Description of the attraction
The Historical and Archaeological Museum, located in Kerch, is one of the oldest museums on the territory of Ukraine. The museum was officially opened on June 15, 1826. I. Stempkovsky was the initiator of the Kerch State Museum foundation.
The basis of the collection of the Historical and Archaeological Museum was the private collection of the famous Kerch archaeologist P. Dubrucks, which was regularly replenished thanks to the constant research of ancient and medieval monuments, carried out both by P. Dubrux himself and his contemporaries, and their followers.
Since 1833, the Kerch Museum of Antiquities was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Archaeological Commission. One of its main tasks was not only the collection and storage of historical monuments, but also the search for the rarest exhibits for the Hermitage collections. The scientific activity of the museum has played a very important role in the development of Russian archeology.
Social catastrophes 20 Art. did not pass by the city of Kerch. But neither the dashing years of anarchy, nor the Civil War could affect the existence of the Museum of Antiquities. With the advent of Soviet power, it was transferred to the subordination of the Commissariat of Public Education, after which cultural and educational activities became its new main direction.
In 1922, the museum was awarded the title of archaeological, it was then that one of the best buildings in the city was transferred to it - a private mansion, which is an architectural monument of the 19th century, which belonged to the once famous tobacco manufacturer P. Mesaxud. The exposition of the museum is located here to this day.
The Kerch Museum suffered great losses during the Great Patriotic War, when almost all museum collections and archives were lost. After the end of the war, archaeological monuments began to be put in order, exhibitions began to be organized, and a new exposition was created.
Today, the exposition of the Historical and Archaeological Museum is represented by two remarkable exhibitions: "History of the Bosporus Kingdom", opened in 2006 for the 180th anniversary of the museum, and "Kerch Region in the Middle Ages".
