Birzhevaya ploshad
Trolley 1, 7, 10 Bus: 7, 10, 47, K-47,
K-128, K-147, K-187, K-209, K-252
Open: 11am- 6pm Wed- Sun
The Central Naval Museum named after Emperor Peter the Great (TsVMM)
is one of the oldest museums in Russia and one of the largest
maritime museums in the world, located in St. Petersburg, an object
of maritime historical and cultural heritage.
The museum
originates from the St. Petersburg model chamber - a repository of
shipbuilding models and drawings, first mentioned in a letter from
Peter I on January 13 (24), 1709.
The modern collection of
the TsVMM includes over 700,000 items, including more than 2,000
ship models. The museum has six branches: on the cruiser "Aurora",
"Submarine D-2" Narodovolets "", "Kronstadt Fortress" in St.
Petersburg; "The Road of Life" (settlement of Lake Ladoga, Leningrad
Region), Museum of the Baltic Fleet (Baltiysk), Ship of Military
Glory "Mikhail Kutuzov" (Novorossiysk), Museum of the Black Sea
Fleet (Sevastopol).
The history of the museum dates back to 1709, when Peter I first
mentioned the Model-Chamber (from the Dutch model-kammer - room of
models, storeroom of samples), where ship drawings and models were
stored. The model-camera was located in the Main Admiralty, where the
ships of the Baltic Fleet were built.
In 1722, the “Regulations
on the management of the admiralty and the shipyard” was published,
which read: “When a ship is built to be built, it is necessary to order
the master who builds the ship to make a half model on the board, and
this together with a drawing for the descent of the ship, to give to the
Admiralty Collegium. About eighty such semi-models of the 18th century,
made in accordance with the “Regulations”, have survived to this day.
The development of shipbuilding led to the fact that shipbuilding
models were gradually replaced by theoretical drawings. The collection
lost its practical significance and in 1805 was transformed into the
Maritime Museum. It was closed in 1827 by order of Emperor Nicholas I.
The initiator of the revival of the museum was a prominent historian
of the fleet, Captain 2nd Rank S. I. Elagin, who spoke on this occasion
in the press. Elagin's initiative was supported by the Minister of
Marine, Admiral N.K. The Maritime Museum was solemnly opened on August
27, 1867. In the first decade, the museum was managed by N.M. Baranov,
who collected collections and materials with great energy, worked hard
in the archives, found many unique exhibits in forgotten warehouses,
convinced hundreds of naval officers and admirals to transfer family
heirlooms to the museum, and also prepared and published the first
catalog of the museum. From the moment of reconstruction until 1917, the
Maritime Museum was under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Technical
Committee.
By the end of the 19th century, the Maritime Museum
became a significant Russian cultural and scientific center, gained fame
all over the world. From 1867 to 1917 the museum participated in 32
exhibitions (6 world, 7 international, 2 foreign national, 17 domestic),
where he was awarded many awards.
At the end of the 19th century,
the vast premises of the third floor of the Admiralty building were
allocated for the museum (previously it worked in the modest premises of
the second floor of the western wing of this building). In 1900-1904,
the museum's exposition was significantly rebuilt and expanded. In 1908,
before the solemn celebration of the 200th anniversary of the museum, it
was named after its founder, Peter the Great. Having changed a number of
names, in 1924 it became the Central Naval Museum.
In August
1939, one of the most beautiful buildings in Leningrad, the building of
the former Stock Exchange, was transferred to the Central Naval Museum.
The reconstruction of the premises for the museum exposition, the
depository and the museum project were developed by the architect M. A.
Shepilevsky. In February 1941, an exposition was opened in new halls,
but four months later the Great Patriotic War began. The most valuable
exhibits were evacuated to Ulyanovsk. In July 1946, the museum, which
returned from evacuation, reopened its doors to visitors.
After
the war, a modern network of branches of the Central Naval Museum began
to be created. In 1956, a branch was opened on the cruiser Aurora, the
first ship-museum in the USSR. In 1972, in the village of Osinovets on
the shores of Lake Ladoga, a branch "Road of Life" was opened. In 1980,
the Kronstadt Fortress branch began its work in the building of the
Kronstadt Naval Cathedral. Work on the creation of a branch on one of
the first Soviet-built submarines - D-2 ("Narodovolets") ended with the
opening of a memorial complex in 1994, which became the first fully
museum-made submarine in Russia.
In 1977, a branch of the Chesme
Victory TsVMM was opened, the exposition of which was entirely devoted
to the history of the Chesme battle on June 24-26, 1770. Subsequently,
the building of the temple, which housed a branch of the TsVMM and
thanks to the existence of which the architectural monument, which is
under the protection of UNESCO, managed to be preserved, was transferred
to the diocese, the museum exposition was moved to the Admiralty
pavilion of the Tsarskoye Selo Catherine Park (Tsarskoye Selo, Pushkin,
Parkovaya St., 7), and a few years later the museum was completely
disbanded.
The work to promote the history of the fleet was
highly appreciated - in 1975, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR, the Central Naval Museum was awarded the Order of
the Red Star.
In 2012, the existing branches of the TsVMM
received the status of structural subdivisions of the museum. They were
joined by the Museum of the Baltic Fleet in Baltiysk and the Ship of
Military Glory "Mikhail Kutuzov" in Novorossiysk.
