State Museum of Religion of St. Petersburg: overview, description, history and interesting facts. What Kazan Cathedral owes to atheists
IN different eras The history of religion has been a special miracle for all the peoples of our world. She saved lives, blessed sinners, helped scientific minds explain those unknown phenomena that surrounded people, it was religion that preserved modern material values, it was Religion that was able to both seize and retain power, it was Religion that unleashed a war and coped with people objectionable to the authorities. If you want to consider its history, aspects, learn about the features of religion Ancient Rus', and the Ancient World, you should visit State Museum history of religion in St. Petersburg.
The unique history of the Museum of Religions in St. Petersburg
On the territory of St. Petersburg there is the State Museum of the History of Religion, it has been located on Pochtamtskaya Street in a building since 1991. The expositions presented in it testify to the emergence of a particular religion and its development over the centuries. Today, this museum is the only one of its kind in Russian Federation. There are very few such institutions in the world.
Note that modern humanity throughout history has treated religion with scientific point of view, however, the museum, which is completely devoted to this issue, appeared for the first time only in the USSR, and to this day it has been preserved as an atheist, although it studies religious aspects.
This museum contains 200,000 exhibits that carry information related to Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.
The exposition, which is dedicated to Orthodoxy, which is the eastern branch of Christianity, includes real materials. There are icons, ancient books, temple utensils, clothes of clergy, items of the Old Believer church, etc. The principle of the exhibition (thematic and chronological) introduces visitors to the Russian history of Orthodoxy from Baptism to the beginning of the 20th century. Its sections are informative and extremely interesting.
The State Museum of the History of Religion for the first time in its almost 80-year history will open the mysterious world of Eastern religions to a large audience. New permanent section museum exposition will include original examples of the sacred art of the Central, Southern, Eastern, and South- East Asia. The opening took place at four o'clock in the afternoon on September 28, 2010.
This Museum has never had a special open section of the exposition, which is dedicated to the religions of the states of Central, Southern, Eastern, as well as South-East Asia. There was no presentation of the collections of the Eastern Religions Foundation to a large audience. Only a small part of the expositions called on modern language open storage fund, was available to a limited number of visitors. Usually, for specialist researchers, museum staff and others. Temporary exhibitions allowed some exhibits to be displayed.
800 monuments are presented in 3 halls of the new section of the exposition. Quite rarely, such a large collection of authentic things is presented in today's museums. But the section is saturated not only with exhibits. There are various artifacts in the halls of the museum, which show the maximum full information regarding the religions of the East - Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism.
Spatial design solution is non-standard and informative
The structure of the exposition is determined by the diverse picture religious life states of Central, South, East, and Southeast Asia.
In the first hall you can get acquainted with the main stages in the development of Buddhism, the figurative meaning of bodhisattvas and buddhas, and other subjects. At the same time, staged scenes are reproduced here, such as: “Contemplation of the wrathful deity Vajrabhairava”, “Lama’s room”, “Feast of the Buddha of the coming Maitreya”, which was developed in 1930 by Buryat lamas artists together with orientalists and scientists.
A separate showcase presents a panorama of " Mystery Tsam", that is, ritual dances, which were performed by Buddhist monks in Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, and North India.
One of the exposition sections is dedicated to Tibetan medicine.
The model of the altar of the then Buddhist temple acts as a genuine exposition pearl. The center of the composition is the Buddha in sambhogakaya (ie in the body of bliss). He was depicted in the "prince's robe", in earrings, a mantle, a crown, with bracelets on his legs and arms. The environment of the Buddha - the figures of the arhats, who are his disciples, who have achieved enlightenment. There are also bowls used for offerings, vessels needed to store holy water, a mandala (which is a sacrificial dish), an incense burner, Buddhist symbols - that is, 7 jewels, as well as 8 lucky emblems, which are located near sacred images. The altar is decorated with "banners of victory". Also, in the exposition there is a development of a light scenario representing the Buddhist teachings regarding the cosmos. At the same time, a mock-up of the interior of the Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg has also been posted.
