MBUK 'Velizh District Historical and Local History Museum'

About museum

The history of museology in Velizh begins in 1918, when a notice calling for donations of exhibits to create a museum was published in the local newspaper. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) the museum was housed in the town hall building. In 1932 the museum was directed by G. E. Sopko, and in 1937 by I. A. Till. In January 1986 a modern museum was established on the basis of school museums. It is located in an early 20th-century Art Nouveau building built with funds from the well-known philanthropist, artist, writer, and merchant O. M. Kiselev. The museum displays exhibits about Velizh and its residents, people and events related to the history of the town and district. It includes art-ethnographic, archaeological, historical and military sections, as well as the 'Famous Countrymen' and 'City Enterprises' exhibitions.