction, the exposition was opened again, located in the courtyard of the museum. Its area covers more than 2 hectares, the formation of the collection began in the early 50s. In open access, visitors are offered more than 250 copies of artillery guns, missile weapons, communications equipment and military engineering.
The collection includes equipment of domestic and foreign production, covering various historical stages - from ancient weapons to modern weapons. The visitor can get acquainted with self-propelled and towed equipment, anti-aircraft installations, including installations carrying nuclear warheads. Of great interest to adults and children are the expositions and excursions that the Military History Museum of Artillery conducts. Photos of military equipment and other exhibits have long been a mandatory part of the visit program.
One of the museum branches is being created in the building of the Maltese chapel , it will be devoted to the history of the creation and distribution of cadet corps in the Russian state. The building was not chosen by chance. It was built by the famous architect D. Quarenghi and is part of the ensemble of the Vorontsov Palace, previously it housed the Page Corps of His Imperial Majesty.
The Museum of the History of Cadet Corps will tell the story of the development of cadetism in Russia until 1917, about the cadet movement in exile. Separate expositions are dedicated to special military schools - Suvorov, Nakhimov, preparatory, and the revival of the cadet corps in modern Russia will also be reflected.
Permanent exhibition
The permanent exhibition is spread in 13 halls. The stands feature cold, small arms, rifled weapons, military and engineering equipment, communications from the very first to modern systems, awards, military banners reflecting the history of artillery weapons of the troops since the 14th century.
Museum Halls:
- The history of artillery weapons until the mid-19th century.
- The history of artillery troops and weapons until 1917.
- Mikhail Kutuzov and World War II.
- The history of artillery troops of the period 1918-1941.
- 2 halls dedicated to artillery during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
- History of the development of missile weapons.
- Russian engineering troops of the pre-revolutionary period.
- Engineering troops after 1917.
- Kalashnikov Hall.
- Signalers during the Second World War (1941-1945).
- The history of the origin and development of communications troops.
- The hall of the history of European weapons of the 15-17th centuries.
- History of cadet corps, military schools of Russia.
- Outdoor area.
Exhibitions
In addition to the permanent exhibition, thematic exhibitions are held in the museum halls, the location of which is mainly the Big and Small Halls. Over the past few years, the most visited have been “Weapons of the 20th Century”, “Weapon Legends of the 20th Century”, “Special Forces Against Terror” and many others.
The poster in 2017 suggests visiting the exhibitions:
- "Russian Eagle in the Balkans" (will last until the end of January 31, 2018). Dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the start of the Russian-Turkish war.
- “Time has gathered us in battle regiments ...” (ends at the end of September 2017). The exposition considers the time slice in the events and biographies of Colonel General V. E. Taranovich.
- Constructor of Victory (works until September 2017). Dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the designer of the submachine gun PPSh during the Second World War G. S. Shpagin.
- “The twists and turns of fate of D. Bryanchaninov” (until the end of May 2017). He talks about the life, fate and work of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.
- “From OSAVIAHIM to Unarmia” (until September 30, 2017). Dedicated to the history of the development of DOSAAF schools.
At temporary exhibitions, excursions are held that will be of interest to adults and children.
Reviews
The Military History Museum of Artillery received positive reviews for its completeness, rich historical heritage, quality excursions and unexpected discoveries that all sightseers who enter the halls make. Visitors note the budget prices for tickets and permission to photograph the main exposition, as well as the right to free access to the open area.
All visitors were pleasantly surprised by the authentic, well-preserved rare weapons. The exposition turned out to be interesting not only for the male part of the excursionists; representatives of the fair sex discovered a lot for themselves. Visitors warmly recommend visiting the museum and believe that once they enter it, everyone will want to return more than once.
There are no negative reviews, but there are complaints about the poor lighting of some rooms, too short specifications and informational references from interested exhibits.
Helpful information
Where is the Military History Museum of Artillery? His address: St. Petersburg, Alexander Park, building 7 (metro station "Gorkovskaya").
Entrance fees:
- For adults - 400 rubles.
- For children - 250 rubles.
- Preferential categories of the population - 250 rubles.
- For schoolchildren, students of vocational schools, senior citizens - 100 rubles.
Payment is made in cash, bank cards are not accepted. A telephone for information can be found on the official website, which, of course, has the Military History Museum of Artillery.
The working hours of the exhibition halls are 11: 00-18: 00, weekends are Monday and Tuesday, as well as every last Thursday of the month.
Not only exhibition halls are interested in the Military History Museum of Artillery. History is reflected in documents, archives, historical literature, which can be found in the scientific library of the institution. Opening hours are on Tuesday and Thursday (11: 00-17: 00), the archive documents department is open on Wednesdays and Fridays (10: 00-16: 30).