With the plots that are connected with the life of the Buddhist founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha Shakyamuni), the scroll book acquaints buddhist painting XIX-XX centuries - presented in the form of a tanka, and also widely presented at the exposition (“The Birth of the Bodhisattva”, XIX century; “The Descent white elephant", XIX century; "The Wheel of Being", XX century; "In the circle of noble women", XIX century. and etc.). In this hall you can observe the robes and attributes Buddhist monks; also images of deities, their cult was preserved along with Buddhism, and Buddha sculptures (XIX-XX centuries), which entered the museum collection from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. It is necessary to pay attention to the monuments of the Buddhist cult complex - the so-called. Kara-Tepe (II-IV centuries AD), which were brought by workers this Museum from expeditions carried out in modern Uzbekistan.
The second hall testifies to the religions of India. There are objects here that introduce the main currents and the origin of the world's largest national religion- that is, with Hinduism, rooted in the Vedic religion. The exposition demonstrates sculptural images with the deities of the Vedic Pantheon - Sarasvati, Indra and others. During the formation of Hinduism, the cult of these deities was in the background, Vishnu, Brahma came in their place. Shiva introduces us to Shaivite and Vishnuite mythology, all this is presented in the hall with works of Indian painting, as well as sculptures of decorative and applied art. Other exhibits in the hall introduce us to Hindu rituals - musical traditional instruments, amulets, masks, lamps, ritual bells. Many regional cults are widespread among the peoples of South Asia. The exposition widely presents monuments that testify to the diversity of the beliefs of the people.
The unique scrolls exhibited in the 3rd hall show the diversity and diversity religious beliefs Japan and China, where Taoism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism interact for centuries. Very interesting are the Chinese popular prints, which are in the collection of Academician V.M. Alekseev, which were collected in China by him at the beginning of the 20th century. In the plots of the popular prints, the ideas of the people regarding earthly happiness and well-being were reflected. The sculpture of the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, and the Taoist immortals is also striking in its inherent artistic merit, expressing scenes that reveal the fantastic stories of their lives. No less remarkable is the embroidered canvas “Three Gods of Happiness”, striking in its beauty and originality. Attention is also drawn to the layout of the altar of Buddha Amida.
Showcases in which exhibits are placed imitate facades Buddhist temples. And the interactive space of the hall allows each visitor to turn the prayer wheels on which mantras (prayers) are inscribed.
Along with the opening of a new section of the exposition, the section “Sukhavati - the Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha” (“Buddhist Paradise”) will be opened again for visitors, which is a three-dimensional model that reflects the Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha. The area occupied by the layout is 12 square meters. m. When designing this layout, special lighting effects were used, with the help of which the meaning of the whole composition is revealed.
All visitors to the museum will be able to touch the history of Eastern religions. A large collection, including more than a thousand monuments, is a testament to religious world China, Japan, India, and Asian countries. The Buddhist exposition is presented in 14 sections.
Islam
A separate exposition is dedicated to Islam. It is proposed to consider “Shiism”, “Sunnah and Koran”, “Sufism”, “Cult” among the sections available in it. One of the halls is holy book Islamic religion. Visitors, during the tour, will get acquainted with Islam and the history of its origin, as well as its directions. The exhibits are a mace, ax of a dervish, a staff and clothes, and so on.
Excursions to the State Museum of the History of Religion
The museum presents for visitors, schoolchildren, students with various countries various excursions around the world. The range of these excursions is truly unique, with the museum providing over 300 options. This tour lasts over two hours. Often students from other countries who come to learn unique story Russia, book bus tours around the beautiful city Russia - St. Petersburg. Guides conduct excursions for the youngest visitors. If you want to get to know certain types expositions, then the guides have prepared special, unique excursions for you, and many of them are calculated at a time convenient for you, on weekends, and can last for several hours. In the museum you can see and learn about every religion in the world, about such a phenomenon as monasticism or various ancient beliefs. Many of the visitors interesting excursion consider a tour of religious symbols both in Russia and other countries of the world. Tourists also find it very interesting excursion program about the afterlife, about the history of Russian ancient holidays. The museum has developed a program for a thematic exhibition, both for schoolchildren and preschoolers, the program can also be selected to fit the theme of a particular holiday. For the most inquisitive visitors, the museum leaders have developed programs on the History of Religion, which can be ordered individually. It is this program that takes place in the evening when the museum closes, the so-called night tour, it is worth noting that it includes tasting various drinks or performing certain religious rites.
