St. Petersburg is called the cultural capital of Russia. However, Moscow is in no way inferior in the number of museums, panoramas, estates and other similar attractions.
There is something to see here
Moscow has over 500 museums: private, municipal, state and simply branches.
No one will give a more accurate figure, since no one keeps a single list of museums in Moscow. We should not forget about the institutions of narrow-profile or departmental, which do not fall into the general category. These include museums of educational institutions, exhibition halls, museums of military units.
In our article you will find all the museums in Moscow, a list with addresses and an overview of the most remarkable places that must be visited not only by guests, but also by residents of the capital.
A bit of history
Museum business dates back to 1856, when Emperor Alexander II decided to restore the original appearance of the “Chambers of the Romanov Boyars”. After the fire, they fell into decay. Three years after the restoration work, the first museum was opened in Moscow. No more than eight visitors were allowed to enter it, he worked twice a week and the caretakers did not have the right to charge entrance fees. For this they were severely exacted.
The list of museums in Moscow began to grow every year: the Armory, the Pashkov House, the Rumyantsev Museum, which was transferred from St. Petersburg. All-Russian exhibitions were organized in Moscow, which served as an impetus for the opening of the Polytechnic, Anthropological, Museum of Folk Art and many others.
Museums Arbat
This pedestrian street is one of the main attractions of the capital. Museums on the Arbat in Moscow included the history of various eras. Their list is constantly updated, but most of the institutions have been invariably open to visitors for many decades:
- The memorial museum of Marina Tsvetaeva is located in Borisoglebsky Lane, building 6. It was opened in honor of the 100th anniversary of the poetess in 1992. Dedicated to the life and work of M. Tsvetaeva, there are exhibits of the family. Various commemorative events take place here.
- The memorial museum of A. N. Scriabin is located on Bolshoi Nikolopeskovsky Lane, 11. In this house in the early 1900s an outstanding composer and philosopher, pianist and poet Alexander Skryabin lived. Two grand pianos, paintings on the walls, a library, personal items - all preserved and exhibited as exhibits.
- The memorial apartment of Andrei Bely is located on the Arbat itself, in house number 55. Here, a poet, writer, philosopher and theorist of symbolism A. Bely was born and raised in a professor's family. Here you can see the nursery, father’s office, dining room, living room.
- The State Museum of A. S. Pushkin is located in the house number 55/32 on Arbat. It has long ceased to be just a museum. It hosts all kinds of exhibitions, film screenings about the Arbat itself and its celebrities.
- The memorial apartment of A.S. Pushkin is located on Arbat, 22. The museum was opened in 1986. Here the poet lived with his wife N. Goncharova. The exposition “Pushkin and Moscow” is on the ground floor, the second floor is dedicated to the life of the great poet.
- You can not ignore the Museum of Architecture. Shchusev, which is located on Vozdvizhenka, 5/25. Being a scientific center studying the architectural and urban heritage of Russia, it included exhibits of a thousand-year history of architecture.
These are classical museums on the Arbat in Moscow.Their list is replenished with modern and creative, in which you can not only learn something new, but also have fun.
Modern Arbat
In 2014, the Museum of Optical Illusions received its first visitors. It is located on Stary Arbat on Nikolopeskovsky Lane, 4. Huge 3D-drawings allow visitors to take memorable photos. These drawings were created by a group of talented artists from different regions of Russia.
Museums of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
The State Museum of Moscow does not belong to the City Culture Department. Their list includes over 60 federal state institutions, which include such famous museums as:
- Tretyakov Gallery, located on Lavrushensky Lane, 10.
- Hermitage.
- State Historical Museum on Red Square.
- The Pushkin Museum on Prechistenka, 2.
- State museums named after Tolstoy, Glinka, Bakhrushin.
- Museum-reserve "Moscow Kremlin".
- Literary Museum on Malaya Molchanovka, d. 2.
- Cinema Museum on the street Vasilyevskaya, 13.
- The Moscow Art Theater Museum (Kamergersky Lane, 3a).
- Art Pedagogical Museum of Toys.
- Central House of Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
- Museum of Cosmonautics on Prospect Mira, 111 and many others.
Interest Museums
Expositions of gold and diamonds - a magnet for the "museum rovers." Reviews show that not only foreigners and Russians, but also Muscovites themselves are interested in scepters and powers, coronation dresses and gilded carriages, gold nuggets and unique diamonds. They are collected in the main depositories of the country - in the Diamond Fund and in the Armory. Both museums are located on Kremlin territory.
The list of museums in Moscow for lovers of paintings and sculptures is extensive. This is the Tretyakov Gallery, and the Pushkin Museum, the Central House of Artists, the Museum of Modern Art. The legacy of not only Russian, but also European masters is striking in quantity and magnificence. Botticelli, Rembrandt, Renoir, Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse - their masterpieces are worth it to look at them.
Expositions of antiquity are presented in the Paleontological, Historical Museum and its branches (the latter has more than 4 million exhibits), in the Central Museum of the Second World War and others. Military dioramas are created with the latest technology. The fossil artefacts of the Paleontological Museum make it one of the largest in the world. Here are the remains of ancient civilizations, prehistoric ferns, 20-meter skeletons of mammoths.
“Walkers” can be advised on the list of museums in Moscow, which include nature reserves, such as Kolomenskoye estate (Andropova Avenue, 39), Kuskovo (2 Yunosti St., 2), Tsaritsyno (Dolskaya St., 1), Ostankino, Arkhangelsk. Themed gardens and landscape decorations, virgins of marble, stone lions, masterpieces. To create these wonderful exhibits, unique material was used, strange plants were imported. The estates constantly operate expositions that are not inferior in value to museum ones. Visitors in their reviews often admire the estate in Kuskovo, where there is a grotto, which is lined with 24 species of sea shells.
Naturalists also will not be left without inspiration. Museums of flora and fauna in Moscow will give an idea of the diversity of life forms on earth. On 1 place among them is the Darwin Museum (57 Vavilova St.). But the modern Moscow planetarium is equipped with the latest technology: there are a lot of interactive exhibits, an interesting film about the Universe is shown.
Admirers of talents should visit the museums of brilliant people: Pushkin (Old Basmannaya, 36), Mayakovsky (Lubyansky proezd, 3 \ 6, p. 4), Turgenev (Ostrozhenka, 37 \ 7). The Bulgakov Museum (Bolshaya Sadovaya, 10, apt. 50), presented in the form of a “bad apartment,” is especially appreciated by admirers.
Free museums
Museum lovers, who previously could not afford to visit them due to lack of funds, now can not deny themselves the pleasure.Since 2016, everyone can visit some places in the city. The Moscow Department of Culture adopted a decree according to which every third Sunday of the month everyone will be able to come to free museums in Moscow. Their list is quite large:
- Association "Museums of Moscow".
- Panorama "Battle of Borodino" on Kutuzovsky Prospekt 38 and its branch.
- Museum of Defense of Moscow on Michurinsky Prospekt, 3.
- Gulag Historical Museum on Petrovka 16.
- Astronautics.
- Naval museum and memorial complexes.
- Darwin Museum.
- Biological Museum. Timiryazev.
- Literary, musical and artistic, nature reserves.
A complete list of museums in Moscow is an excellent guide for those who wish to visit the best and most interesting sights of the capital.
When is the best time to visit the museum?
Do not forget that, according to tradition, Moscow museums receive visitors for free:
- on New Year's holidays;
- on Museum Night;
- some provide free admission on May holidays,
- on the Day of Russia,
- on Moscow City Day,
- on the Day of National Unity.
