St. Petersburg is a unique city. It can rightfully be called the cultural center of Russia. Perhaps there is no such number of theaters and museums in any other locality. The glorious history of not only the Northern capital, but also of Russia is preserved in the museums of the city, which, by the way, are no less than in Europe. Every year thousands of tourists come here in order to plunge into the world of art and the history of the Russian people. When visiting the museums of St. Petersburg, the Artillery Museum should be put on the first place in the list. This is one of the oldest attractions of the city and the largest arms museum in the world.
Museums in St. Petersburg: Artillery Museum
It is located in the very center of the historical part of the city - in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The full name is the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps. It occupies an impressive area - seventeen thousand square meters. meters - and contains more than 850 thousand exhibits. The artillery museum in St. Petersburg has an internal and external exposition.
History of creation
The Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg was founded by Peter I in 1703. The fact is that the Russian Tsar was very interested in military topics and understood the whole need to strengthen the borders of the state, because this is what contributes to the prosperity and strength of the country. There have always been plenty of enemies among the Russian people. And in order to popularize military affairs among the population, he ordered in Zeikhauz (Kronverka) to establish a place where “memorable” guns were stored. Copies for the new museum were brought from all over the country. Military uniforms and banners were added to the military guns. The collection was constantly replenished, as a result, in 1965, the institution was given the name of the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps.
Museum today
Today, the Artillery Museum (SPB) keeps within its walls a rich collection of not only Russian military weapons, but also foreign ones. Exhibits were brought from fifty-four countries. It presents a large number of exclusive weapons that personally belonged to military marshals, generals, and royal dynasties. Orders, insignia, personal belongings, military cards, authentic documents of the war years, paintings with scenes of battles painted by famous artists - all on display. Visitors can familiarize themselves with items of equipment and weapons, from ancient times to modern times (as an example, let's say, nuclear missiles). By the way, the museum funds are replenished to this day. But not only this causes a keen interest among visitors: models of fortress and defensive structures, heavy military equipment are exhibited here. The museum has two hundred and fifty employees, eighty-four of whom are scientific. As for attendance, more than half a million people come here every year.
Indoor exposure
The internal exhibition of the museum is located in thirteen rooms. Many exhibits are monuments of science, art and technology. There are Ustyug iron peepers — the oldest examples of artillery by Russian masters of the 14–16 centuries; domestic rifled guns of the 16-17th centuries; bronze weapons of the outstanding weapons master Jacob of the late 17th century; the rarest tools of the ancient Slavs. In the hall on the ground floor, rocketry of Russian designers is presented. Here are objects dating from 18-21 centuries, right down to nuclear missiles. Cold steel and small arms are also on display. There are exhibits that were presented to the museum by the outstanding Russian designer Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov. Many of the rarities presented are considered visual evidence of technical and scientific thought. The proof of this undeniable fact is that similar inventions by foreign scientists appeared much later. Also presented here are military uniforms from different eras, banners and flags. And archival military documents eloquently tell about the history of the development of the great Russian army and the exploits of the defenders of the Fatherland of different centuries.
Art Exhibition at the Military Artillery Museum
But not only weapons and military equipment will delight visitors to the Military Artillery Museum, it also presents an interesting collection of sculptures, paintings and graphics. In these works of art, the exploits of the Russian soldiers, the defenders of their Fatherland, are very accurately and clearly displayed. Of course, visitors will be impressed by the majestic paintings of battle artists: M. B. Grekov, N. S. Samokish, A. I. Dmitriev-Mamonov, V. I. Moshkov, N. N. Karazin and many others. Also portraits of great commanders, emperors and princes are presented here. Particularly valuable exhibits are the personal weapons of the Russian tsars (Nicholas II and Alexander I), domestic and foreign commanders and military leaders. In one of the halls, presents were presented to royal persons and close associates, among which there were a lot of crystal and porcelain, including those belonging to the famous Faberge house. In addition, everyone can visit the exhibition of military awards of Russia. It will be very interesting to look at such an exhibit as the timpani chariot for transporting a military banner.
Of course, it is not always possible to visit all the museums of St. Petersburg. The Artillery Museum, however, cannot be ignored. He must be present on your list of cultural programs.
External exposure
The Military Artillery Museum (St. Petersburg) includes an exposition of heavy military equipment. For those who came here for the first time, an exhibition of military equipment located in the open air becomes a real discovery. The area of this, so to speak, exhibition hall is about two hectares. This exposition was opened to visitors relatively recently - in November 2002. Here visitors will see more than two hundred and fifty units of rocket, artillery and other military equipment. Of particular interest is the nuclear missile system. The armored car, from which the leader of the world proletariat - V.I. Lenin made a speech, is also very popular with tourists. All the exhibits are the cultural heritage of the entire Russian people, the history of a great power.
Vaccination of patriotism
The military museums of St. Petersburg (the Artillery Museum in particular) will be interesting not only to people who are fond of military art, but also to all those who are proud of the history of their country. The museum hosts both excursions and lectures, during which they will tell residents and visitors about the battles and battles in which the Russian army participated. Undoubtedly, visiting such establishments is useful for the younger generation. It is necessary that young people from an early age should know about the affairs of bygone days and be proud of the history of their homeland, their people.
