RED SQUARE State Historical Museum

2:29

The State Historical Museum, the fifth largest museum in the world, guides you through the historical events that have affected the people of the immense Russian territory from the Paleolithic era to the end of 20th century.

Inside the rooms, some of which are magnificently decorated with stuccoes and frescoes, arranged to accommodate the different historical periods with accurate reproductions of spaces or decorations typical of the time, you will find archaeological artefacts, coins, ancient texts, weapons, jewelry, as well as precious works of art, icons, furniture and clothes, some of which belonged to the tsars.

Where the museum is located was previously occupied by the Principal Medicine Store, built by Peter the Great, which already gathered imperial collections of antiquities.

But in 1872 a group of Russian intellectuals encouraged the opening of a real museum dedicated to the history of the nation. The first stone was laid in August 1875 by Emperor Alexander II and the museum was opened to the public in 1883 during the celebrations of Alexander III’s coronation. 

The marvelous building, which was built in neo-Russian style following a design by architect Vladimir Sherwood and engineer Anatoly Semenov, amazes visitors with its pinnacles, serrated cornices and arched windows. Its red brick walls and architecture mimic the appearance of the Kremlin walls.

The visit of the museum, across two floors, begins with a large room decorated with the complex family tree of all the Russian rulers and continues with 21 rooms that illustrate the history from the Paleolithic period to the formation of the Russian state with a centralized government. Upstairs, however, another 14 rooms house exhibits that span the 18th century to the 20th century. Believe it or not, the museum has a collection of almost 5 million objects, only 20,000 of which are on display!

 

 

An interesting fact: Did you know that during the Soviet period, in 1937, the internal wall paintings were declared to be of bad taste and so they were to be destroyed. Fortunately, the foreman of the demolition company cleverly decided to hide them under a layer of lime and plaster, so they were able to be restored when the museum was renovated between 1986 and 1997.

TravelMate recommends
Choose the option
that suits you
Buy Moscow
Permanently unlock the app with all content of Moscow for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Don't miss out!
MOSCOW INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

MOSCOW INTRODUCTION

It was founded around 1100 and was capital of the Russian Empire from 1480 to 1705, until Peter the Great relocated the court to St. Petersburg. Moscow once again became one of the most important and...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

There are many different appetizers. The most well-known is of course the famous Russian salad, here called Olivier salad, made with boiled vegetables and dressed with a generous helping of...
KREMLIN
10 Audio

KREMLIN

Did you know that the Moscow Kremlin is not the only Kremlin in Russia; "kremlin" is a generic term for a fortress, but the one you are about to visit is by far the most famous in the...
RED SQUARE
3 Audio

RED SQUARE

You should know that the name "red square" does not come from the fact that the buildings around it are mostly red, or from the connection between the color red and the communist ideology,...
SAINT BASIL'S
1 Audio

SAINT BASIL'S

A masterpiece of Russian art, the colorful cathedral is like no other in the world. It is actually a complex of nine churches and the highest tower reaches 46 meters high.The cathedral's architects...
PUSHKIN MUSEUM
7 Audio

PUSHKIN MUSEUM

By the mid-nineteenth century, many intellectuals had already begun to insist that a museum dedicated to fine arts be created, but it was thanks to Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev, professor at the...
CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOR
1 Audio

CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOR

However, the building you see before you was actually built in 2000, a reconstructed copy of the original church that was blown up on December 5, 1931 by Stalin, who in its place wanted to build a...
TRETYAKOV GALLERY
3 Audio

TRETYAKOV GALLERY

You should know that this museum was founded thanks to the backing of the Muscovite financier Pavel Tretyakov, an important collector of Russian art who supported many artists of his time. In 1892, he...
METRO
2 Audio

METRO

It has been running since 1935, when the first 11-kilometer-long line connecting 13 stations was opened. Today, its routes stretch over 300 kilometers with 200 stations, and it is still expanding.The...
NOVODEVICHY CONVENT
2 Audio

NOVODEVICHY CONVENT

The following year, the Tsar had the precious icon "Our Lady of Smolensk" transferred here from the Kremlin to be kept in the main church of the monastery, the Cathedral of Our Lady of...
VDNKh
3 Audio

VDNKh

When it was established, VDNKh was supposed to represent the country's agricultural achievements, but from 1954, when it underwent a significant expansion, its focus shifted to showing the world...
KOLOMENSKOYE
1 Audio

KOLOMENSKOYE

Founded in 1237, the village became famous in 1532 when the Church of the Ascension, designed by Italian architect Pietro Annibale, was built to celebrate the birth of Ivan IV, the future tsar of...
GORKY PARK
1 Audio

GORKY PARK

This picturesque park, located in front of the Moskva River, was opened in 1928 and designed by Konstantin Melnikov, one of the leading architects of the time.This park’s full name is Maxim...
BOLSHOI THEATER
2 Audio

BOLSHOI THEATER

The theatre was inaugurated in 1825 but had to be rebuilt almost entirely in 1853 by the Italian architect Alberto Cavos after it was severely damaged by a fire. The result is the splendid...
TSARITSYNO PARK
1 Audio

TSARITSYNO PARK

In 1775, the empress fell in love with this green space and, after buying it, commissioned the architect Vasily Bazhenov to build her a palace. We don't know exactly what went wrong, but the fact is...
OSTANKINO TOWER
1 Audio

OSTANKINO TOWER

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union wanted to build something taller than the Empire State Building in New York, and so this futuristic reinforced concrete structure measuring 540 meters was...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!