Khvalynsk Local History Museum

About museum

Khvalynsk Local History Museum is one of the oldest in the Saratov Region. It was founded in 1919 on the basis of the private collections of Mikhail Alekseevich Radishchev. The museum is located in two buildings: an old mansion built in the early 19th century that belonged to M. A. Radishchev, and a building constructed in 1977. Radishchev's house is one of the most beautiful buildings in Khvalynsk and is admired by all visitors to the town. It houses the local history department, which has practically not undergone reconstruction. The natural history department is located in the new building and presents a wide selection of dioramas recreating scenes from wildlife and views of the town's surroundings. The museum features a rich collection of mounted local birds and animals created at F. K. Lorenz's taxidermy workshop in Moscow, as well as archaeological, paleontological, botanical, ethnographic and other collections, and a collection of Old Believer icons and early printed books from the 17th–19th centuries.