The museum also opened an exhibition called "Russian church sewing of the 17th-20th centuries", and a unique "Masonic collection" was opened.
Currently, the Museum has a scientific library; the fund was officially opened in 1932. To date, the library has approximately 192,000 unique book monuments. And it is considered one of the largest collections of monuments, both religion and atheism. Science Library was recognized as the only library in Russia of a secular and religious nature. It contains books on the most various directions: Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Judaism, etc. Here you can find books on psychology, ethnography, fine arts, museology, as well as unique monuments ancient history Russia.
Museum of the History of Religion is within walking distance of St. Isaac's Square at 14 Pochtamtskaya Street. After St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Hermitage and the Russian Museum with their branches, this is perhaps the most interesting museum.
Once it was located in the Kazan Cathedral and was called the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, and since 2000 it has occupied a building opposite the Post Office and is called the Museum of the History of Religion. It presents the history of religions from ancient world to the present day. The museum is very nicely decorated and allows you to get a lot of information when visiting on your own, without a guide. The halls have interactive screens for viewing various audio and video files and detailed explanations for all exhibits.
The lobby decorates plaster sculpture, transferred in the 1950s from the Academy of Arts and the Hermitage.
Religions are represented in the museum early civilizations: Mesopotamia, Babylon, Egypt, Ancient Greece, ancient rome, Northern Black Sea region. The earliest exhibits date back to the 6th century. BC. 
In the halls devoted to Judaism, we will see what the Torah looks like and understand what a Torah scroll is, and also learn what a parahet and a kaporet are.
In the museum you will learn about the origin of Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism. In the hall of early Christianity, an altar Gospel, a crucifix, a creed, 
as well as icons, many of which were painted by N.S. Emelyanov. (V.A. Frolov’s mosaics were made from his cardboards, which adorned the outer walls of the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood).
In the section "Church and State" you can see exhibits related to national history: painting "The Coronation of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna", 
a dish dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, 
"Coronation of Mikhail Romanov", etc.
The museum presents the works of M.V. Nesterova, V.M. Vasnetsova, I.K. Aivazovsky and other famous Russian artists. 
There is also a painting by our contemporary Yu.A. Rybakov "Mirage".
There are many portraits in the museum historical figures, sculpture and painting.
It's nice to meet among them someone who is connected with St. Petersburg. 
Gustav Reinhold Taubenheim from 1834 He was a pastor of Petrikirche (22–24 Nevsky Prospekt), taught at Petrishula and the Nikolaev Institute, and was director of the Evangelical Bible Society. Now, after a long break, divine services are again held in Petrikirche, as well as concerts, incl. with the participation of the Chamber Choir of the Smolny Cathedral (now it is called the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg, but the audience is better known under the first name).
The section "Religions of the East" presents exhibits reflecting the diversity of religions of the countries of South, Central and East Asia: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism. special attention deserves the hall where the layout of "Sukhavati - Pure land Buddha Amitabha" (Buddhist Paradise), made in 1904-1905. monks of the Gusinoozersky and Gegetuevsky monasteries of Buryatia.
Meditative music sounds in the hall, you can sit quietly and think about the eternal, or you can listen to a short audio lecture (for this you need to contact the caretaker).
The section "Islam" presents household items of Muslims and works of arts and crafts. Here you can also see the layout of the Cathedral Mosque of St. Petersburg. (The mosque itself is located at Kronverksky pr., 7, not far from the Gorkovskaya metro station). 
The museum has an exhibition "The Thread of Prayer Through the Ages". It presents Russian church sewing from various provinces Russian Empire. In particular, here you can see: the Old Testament Trinity icon 
and a shroud from the church of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property (B. Morskaya 44, now the Institute of Plant Industry named after N.I. Vavilov is located here). 
Detailed information about it can be obtained on the interactive screen.
On the 5th floor there is a hall for temporary exhibitions: 
Museum opening hours:
- Monday, Thursday - Sunday 10.00 - 18.00,
- Tuesday 13.00 -21.00
- day off - Wednesday.
Ticket price for the Museum of the History of Religion
- Adults - 200 rubles.
- Students - 80 rubles.
- Pensioners - 85 rubles.
- Children under 16 years old - free of charge
First Monday of the month is free admission for all categories.
