Historical and Technical Museum 'Cherepanov House'

About museum

The estate of mechanics E. A. and M. E. Cherepanov, which includes the house and the wing, is an architectural monument of federal significance. The two-storey stone house and the wing were built in the neoclassical style in the first third of the 19th century, presumably to a design by architect A. P. Chebotarev. The house and estate belonged to the family of Miron Yefimovich Cherepanov, the creator of the first Russian steam locomotive. The Tagil master's family lived there until 1867. In that year the house was acquired by the management of the Vyisky copper-smelting plant to be used as official apartments for its managers. After the October Revolution, various Soviet offices were housed in the building, and in the late 1940s its occupants became wards of the Department of Internal Affairs' children's reception-and-distribution center. In 1984 the house was transferred to the Nizhny Tagil Museum. The restoration of the 'Cherepanov House', which lasted twenty years (the duration of work was affected by the economic crisis of the 1990s), involved the whole city. The museum was created 'by the whole community' — by means of a people's construction effort. Not only museum staff but numerous enterprises, organizations, institutions, associations and private entrepreneurs took part in its restoration, the landscaping of the grounds, and the development of the exhibition. The Sverdlovsk Railway played a major role in the repair work and in assembling the exhibits. The creative group established to develop the museum concept and create the exhibition was headed by L. P. Maleeva, Honored Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation. The Cherepanov House opened its doors to visitors for the first time on August 12, 2004. In 2005 the creators of its exhibition received the regional museum prize named after O. E. Kler. This museum is a rare opportunity to come into contact with the traditions of Tagil inventors and, through original exhibits, to learn about their biographies and inventions. Visitors can see the unique astronomical clock by E. G. Kuznetsov, a silver vase given to the inventor of steam engines E. A. Cherepanov by the Demidov factory owners, a 19th-century bicycle and much more. Of particular interest are the working models of steam locomotives and the railway, as well as interactive exhibitions on the history of technology.