Saint Petersburg is a mysterious city with a rich history. The enigmatic atmosphere of the northern capital encourages the emergence of unusual museums. In 2023, “Nebylitsa Mansion” opened on Nekrasov Street. The fairy-tale museum is housed in a 19th-century historic mansion that once belonged to a wealthy merchant's wife, Mrs. A.V. Tselibeeva. In the museum's story, Tselibeeva is portrayed as a clairvoyant witch who guarded the gates to the otherworld within her own home.
A.V. Tselibeeva's Mansion on Nekrasov Street
The concept of the museum, populated by fairy-tale characters, revolves around the fictional Professor Helenverkoff, who was fascinated by mythology and collected a menagerie of mythical creatures. The mansion itself is a true art object, and the museum's exhibition is a work of art. There are four floors inside the mansion. The first houses the fictional professor's laboratory; the second and third floors are devoted to walks through enchanted forests among extraordinary creatures, and the fourth floor is styled as a mysterious Petersburg attic.
Photo: the museum's official VKontakte group
Creating the fairy-tale exhibition took a year. Various specialists worked on it: prop makers, florists, wax-figure artisans and taxidermists. Around 150 fairy-tale characters were created during the project. One of the main sources of inspiration for the museum's creators were characters from A.S. Pushkin's tales: the Swan Princess, the mermaid, the leshy (forest spirit), Koschei the Deathless, the Gray Wolf, the Firebird and the Little Humpbacked Horse. The mansion is also inhabited by a wide range of heroes from tales and folk myths — fairies, griffins and unicorns.
Photo: the museum's official VKontakte group
Photo: the museum's official VKontakte group
Photo: the museum's official VKontakte group
Children aged 6 and older are allowed to visit the mansion, but children under 12 may only visit when accompanied by an adult. Exhibits must not be touched, but photo and video recording are allowed. On weekends, tours of the mansion are limited to just one hour — this is due to the large number of visitors. Therefore, if you can visit the museum on other days, we recommend planning your visit on weekdays, as tours are not time-limited then. Next to each fairy-tale creature there is a plaque with a QR code where you can listen to an audio tale about the character.
