Description of the attraction
Gus-Khrustalny History and Art Museum was founded in 2001. Its main task is to preserve the history of the city, to show in detail the painstaking work of several generations of its inhabitants, who created a crystal miracle in the research laboratories and workshops of the plant, which produced unparalleled glass products, who built the city of poets and artists of amazing architecture; as well as the promotion of applied and fine arts.
Much has been done since the museum was founded. The perimeter of the building along Kalinin Street, which burned down in 1999, was restored. The Historical and Art Museum has quite significantly replenished its collections with documents and exhibits telling about the history of the settlement of these places by people, starting from the Stone Age, about the life and activities of local residents in the Middle Ages, about the history of the appearance of glass making in the Meshchersky Territory in the middle of the 18th century and up to the present, on the formation and development of urban enterprises and the social sphere of Gus-Khrustalny.
On the day of festive celebrations in honor of the 255th anniversary of the city, thanks to the support of the local administration, the skill and enthusiasm of specialists and artists, and the help of city services, the first stage of the museum was opened, which consisted of a spacious exhibition hall and a local history exposition telling about the symbol of the city - the goose, about the history of the symbol, the ancient legends and tales associated with it, about the natural wealth of the Meshchera region.
Museum expositions are very popular both among residents and guests of Gus-Khrustalny. Visitors especially admire the exposition entitled "The River of Time", which tells about the history of Meshchera, which is a combined artistic composition of artistic photographs and glass, tells about the "Mother-Goose" - a symbol of family well-being and love.
A significant event for the city and the museum was the opening of a photo exhibition dedicated to A. I. Solzhenitsyn, where photographs of Solzhenitsyn and his first wife N. Reshetovskaya were first presented to the public. The exhibition "Glass and Crystal in the Snow", organized by the museum on the territory of the tennis court, was a great success. Products made of colored glass and crystal looked especially impressive with night illumination against the background of snow shining under the moonlight.
The museum organizes expeditionary and research work in the spring-summer season with the involvement of historians, archaeologists, and local historians. The museum closely cooperates with local historians of the Ryazan region and the Moscow region, specialists of the Meschera National Park. This cooperation helped to open unique megalithic structures on the territory of Meshchera, which are more than 6 thousand years old. In addition to the search work, research and historical analysis of previously collected materials were also carried out, which are stored in the museum's funds.
In 2010, on the initiative of the museum in Gus-Khrustalny, a week of France was held. In this regard, an exhibition of works by the French artist J. Hebert was organized.
Museum workers carry out extensive cultural, educational and educational work among different segments of the population, organize lectures, conduct local history talks, the museum actively cooperates with the city media, regularly prepares articles for publication, and takes part in the creation of television programs on the history of the city.
Every year, together with the city library, the museum organizes "Nikon Readings" - this is a city-wide competition of local history works, its results are summed up at the final conference in memory of V. M. Nikonov, a famous local lore writer and journalist.
The museum, realizing the direction of its activities, organized a creative association of artists "Nuance", which constantly arranges exhibitions of works of applied art, paintings, creative meetings. Members of this association every year take part in both city and regional exhibitions, farmsteads of folk crafts.
In the basement of the museum there is a youth club, which is engaged in the historical reconstruction of "Gardarika". Its members take part in various theatrical performances and celebrations.