In April 2013,
the transfer of the TsVMM museum collection to the restored Kryukovsky
(Naval) barracks complex was completed. In the summer of 2013, an
exhibition complex of six halls, an exposition in the atrium and the
first stage of the main exposition consisting of 6 halls began to
operate. By the Day of the Navy, July 27, 2014, the exposition
consisting of 19 halls is fully open to the public.
As of January 1, 2015, the TsVMM collection includes over 719,000
museum items, united for storage in 8 funds and systematized in 57
collections - the most diverse in terms of material, size and
dimensions.
ship fund
The ship fund includes over two thousand
unique ship models, and one of the most valuable museum exhibits is the
famous small boat of Peter I, which is often called the “Grandfather of
the Russian Navy”. Of great interest are also the submarine of the
designer Stepan Karlovich Dzhevetsky of 1881, ship models on a scale of
1:12 and unique models of ships of unrealized projects of the Soviet
era.
weapons fund
The collection of weapons represents weapons
from different times and different countries. Among the valuable
exhibits are ancient Russian cannons cast from copper by Semyon
Chugunkin in 1618 and master Iosif Balashevich in Glukhov in 1692, among
the exhibits there are also personal weapons of members of the imperial
family and famous Russian naval commanders.
Isofund
The
collection includes more than 62,000 paintings, drawings and sculptures
by such famous masters as Ivan Aivazovsky, Pyotr Klodt, Alexander
Bryullov, Mark Antakolsky, Mikhail Mikeshin and other Russian and
foreign artists and sculptors.
Znamenny Fund
In addition to
the collection of medals, flags and banners, the uniform of sailors of
the 18th-19th centuries and the modern uniform of the Navy are kept
here. There is a collection of faleristics - military insignia,
numismatics and bonistics - rare coins and banknotes.
Documentary
Fund
Here are stored original documents with autographs of Russian
emperors, including Peter I, as well as the Naval Charter of 1720 and
Peter's letters of commendation, documents from the period of the Great
Patriotic War and unique materials signed by Russian naval commanders.
Photonegative fund
The collection of this fund contains
photographs and photo albums, postcards and negatives from the middle of
the 19th century to the present day. This is the largest collection of
marine photography in Russia (about 280,000 items).
Drawing fund
The drawing fund contains about 18,000 drawings of ships and vessels,
books on the history of shipbuilding, documents with ship designs,
drawings of ships signed by Peter the Great and other prominent figures
of the state and navy.
Special fund
The Special Fund is a
collection of awards, jewelry and souvenirs from officers' wardrooms,
made of precious metals and stones by such famous craftsmen as Carl
Faberge and Pavel Ovchinnikov, Alexander Lyubavin and other talented
jewelers. The collection contains orders, medals and commemorative
signs, mortgage boards.
The exposition of the museum consists of nineteen main halls and an
exhibition complex of temporary expositions.
Sections of the
exposition
Hall of Fame of the Russian Navy
The Russian Imperial
Navy in the late 19th - early 20th century.
Russo-Japanese War
1904-1905 Battle of the cruiser "Varyag"
Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
Defense of Port Arthur and Vladivostok
Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
Tsushima battle
Reconstruction of the Russian Imperial Navy.
1905-1914
Baltic Fleet in the First World War. 1914-1917
The Black
Sea Fleet and the Flotilla of the Arctic Ocean in the First World War.
The fleet during the Revolution of 1917, the Civil War and foreign
intervention of 1917-1922.
Navy of the USSR in the interwar period.
1922-1941
The Great Patriotic War. The Soviet Navy in 1941
The
Great Patriotic War. The Soviet Navy in 1942
The Great Patriotic War.
The Soviet Navy in 1943
The Great Patriotic War. Navy of the USSR in
1944-1945
The construction of the USSR Navy on the experience of the
Second World War. 1945-1955
Construction of the fleet on the basis of
the scientific and technological revolution. 1955-1965
Creation of an
ocean-going nuclear-missile fleet in the USSR. 1965-1975
Oceanic
nuclear missile fleet. 1975-1991
Navy of the Russian Federation.
On the cruiser Aurora
Address: St.
Petersburg, Petrovskaya embankment, cruiser "Aurora".
Opening
hours: daily from 11:00 to 18:00, except Monday and Tuesday.
Kronstadt fortress
Address: Kronstadt, Anchor Square, 1
"The
road of life"
Address: Leningrad region, Vsevolozhsk district, pos.
Ladoga lake.
Transport: from St. Petersburg - an electric train
from the Finland station to the station. "Ladoga lake"
Museum of
the Baltic Fleet
Address: Kaliningrad region, Baltiysk, st.
Kronstadtskaya, 1.
Opening hours: daily from 11:00 to 18:00,
except Monday and Tuesday.
Ship of military glory "Mikhail
Kutuzov"
Address: Krasnodar Territory, Novorossiysk, st. Novorossiysk
Republic, 2A.
Transport: by buses, trolleybuses to the stop
"Cinema "Change""
Memorial complex Submarine D-2 "Narodovolets"
Address: St. Petersburg, Skipper channel, 10.