L. N. Tolstoy Cultural Center in Zheleznovodsk

About museum

In 1875, by order of Alexander I, the building of the Mail Coach Station was constructed, which has survived to this day. It was one of four built at the resort springs ('the Waters') at that time. Among those who passed through it were K. L. Khetagurov, M. A. Balakirev, N. A. Yaroshenko, A. V. Pastukhov, L. I. Veselitkaya-Mikulich and other figures of literature and art, and also Leo Tolstoy, who visited here in 1852 and 1853. Here he finished the first manuscript of the novel Childhood and sent it to Saint Petersburg. At the end of 2008 the building was transferred to the L. N. Tolstoy State Museum, and in 2015 a branch of the museum, the L. N. Tolstoy Cultural Center, was opened here. The museum's exhibitions tell about the building's past, about L. N. Tolstoy's Caucasian journey and about his life and work.