Tula Antiquities Museum

About museum

The museum and exhibition center 'Tula Antiquities' is housed in a unique mansion built in the early 20th century. The building belonged to the well-known merchant-philanthropist Stepan Alexandrovich Ermolaev-Zverev. The museum was founded in 1993, and its name became a kind of tribute to Nikolai Ivanovich Troitsky — a well-known local historian of Tula from the late 19th century, who created the city's first historical and archaeological museum 'Palata of Antiquities'. Two years later, on International Museum Day, the first archaeological exhibition 'Tula Antiquities' was opened. Most of the relics and artifacts on display were the result of the work of the Tula Archaeological Expedition carried out from 1990 to 1996. After the establishment of the State Museum-Reserve 'Kulikovo Field', the museum and exhibition center became its branch in Tula.
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\r\nThe center hosts two interactive exhibitions. The exhibition 'The Tale of the Mamai Battle' is dedicated to the Battle of Kulikovo. It consists of several educational and play spaces. First you will become acquainted with ancient chronicles and illuminated manuscript miniatures, then you will move into the peaceful life of medieval Russia, and afterwards you will enter the weapons workshops where you can try on warriors' armor, feel the weight of the weapons and even weave a piece of chain mail. The journey ends on the battlefield among the armies of Dmitry Donskoy and Mamai.
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\r\nIn the exhibition 'Secrets of Tula Masters' you will learn about the layout of blacksmith and pottery workshops, discover the traditional crafts of the Tula land, and also become acquainted with the interior decoration of an urban izba of the 17th–19th centuries.
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\r\nYoung children, schoolchildren of all ages and even students are invited to the museum not only to view the main exhibitions, but also to take part in special interactive programs. Here you can learn Old Russian counting and writing, the basics of pottery, blacksmithing and weaponsmithing, and become familiar with old festive traditions.