Description of the attraction
The house-museum of the station keeper is located in the village of Vyra, Gatchina region. In fact, this is the first museum of a literary hero in Russia. The museum was founded in 1972 based on the story "The Station Keeper" by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin on the basis of archival documents.
The museum occupies the building of a village post station, the history of which dates back to 1800. At that time, the Belarusian post tract was located here, on which Vyra was the third station from St. Petersburg.
In the 40s of the 19th century. the station consisted of several buildings: two houses made of stone, which were connected along the facade with a gate and a gate by a wall, a smithy, two wooden stables, a barn, sheds, and a well. All buildings were located at the edges of a paved courtyard and in the plan were a closed square connected by an access road to a highway.
Life here did not stop for a minute: carts drove in and out, grooms took out fresh horses and took away the lathered ones, coachmen fussed about. Dressed in a uniform frock coat, the inspector hurried his subordinates, passing by, shaking off their fur coats, hurried to the warmth. The creak of runners, the snoring of horses, the ringing of bells - all this constituted a typical picture of the road life of the 19th century.
Slow travel along post roads with a long pastime at the stations for Alexander Sergeevich's contemporaries were a real event and could not but be reflected in the literature. The theme of the road is revealed in the works of F. N. Glinka, P. A. Vyazemsky, N. M. Karamzin, A. N. Radishcheva, M. Yu. Lermontov and A. S. Pushkin. Pushkin traveled a lot and traveled about 34 thousand miles on Russian roads, visited hundreds of post stations, talked with various caretakers. He stopped at the Vyrskaya station at least 13 times and he could well have formed the name of the main character of his story, Samson Vyrin, from the name of the post station he was familiar with, especially since legends link the events of the Pushkin story with this place, and studies of archival documents have shown that that at the station in the village of Vyra, a caretaker with a daughter served for many years.
In the House of the station superintendent, the atmosphere typical for post stations of that time was recreated. From the small entrance, which is illuminated by a lantern with a candle, we find ourselves on the "clean half for visitors", the decoration of which reproduces the place where the station superintendent and his daughter live. At the entrance, on the wall, there are decrees, rules, regulations: "On the road and collecting from them", "What rank and how to give out horses." There is also a schedule - "At what time and since the horses, and in which carriages should be harnessed."
The caretaker's table is located in the most honorable place of the house - the "red" corner. On the table is an inkwell with a goose quill, a bronze candlestick, and a book for recording travellers. Here you can see a copy of A. S. Pushkin of May 5, 1820, which says that Pushkin is sent to Lieutenant General Inzov, the chief trustee of the southern region of Russia. The entire filling of the room brings to mind the well-known Pushkin story: suitcases, trunks, caskets, a bed with a colorful curtain, popular prints.
There is also a room behind the "partition", the decoration of which recreates the maiden's lamp of that time: a table for needlework, a chest with a dowry, a sofa, a chest of drawers with portraits of father and Minsky. And here is the dress that Dunya was sewing when Minsky arrived.
In the other half of the house there is a coachman's room, the exposition of which takes the visitors of the museum to the past of the road life of Russia in the 19th century. The coachmen were resting in a similar room, waiting for the departure. The fourth part of the coachman is occupied by the Russian stove, which served for heating and cooking, as well as a resting place for the coachmen after a tiring journey. The center of the coachman is occupied by a table on which there are wooden dishes: cups and spoons. On the walls are the coachman clothes of that time: hats, fur coats, armies; harness for horses.
Inhabitants of the Gatchina region are proud of their house of the station superintendent. In addition to the stone buildings of the station, a barn with a watchtower, a stable, a saddlery, a well, and a smithy were also restored. A courtyard and an access road were laid out from the old paving stones discovered during excavations on the territory of the postal station.
Museum workers carry out a great cultural work. Poetry festivals, literary meetings, Pushkin readings are organized in the House of the Station Keeper.
