Description of the attraction
The opening of the Kirishi Museum of History and Local Lore took place on December 25, 1972, which coincided with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the USSR. The very first museum exposition was presented to visitors under the guidance of the architect Viktor Grinko and the graphic artist Boris Rakitskiy, who were employees of the research organization at the V. Mukhina Leningrad Higher Art School in St. Petersburg.
In the year of the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory, which fell on 1985, all the exhibits of the Museum of Local Lore were transported to the building located at Pobedy Avenue, 5. Already in the new place, an exposition was opened, the head of which was Aleksey Khodko, an employee of the organization painting and decoration art, as well as a member of the organization of artists of the USSR.
On December 28, 1985, a museum exhibition hall was opened in the former building of the Kirishi Museum at 13 Lenin Avenue. Members of the Association of Urban Kirish Artists made a great contribution to the cause. Over the entire period of the exhibition hall's work, not only collective, but also personal exhibitions were organized dedicated to the works of Kirish artists, as well as works by students of the city art studio, the School of Arts and kindergarten students were exhibited.
By 1992, the exhibition hall and the building of the local history museum were moved to a room located at 42 Lenin Street - it was in this place that a new exposition was created, as well as an exhibition of works by artists from Leningrad, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the museum.
Some of the museum's expositions are of particular interest. For example, the archaeological collection includes the following items: spearheads and arrowheads made of silicon, ancient stone axes, sinkers, and many other archaeological items. The exhibition tells about ancient times, as well as about the events that took place in Volkho, because a trade route called "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed through this territory, which became a connecting link between the southern and northern lands.
Also, here you can see objects that were in use by the inhabitants of the northern lands - these are pokers, stags or hooks, sickles, which is presented in the ethnographic section. You can take a closer look at the unique casual lace, which carries the features of true peasant art and which has the least signs of foreign trends. If you carefully analyze lace, it becomes clear that lace weaving is somewhat reminiscent of Vologda, although many differ from it not only in the technique of tying threads, but also in the monumentality and density of the products. There are more than three hundred samples in the museum funds, which were made by local craftsmen.
The local history museum has several showcases telling about the famous Decembrists Bestuzhevs. It is known that in the past a small estate of this family was located on one of the banks of the Volkhov River, namely in the quiet village of Soltsy, located on the opposite side of the modern city of Kirishi.
Before the Great Patriotic War, woodworking enterprises operated in the village of Kirishi - photographs of local production are presented in the museum. Another interesting specimen presented in the museum is a picturesque panoramic painting entitled "Kirishi, 1941" by I. F. Sokushin.
Dishes made from the famous Kuznetsovsky porcelain, as well as many other things, are popular among visitors.
The local history museum has a section dedicated to the period of the Great Patriotic War, which presents material found at the sites of battles and battles and donated to the museum funds by eyewitnesses of the events, as well as trackers of search teams and ordinary residents of the area. Such items include bombs, shells, rifles, anti-tank weapons, ammunition storage boxes, as well as military household items: wedding rings, glasses, razors, coins, and many other things.
As an addition to the collections, there are works by artists living in the Leningrad Region.
