Malye Korely Museum-Reserve

About museum

The Malye Korely Museum of Wooden Architecture and Folk Art is one of the largest open-air museums in Russia. It was established in 1964 and opened to visitors in 1973. The museum's exhibition is a large-scale representation of Arkhangelsk Oblast with its four sectors: Kargopol-Onega, Dvina, Pinega and Mezen. Here you can see more than a hundred monuments of northern wooden architecture spanning five centuries, including a 16th-century wooden tent-roof bell tower, a contemporary of Arkhangelsk, and one of Russia's oldest belfries. In addition, the site features natural landscapes — cedar and birch groves, upland fields, the Korelka River, ponds and hop gardens. The museum also organizes an annual cycle of folk festivals, and its collection totals more than 27,000 items. On display are elements of folk costume, icons, bells, traditional work boats and a large collection of windmills.