The Nevskaya Zastava Museum in St. Petersburg has a rich historical and local history exhibition. So if you want to get acquainted with the past of this city, and especially the Nevsky district, then in this cultural institution you will find everything you need.
Museum History
The Nevskaya Zastava Museum is now housed in an old two-story wooden mansion. It was built in the XIX century. Around it is surrounded by typical buildings that appeared in the 60s of the last century, as well as more modern houses. The house where the Nevskaya Zastava Museum is located can tell almost everything about the history of the Nevsky District.
First of all, the very fate of this building is interesting. The house was originally located at 23. Novo-Aleksandrovskaya Street. It was built for workers who worked in factories located in the district. So these were not very pretentious four two-room apartments.
Important historical events here began in the years 1894-1895. One of the rooms was then rented by locksmith Vasily Shelgunov, who worked at the Obukhov plant. Members of the Social Democratic circle gathered illegally from him. Often at these meetings was the future leader of the revolution, Vladimir Lenin.
The fate of the house in the XX century
Until 1967, the house in which the Nevskaya Zastava Museum is located today remained residential. It was only in honor of the centennial of Shelgunov’s birthday that they decided to open the first exposition here. At first it was a museum of the revolutionary history of the Neva Outpost.
Over time, the museum space expanded. In 1970, a memorial site appeared next to the building. It was a stela made of granite, on which was a high-relief portrait of Lenin by the sculptor Troyanovsky. Nearby were five monuments to members of the Union for the Emancipation of the Working Class. Their names at that time were named streets in the Nevsky district.
In its modern form, the Museum of Local Lore "Nevskaya Zastava" in St. Petersburg appeared in 1992.
Museum exposition
Today, the museum’s exposition is rich and diverse. It is located in four rooms. Here it is possible to trace all the stages of the development of the Nevsky district and the Neva outpost, starting from the XVIII century and ending with our days.
Much attention is paid to the figure of Shelgunov. After all, initially the lion's share of the exhibition was dedicated only to him.
Here you can visit the memorial room of the revolutionary fitter, which was carefully recreated by museum workers. In fact, today it is almost the only illustration of the life of skilled workers in Russia at the end of the 19th century.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions on local history and historical subjects. Museum programs and excursions for organized groups are being formed. Individual visitors will be able to learn all about this period.
How to get to the museum?
The Nevskaya Zastava Museum is located on Novo-Aleksandrovskaya St., 23. It is not far from the Neva River and Obukhov Defense Avenue. The easiest way to get to the museum is by metro, reaching the Proletarskaya station.
If you decide to come to the Nevskaya Zastava Museum, the opening hours of this institution are as follows: from Monday to Wednesday, the doors are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Thursday from noon to 8 p.m., on Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
An excursion to the museum for a group of 10 people will cost 1,100 rubles, if you are from 10 to 20 people, then the cost will be 1,600 rubles. And with the number of visitors up to 30 people - 2,600 rubles.
True, the museum will not return to this mode of operation soon. On June 19, it closed for reconstruction. Overhaul of the foundation, floors and facade of the building will be carried out. So far, the Nevskaya Zastava Museum, whose address is in this article, is working remotely. He plans to open his doors again in early 2018.
Nevsky district
Is it not surprising that the whole museum in St. Petersburg is dedicated to the history of only one district. Nevsky. What is the reason for such attention to him?
The fact is that the Nevsky district is one of the largest in the Northern capital and the only one located on both banks of the Neva. On its territory there were so many important historical events for the fate of the whole country that it rightfully has its own unique history.
The first settlements on the territory of the Nevsky district appeared long before Peter I laid the foundation of the city on the Neva. Judging by the census books of the 16th-17th centuries, Russians and Finns, who were engaged in agriculture, fishing and trading with merchants, have long coexisted here side by side.
Moreover, the majority of the population in these places adhered to the Orthodox faith. Peter I, having founded a new capital, laid a temple here in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky. The key point in these places was the outpost, which was located at the beginning of the Shlisselburg tract (today it is Obukhov Defense Avenue). The outpost was directly under the walls of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Therefore, it soon began to be called Nevskaya Zastava. Later, the museum received this name.
Settlement of the Nevsky district
By order of Peter I, the modern Nevsky district was actively populated. The coachmen who served the postal tract moved here from the Smolensk region. Numerous fishermen arrived from the banks of the Oka River. They even founded a separate village called Rybatskoe.
On the banks of the Neva appeared a large number of plants. First of all, brick. On barges, the finished brick was rafted down the river for the construction of St. Petersburg.
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, factories and factories began to be actively built here, in which foreign specialists who trained local workers shared their skills. Therefore, in addition to Orthodox churches, it was in the Nevsky district that a large number of religious buildings belonging to other religions appeared.
Even the architecture of the building began to combine the traditions of Russian, Western, Eastern, Scandinavian architecture.
Red Route
A lot can be learned about the work of the Nevskaya Zastava Museum within the framework of the Red Route project. This is a historical and cultural tour about the personality of the leader of the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin. Participants of the "Red Route" visit the monuments and places associated with it.
The museum to which this article is devoted is one of the key points of this route. In addition, a large number of attractions are located next to it.
After all, it was on the Neva outpost that Vladimir Lenin conducted active propaganda work at the end of the 19th century. It was fertile ground. After all, there lived a large number of workers who were dissatisfied with their position and the current government.
Under Lenin’s leadership, workers ’circles were formed, young revolutionaries were actively trained, contacts and contacts were established with industrial workers, of whom there were a great many in the Nevsky District.
Excursion route
On this route, tourists have the opportunity to visit not only the Nevskaya Zastava Museum, but also the Nevsky Machine-Building Plant, on the territory of which the first monument to Vladimir Lenin was installed in St. Petersburg, the Kornilovskaya school, where the wife of the leader of the revolution Nadezhda Krupskaya, imperial china factory, Obukhov factory, Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Of particular note is the imperial porcelain factory. He appeared in the XVIII century. Until that time, no one had been able to unravel the mystery of making Chinese porcelain. For the first time, a unique domestic recipe was created by Dmitry Vinogradov. He successfully tested it at this enterprise.