The State Historical Museum?Why this museumA collection of material sources on Russian history unmatched for completeness: archaeology, numismatics, arms and manuscripts in one sequence, five million objects. And a rarity of another kind — Sherwood’s fully preserved Russian Revival interior, a monument in itself.
History · с 1872 года
our rating
мирового значения
9+With childrenBelow nine, forty halls are exhausting. Older children do well if you come for one theme — arms, hoards, costume.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — partly. There is a ramp and a lift, but part of the first floor is reached by the old stairs. Telephone ahead: staff will take you round.
Getting there — partly. Neither Okhotny Ryad nor Teatralnaya has a lift. By wheelchair, surface transport to Red Square or a taxi. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.3 hours
Russia’s main national museum: about 5 million objects and 15 million sheets of documents, from the Stone Age to the 20th century across forty halls.
The building. Built 1875–1883 by Vladimir Sherwood and the engineer Anatoly Semyonov in the Russian Revival style.
Good to know. St Basil’s Cathedral, the Romanov Chambers and the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812 belong to the museum; their tickets are separate.
What to see
A dugout boat some 3,500 years old; the Mstislav Gospel of the early 12th century; the helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich; a Blaeu globe; personal belongings of Peter the Great. Look up: the halls themselves are painted after Old Russian models and count as an exhibit.
Minimum route — 3 hours на самое важное
Go round from hall 1: the dugout boat, then the Mstislav Gospel and the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, on to the Blaeu globe and Peter the Great.