Exhibition 'History of the Old Town'

About exhibition

The Kurgan History Museum is located in an estate formerly owned by first-guild merchants Berezin. It is an example of an urban estate from the second half of the 19th century with an enclosed courtyard, outbuildings and a central house in the Russian Classicism style. The museum's exhibition covers the stages of development of the Siberian town of Kurgan from its founding in 1679 as the sloboda Tsarevo Gorodishche up to 1917. The museum halls display thematic collections dedicated to the excavations of the Tsarev kurgan (mound), which gave the city its name; to the founding of Kurgan as a town in 1782; and to the development of its industry, trade and urban infrastructure. Original objects and documents tell the story of public education, culture, healthcare and spiritual life in one of the uyezd towns of the Tobolsk Governorate. The exhibition recreates the interior of a merchant's house, presenting parts of a study, a parlor and a governess's room with household items from the 19th — early 20th centuries (tableware, clothing, books, icons, furniture), as well as portraits of the last owners of the mansion — Fyodor and Ekaterina Berezin. All displays are illustrated with pre-revolutionary photographs by Kurgan photographer Alexey Kocheshev.