Palaty Museum Center

About museum

The Prisutstvennye Mesta building was built in 1785-1790 to a design by the architect Blank in the Neoclassical style. It is located in the city center between two historic cathedrals and is surrounded by a park with a fountain and tree-lined alleys. The building served as the provincial administration until the 1990s. In the early 1990s the museum-reserve returned several church buildings to their original use. Around the same time the administration moved to a new building on Oktyabrsky Avenue. The museum decided to turn the Prisutstvennye Mesta into a museum complex, but freeing it from officials proved to be a long and difficult process. However, within five years the museum managed to carry out renovations, take over the building and win back the townspeople's affection. Today the building, open to visitors, houses the Children's Museum Center, an art gallery, the exhibition 'The Charm of Bygone Days...' and other exhibition halls.