The life of a modern person is difficult to imagine without communication. Thanks to mobile and landline phones, the postal service, the Internet, people communicate happy and sad news, congratulate relatives and friends on holidays, call an ambulance, other emergency services, make an appointment with a doctor, share prescriptions, tell about things at work and personal life events. Satellite communication allows you not to get lost in an unfamiliar area, to track the foci of natural disasters, to find a lost person, to broadcast television films, programs in high quality, etc.
Like all human achievements, communication has a history. In primitive society, important information was conveyed through voice and tom-toms. Later, various devices appeared that made it possible to hear each other from a distance. All these devices are brought to the attention of the Museum of Communications.
Location
The Central Museum of Communications is located in St. Petersburg, not far from St. Isaac's Cathedral, at the address: Pochtamtsky Lane, 4. The building it occupied before the revolution belonged to the chief director of the post, Prince A. A. Bezborodko.
You can see the most interesting exposition by taking the metro to the Sennaya station, by trolley buses Nos. 5, 22 (Pochtamtsky Lane stop) or by buses Nos. 22, 27 (Konnogvardeisky Boulevard stop).
Institution History
The Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg, formerly the Telegraph Museum, was founded in 1872 by Karl Lüders, the then director of the Telegraph Department. The first director of the museum was the writer, editor of the postal and telegraph publications of the Russian Empire N. E. Slavinsky.
Later, the Museum of Communications changed its name; the leadership and exposition of the cultural object did not remain constant. Since 1945, the institution has been named after the inventor of radio communications A. S. Popov. In 1947, the museum building came into disrepair, so it was closed.
The doors of one of the most interesting museums reopened for visitors at the beginning of the XXI century. In 2000, a revival program was developed, according to which the means of communication of past years were to be available to visitors in two years. The renewed Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg reopened its doors on December 19, 2003.
Exposure Features
Under one roof, all communications invented by people are collected: mail, telephone, telegraph, and even satellite. The exhibits are decorated so brightly and realistically that attract the attention of not only adults, but also children. Young visitors are delighted that some devices can not only be touched, but also checked how they work: put a stamp on the stamp, send a letter by airmail, call the telephone number 1903.
The first hall demonstrates the history of the development of postal services. The audience is presented with models of animals on which mail was transported (horses, dogs, camels), postal trains and ships. Here you can also see mailboxes of different years, a machine for stamping stamps.
The next room is occupied by building models. Presented as the Museum of Communications, as well as buildings related to it. The history of the General Post Office and other similar institutions is shown on the monitor screen.
Technical devices
One of the halls of the museum resembles a physics laboratory. Visitors not only examine exhibits, but also gain knowledge from the field of physics: how color is distributed on a TV screen, human voice is transformed, what are the features of Morse code, etc.
Several rooms show the history of the appearance of radios and televisions. Here you can see old devices, modern remotes for sound processing, walkie-talkies, learn about how radio communications worked during the war. A separate exposition is dedicated to the inventor of the radio A.S. Popov, whose name is the museum.
Of interest is the switch room. Earlier, telephone communication was provided manually thanks to the female telephone operators. That is, to call your relative or friend, you had to first talk with a specialist, ask for a connection. Telephone exchanges of past years were quite large, and modern devices are about the size of a small cabinet.
In one of the atriums of the museum visitors are introduced to modern telephone technologies, talk about modern satellite communications. Here you can use the Internet.
The philatelist's dream
It is known that address mail will not accept a letter without a stamp. Postage stamps exist for a long time. Throughout the history, the appearance and design of postage signs have changed. The Popov Communications Museum has a unique collection of these things so necessary for writing letters. Under each brand is indicated when and in honor of what event she saw the light of day.