November 15, 1932 Kazan Cathedral - a religious building, personifying the city of Peter - suddenly from Orthodox church turned into largest Museum history of religion. Leningrad, an advanced city Soviet Union, there was no need for a giant shrine of Orthodoxy, so the Bolsheviks decided to glorify atheism in the cathedral and mythologize religious history humanity. Crosses were removed from Kazansky and a gilded ball with a spire was installed on the dome. The museum existed in the temple for 68 years. the site tells about the Soviet page in the history of the Kazan Cathedral.
Monument to the Patriotic War of 1812
The majestic and ceremonial Kazan Cathedral was built according to the project of the architect Voronikhin in a record short time, for 7 years: from 1801 to 1811. It was unusually similar to the church of St. Peter in Rome. The cathedral was built on the site of a modest church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The temple got its name from the name of the icon of Kazan Mother of God, which was kept in the church earlier. The very next year, after the end of the Patriotic War of 1812, Kazansky became a kind of monument to victory. Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov was buried in the building with due honor.The temple was immediately consecrated, and services began to be held in it. This continued until the Bolsheviks came to power. New religion, atheism, rejected traditional values and rituals and found a new use for the cathedral.
Museum within the walls of the cathedral
In 1922, all church valuables were removed from the Kazan Cathedral. The luxurious interior suffered greatly from this. The entire silver iconostasis was lost. More than 2 tons of silver was taken out! In January 1932, crosses were removed and liquidated from the temple, and a gilded ball with a spire was installed on the main dome.
On November 15 of the same year, the official opening of the State Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism took place in the Kazan Cathedral. The initiator of the creation and the first director was the outstanding Russian historian of religion, ethnographer and anthropologist Bogoraz-Tan.
Exhibitions were held in the Kazan Cathedral various subjects. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The Museum of the History of Religion was created within the framework of the Academy of Sciences as a research and educational institution. As a result, it has become a fertile platform for the study and analysis cultural heritage, human psychology and religious mythology.
The first exposure was a kind of hodgepodge. The museum collected thematic exhibits from the funds of other museums in the city. For example, in the Kazan Cathedral one could see works of art from the Hermitage, the Kunstkamera, the Library of the Academy of Sciences and the Russian Museum.
The first employees of the museum carried out a serious scientific work. By 1941, the Museum had collected a rich exposition, consisting of rare art objects of different faiths. It contained the surviving collection Orthodox icons XVII - XX centuries, objects of decorative, applied and fine arts, reflecting the history and culture of Western and Eastern Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, traditional beliefs of the peoples of the Caucasus, Siberia, the Volga region, religions of China and Japan. By the beginning of the 40s of the 20th century, a unique library was opened in the Museum, which became the largest collection of books on the history of religion and religious studies in Russia.During the Great Patriotic War, employees supported the museum as best they could, protected rarest collections and even organized several exhibitions. For example, in the difficult year of 1942, an exhibition dedicated to Russian military-patriotic traditions was opened on the colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral.
World after the war
After the war, the staff had to restore the museum and the cathedral building itself, and restore many of the exhibits. Numerous traveling photo exhibitions began to take place here. Only in 1954-1956 the Museum was visited by more than a million people, about 40 thousand excursions were held. Employees are posting scientific works dedicated to culture, history and world traditions.
In 1991, it was decided that the State Museum of Religion and Atheism should still move. In 1998, the Kazan Cathedral was re-consecrated, and services were resumed in it. But the two incompatible cultural units were destined to part only in 2000, when the Museum moved to a new building on Pochtamtskaya Street. The story ended at 68.
The museum has found new life, but retained the special spirit of the cathedral.
State Museum of the History of Religion (St. Petersburg, Russia) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.
- Tours for May in Russia
- Hot tours Worldwide
In the historical center of St. Petersburg, not far from the Hermitage Museum, the Museum of the History of Religion, unique in its kind, has been operating for more than 100 years. dedicated to history emergence and development of beliefs and cults in different peoples peace. The building was built in the eclectic style, which means a combination of dissimilar styles, views and ideas. Oddly enough, the original concept of the museum was atheistic, but the artifacts stored in it rather contribute to strengthening faith. An extensive collection of exhibits gives an idea not only about religion, but also about the way of life of people, from ancient times to the present day.
