The Bryansk region is full of dense forests and verdant clearings. No matter what road you decide to drive here, luxurious forest lands are found everywhere. It is not surprising that the Bryansk Forest Museum was created in this city. For his sake, many tourists specially visited the city. What is noteworthy in the Bryansk Forest Museum and what is its fate?
About the museum
The Bryansk Forest Museum was created in honor of the millennium of the city of Bryansk. The summer site in the territory of A.K. Tolstoy's park was chosen as the construction site. As a result, in 1989 there was a wooden building one floor high. Its size was 40 × 12 m. The decoration of the museum of the forest was a unique wood carving and beautiful sculptures made of wood. It was the first professional museum of forestry in Russia. Its construction began in 1983 and lasted for six years. For the citizens and visitors of Bryansk, the forest museum was one of the most beloved and most interesting places. Unfortunately, a terrible fire consumed him on the night of March 8, 2009.
Exposition
Three rooms were created within the framework of the museum in Bryansk. The first was called central, the second - scientific information, and the third - diorama. A feature of the central hall was the presence of two schematic maps of the flora and fauna of the Bryansk region, made of gypsum. Also here you could see stuffed animals and photographs of representatives of the flora and fauna of the Bryansk region. In the second room was stored the Red Book of the Bryansk region. There were four large-format paintings painted in oil, and a layout of the area indicating erosion control measures. During the tour, a demonstration of the presentation and videos was held in this room. Four ribbon-like paintings were installed on the territory of the diorama hall. Each of them corresponded to a certain time of the year. Stuffed birds and animals were also presented to the guests. Predatory, ungulate, furry - all were collected in this room. To enhance the perception effect, various special effects were used that create artificial lightning, thunder, wind, sunrise and other natural phenomena.
Also, the Bryansk Forest Museum in Tolstoy Park had its own musical zest. At the end of the excursion, the guests were pleased with the forest show, staged according to the fairy tale “Twelve Months” by Marshak according to the vision of the creators of the “Bryansk Forest”. In 2008, the museum reached a new level. In addition to the permanent exhibition, shift workers began to hold here. One of them was the exposition "Bryansk Wolf." As part of this event, the museum exhibited over 300 exhibits of wolves made of crystal, fabric, ceramics and other materials. Unfortunately, this exposition, along with the main one, died from the 2009 fire.
Fire
On the calendar was March 7, 2009. The clock showed 22:46. It was at this moment that the Ministry of Emergencies received a signal about a fire alarm in Tolstoy Park. Four minutes later, several departments were already in place. The fire swept over a vast territory, for which he was immediately assigned the category of complex. A huge number of units of special equipment were sent to the place. In less than two hours, the fire was localized, and in four hours and ten minutes it was completely eliminated. This operation was carried out by 60 people and 16 special machines. Fortunately, there were no injuries and deaths from the fire. But the building received terrible damage. His roof was completely burned out with an area of 200 m 2 , the walls were burned around the entire perimeter. Almost all the property was destroyed. The investigation revealed that this fire was triggered by arson. It was not possible to save the Bryansk Forest Museum, therefore, by the end of April 2009, it was completely liquidated.
Museum revival
The idea of reviving the first forest museum in Russia came to the minds of employees of the Bryansk Nature Reserve. The decision to restore it has already been made, and now the city administration is faced with the question of starting consideration of projects for construction. The reserve’s specialists have their own project and, as officials say, it is worthy of being implemented. Perhaps very soon the museum will again open its doors to its visitors.
A few facts about the museum
- Established January 1, 1983
- The cause of the fire in the museum is arson.
- The location of the museum is the central part of Tolstoy Park.
- Tolstoy Park is located in the former cemetery.
- The cost of visiting was five rubles.
- The museum fund totaled nearly 800 exhibits.
- The museum was included in the honorary list of objects of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation.
- Despite the fact that the building was set on fire, no one was punished.
- Before the fire, they wanted to move the museum to pl. Partisan. This was not done, as they were afraid that the diorama would not withstand transportation.
- The city administration raises the question of the revival of a professional forest museum in the Bryansk region. Now officials are at the stage of accepting projects for the construction of a new building. So far, the proposal has been put forward only from the reserve staff.