Murom Historical and Art Museum
Murom Historical and Art Museum is a large museum complex dedicated to the historical past, culture and traditions of the ancient city of Murom and the surrounding area. It includes the main building, the Art Gallery and the Exhibition Center. The Murom Museum has existed for almost a century, and during this time it has accumulated rich funds – more than 95 thousand items. The basis was formed by the collections taken from the estate of Counts Uvarov. Works of Old Russian and church art appeared in the museum after the city authorities closed several Murom Orthodox churches in the 1930s.
Highlights
The main building of the history and art museum is considered to be the three-story mansion of the Zworykin estate, where television inventor Vladimir Zworykin was born and spent his teenage years. This part of the museum exhibits rich archeological collections – bronze statuettes from Ancient Egypt and antique ceramics. Of great interest are cast bronze jewelry made in the VII-XI centuries by craftsmen from the ancient Muroma tribe, a beautiful Scandinavian metal buckle, armor of an ancient Russian warrior and ancient rifles of the XVII-XVIII centuries.
.The art collection gathered in the museum presents icons and arts and crafts created by Moscow and Murom masters. In the museum halls you can see paintings by Russian painters – V. Polenov, I. Shishkin, K. Korovin and V. Surikov. Surikov and a collection of works by contemporary Murom artists. There are paintings of Western European masters of the XVI-XIX centuries, old German furniture, samples of Italian porcelain and faience, as well as beautiful Empire bronze from France. A separate section is devoted to household appliances, which were produced by the city’s enterprises in the 1950s-1980s.
.Visitors to the Murom Museum of History and Art can examine the exhibited collections independently or as part of tour groups. There are 45-minute overview and thematic tours of the halls. The art salon and the museum’s ticket office sell souvenirs and gifts related to the symbolism and history of Murom lands.
.History of the museum
In 1912 at the Murom real school was created a circle of amateurs of natural history. Its organizer was an enthusiast and collector Vladimir Ivanovich Zhadin, who was later charged with the creation of the first museum in Murom. In the summer of 1918, the Department of Education allocated money, and six months later in the real school opened the Museum of the local region. Its board included representatives of the city government, clergy and intellectuals. Much help to the museum was rendered by Murom collectors and local historians. The first expositions occupied several classrooms of the school. The collections grew rapidly, and there was a catastrophic lack of space for them.
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Since 1935, the city museum began to be called a local history museum. For many years it was one of the branches belonging to the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve. But in the late 1980s, the Murom Historical and Art Museum gained independence.
.Gallery
The art gallery was opened in Murom in 1996. It exhibits rich collections of Western European and Russian art – engravings, paintings, samples of furniture and porcelain products made in the XVII-XIX centuries. The first floor of the two-story mansion is occupied by the scientific library, where more than 36 thousand volumes published in the XIX-XXI centuries are kept. The building also houses an art salon and a museum archive.
.Exhibitions
The youngest part of the Murom Historical and Art Museum is considered to be the Exhibition Center. It is located on a busy Murom street, in the mansion of merchants Golubtsovs. Since 2013, a museum exposition dedicated to the treasures of the ancient Russian city has been open here. Every year, the building hosts 12 to 15 changing exhibitions and educational and game programs for schoolchildren.”
.Tourist information
The Murom Historical and Art Museum can be visited on any day except Monday. The art gallery and salon receive tourists from Sunday to Friday from 9.30 to 17.00, and on Saturdays from 10.00 to 18.00. The Exhibition Center is open Sunday through Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12 noon to 7.30 p.m. Please note that the ticket office stops working 15 minutes before closing time. Tourists can use an audio guide while visiting the museum.
.How to get there
The Murom Historical and Art Museum is housed in three buildings. The main collections are located in house No. 4 on Pervomayskaya Street. The Art Gallery is located in the neighboring house No. 6 on Pervomayskaya Street, and the Exhibition Center is located in house No. 13 on Moskovskaya Street, 600 m west of the main building.
.The Murom museum is reached by any of the buses going through the city center. It is necessary to go to the stop “Trade House “Vityaz” or “Cinema “Oktyabr”.”
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