A bit of history
The museum was founded in 1930 in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the initiative of the historian of religion Vladimir Bogoraz-Tan and was originally located on the territory of the Kazan Cathedral. Unlike its predecessor, the Leningrad Anti-Religious Museum, it was conceived not only as an atheist institution, but also as a place for scientific research and educational work. Thanks to the Soviet public figure Bonch-Bruyevich's religious exhibits reached his contemporaries. The first items came from the collections of Leningrad museums: State Hermitage, the Russian Museum and the Kunstkamera, today the collection continues to grow.
What to see
By the forces of museum workers who put out fires during the Great patriotic war incendiary bombs on the roof, exhibits survived the war.
About 200 thousand valuable historical and cultural finds have been collected from different countries. Some come from the Ancient civilizations of the West and East, others - from the Middle Ages and modern times. Cult objects of the main world religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism tell about the way of life and traditions of different times and peoples.
The museum is filled with various exhibits of religious and everyday subjects - both Christian icons and early printed books, as well as oriental exotics.
The archaeological and numismatic collections of ancient (beginning from the 6th century BC), medieval and more modern religious objects are very curious. We recommend taking a look at Buddhist artifacts from the 2nd-4th centuries AD. e., found during excavations of the center of Kara-Tepe. The East is widely represented: Hindu ritual masks, musical instruments and utensils, oriental sculptures, icons and Muslim wall prints of the 19th-20th centuries, religious posters, Buddhist tanks of the 18th-20th centuries, household prints of the 18th-19th centuries.
For children different ages the museum offers entire programs and individual interactive classes and excursions.
Practical Information
Address: St. Petersburg, st. Post Office, 14/5. Web site
You can get there by metro to the Gostiny Dvor station, then by minibuses No. 169 or 306.
Opening hours: from 10:00 to 18:00 (on Tuesdays from 13:00 to 21:00), ticket offices are open from 10:00 to 17:00. Wednesday is a day off.
You can find out the cost of tickets and purchase them online on the museum website. On the first Monday of every month, admission is free for everyone. There is a souvenir shop.
Add a review
Track
Other attractions nearby
St. Petersburg and surroundings
- Where to stay: for trips around St. Petersburg, it is best to stay in hotels in St. Petersburg.
- What to see: majestic St. Petersburg and its suburbs - magnificent Peterhof, Oranienbaum preserved in its original form, Gatchina Museum-Reserve, Pavlovsk with one of the most beautiful landscape parks in the world, amber room V
The State Museum of the History of Religion is the only one in Russia and one of the few museums in the world whose expositions represent the history of the emergence and development of religion.
The museum funds include about 200,000 exhibits. These are monuments of history and culture of different countries, eras and peoples: from the archaic, ancient egypt and Israel until early European Middle Ages; from ancient Greece and Rome to modern times; Buddhism and Islam. The oldest exhibits of the museum collection - archaeological finds, dating back to the VI millennium BC.
Museum building built in the 1860s. designed by architect A. Kavos, located in the historical center of St. Petersburg. It hosts permanent exhibitions, open storage funds, temporary exhibitions, special programs, lectures. The museum operates the Center for Youth Programs - the educational platform of the museum, the main target audience of which is students of all forms of education.
Today, the following sections of the permanent exhibition are open in the museum: "Archaic beliefs and rituals", "Religions of the Ancient World: polytheism", "Religions of the Ancient World: Judaism and the emergence of monotheism", "Rise of Christianity", "History of Russian Orthodoxy", "Catholicism", "Protestantism", "Religions of the East: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism", "Islam".
In addition, the museum has regular access to the storage funds:
- "Masonic collection" - one of the most extensive collections on this topic in our country. The history of Freemasonry in various countries - Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, etc. is presented. The temporal coverage of the collection is also quite wide - late XVIII century until the 1930s.
- "Japanese collection", which presents as genuine rarities of the XVIII - XIX centuries, for example, the famous scrolls from different temples Japan, and quite modern items - amulets, pilgrimage souvenirs, etc.
- "Collection Western European painting". The fund includes works of religious and secular art of Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Holland, Flanders, Poland. The chronological framework of the collection of the XIV - XX centuries.
|
Additional services: Educational services: Nearby are: Local Attractions: Membership in organizations: Partner organizations: Storage units:
|
