T. G. Shevchenko Guardhouse Museum

About museum

In 1989 a memorial guardhouse museum was opened, dedicated to the 175th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko. The building housing the museum was built in 1843. It was here, in April 1851, that Shevchenko was arrested for participation in a secret organization. The museum's exhibition reconstructs the atmosphere of a 19th-century guardhouse: the small prisoner's cell, the guardroom, massive forged bars on the windows, and a Cossack in the uniform of that era at the entrance. The main hall displays materials reflecting the fate of the poet. These include documents about Shevchenko's stay in Orsk, the Aral Expedition, Orenburg, as well as about seven years spent on the Mangyshlak Peninsula. All this helps to better understand the reason for Shevchenko's arrest — for violating the imperial ban on writing and drawing.