Historical Museum

About museum

The Historical Museum of the Smolensk Museum-Reserve is the oldest in the museum system. It was opened in 1888 by local historian S. D. Pisarev in the building of the City Duma. In recent years the museum's collections have expanded and it has undergone some changes, but it still acquaints visitors with the history of the Smolensk region. The museum features long-term exhibitions, for example 'From the Money Pot to the Savings Book', which showcases numismatics, hoards of objects, jewelry, a reconstruction of a late 19th-century bank clerk's workplace, and other items. The museum also has permanent displays: 'Ancient History of the Smolensk Land', 'The Great and Populous Town: Smolensk Land as Part of the Old Russian State (9th–13th centuries)', and 'Two Eagles', dedicated to the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. In 2014 a new section of the permanent exhibition, 'History and Culture of the Smolensk Region in the 13th–18th Centuries', was opened. The museum presents the rich history of the Smolensk region, which attracts many visitors.