Museum of the North-Western Front in Staraya Russa. Museum of the North-Western Front in Staraya Russa Museum in Staraya Russa of the North-Western Front

Museum of the North-Western Front in Staraya Russa (Staraya Russa, Russia) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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The Museum of the North-Western Front in Staraya Russa is unique, there are no more similar expositions in Russia. Before its opening in our country, there were only museums dedicated to individual battles and battles during the Great Patriotic War, as well as military units. And the Museum of the North-Western Front gives visitors a complete picture of the actions of the entire front of the Red Army. It is interesting that the museum staff are trying to show the war of 1941-45. on both lines of the trenches. The number of museum exhibits is impressive - about 1,500 items! By the way, no one had ever seen many of these things before the opening of the museum. All these unique items were donated to the museum staff by the participants of that war, residents of Staraya Russa. First of all, of course, you should pay attention to the expositions telling about the exploits of Russian soldiers in the fight against the German invaders. Visitors will learn many details and interesting facts about how our grandfathers defended their homeland. Rich expositions provide an opportunity not only to analyze the course of military events and operations, but also to learn a lot about human destinies.

The number of museum exhibits is impressive - about 1,500 items! By the way, no one had ever seen many of these things before the opening of the museum. All these unique items were donated to the museum staff by the participants of that war, residents of Staraya Russa.

Here you can see an impressive collection of weapons, military equipment, Houseware. It is especially interesting to see what the dugout looked like and what the underground safe house was like. In front of the entrance to the museum on May 8, 2004 was opened observation deck, which shows two divisional guns of 1942 and a light tank T-26.

Be sure to pay attention to the collection of letters from the front. Each of them evokes a huge amount of emotions among visitors. Sometimes they are written very simple language nevertheless, they are not easy to read - because of the welling of tears. During the war, families lived in separation, and only the mail gave people hope. Every morning thousands of letters and postcards were scattered across the USSR. Everyone was waiting for news from a loved one.

One of the most important collections of the museum is objects that tell about the life of the inhabitants of the city during the occupation and after the liberation. In addition, in the hall of memory there is an exhibit with which it is associated very interesting story... This is a church bell that was cast in 1672 in Lübeck by craftsman Albert Benning. Staraya Russa received this bell as a gift from Peter I. In 1942 the commander of the German sapper battalion discovered the bell in the bell tower of St. Mines and ordered to send him to Lubeck. However, in 2001 Germany nevertheless returned the bell to Staraya Russa. On February 18, representatives of Lubeck and all residents of Staraya Russa could hear the amazing sound of this bell. By the way, this is the only surviving work of the famous master Benning.

Practical information

Museum working hours: Thursday - Monday: 10:00 - 18:00. Day off: Tuesday, Wednesday, last Thursday of each month.

Entrance: adults: RUB 100, students: RUB 50.

Staraya Russa can be reached by bus from St. Petersburg. Transit buses run from the bus station on the Obvodny Canal along the routes "St. Petersburg - Kholm", "St. Petersburg - Parfino".

Museum address: st. Alexandrovskaya, 23.

Prices on the page are for September 2018.

One of the first museums of its kind in Russia was the Museum of the North-Western Front, which tells about the historical actions of the big front during the Great Patriotic War. The museum is located in the town of Staraya Russa, namely on Volodarsky Street. The museum presents an exposition that tells not only about the battles that took place on the old Russian soil, but also about the occupation, about partisan and underground movements, about literally insurmountable difficulties on the way to the long-awaited victory. Distinctive feature Museum collection was the presentation of military themes from the humanistic positions. It is worth noting that all the materials presented reflect the war on both sides of the trenches. The museum presents a true picture of the conduct of the Great Patriotic War, being transferred to one of the military fronts, while about one and a half thousand different museum exhibits are presented.

An important place in the collection of the Museum of the North-Western Front is occupied by a large number of letters from the front. Not only researchers, but also visitors to the museum have the opportunity to independently trace all the military events through the eyes of the participants. As you know, the war destroyed thousands of families, so only mail was available for the long-awaited message, which helped to find loved ones. Every day, up to a thousand postcards and letters came to the front.

One of the main themes of the museum exposition was the theme of tragic resistance. Of particular interest to visitors are models of Soviet equipment, weapons of those years, soldiers' items, the arrangement of a partisan dugout or an underground apartment.

You can get acquainted with materials concerning the life of the city of Staraya Russa at the front-line exposition. It is in this section that you can learn in detail about the further fate of the later disbanded military North-Western Front, what happened at the final stage of the war. Here you can learn that the famous Victory Banner was erected over the lost Reichstag by the soldiers of the 150th rifle division, formed near the city in the fall of 1943. It was from this place to the city of Berlin that the division began its journey, the length of which was 2,640 km.

The museum has a Hall of Remembrance for the Participants of the North-Western Front, which houses a unique exhibit, represented by a church bell, which was cast by master Benning Albert in the city of Lubeck in 1672. The bell was presented to the city by the great emperor Peter the Great. Soon the bell disappeared without a trace, but miraculously found itself in the dilapidated church bell tower of St. Mina in 1942, and on December 3 was sent to Lubeck for further transfer to Staraya Russa. At first, the bell was located in the hospital of the Holy Spirit, after which it was sent to the museum of the small church of St. Catherine.

In 2001 Germany decided to hand over the bell to Staraya Russa. On the day the bell arrived, residents of the city finally heard the ringing of the most valuable bell ever made by a European foundryman. The returned bell sounds great, and in the upper part there is a slotted decoration presented in the form of exquisite lace, under which there is a signature in Latin. The bell has a diameter of 56 cm, a height of 60 cm, and a weight of 110 kg.

In February 2011, the museum opened an exhibition entitled "Performing Military Duty", which is dedicated to the memory of international soldiers, as well as the successors of the front-line soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. This exhibition especially attracts the attention of visitors to the tragedy of the Afghan war and about eternal memory killed in this war.

The exhibition is located in the Great Hall of Memory of the North-Western Front. The exposition presents various documents, awards, photographs, congratulatory or gratitude letters to servicemen and relatives, which were collected by city residents of the cities of Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa. In addition, there are personal belongings of participants in military operations, newspaper clippings, family albums, as well as Afghan leaflets.

Not far from the museum building there is a small observation deck on which there is a T-26 light tank found in the Lovat River, near the village of Korovitchino, as well as several artillery pieces.

In the museum exposition, revealing a true picture of the Great Patriotic War on the example of one of its fronts, 1.5 thousand museum items are involved. With their help, it is possible to analyze the course of military operations, restore human destinies, and highlight the negative phenomena of military history.

A special place in the museum collection is occupied by letters from the front. Reading them, museum visitors and researchers have a unique opportunity to see the events taking place through the eyes of their participants. In the lines smelling of gunpowder - the breath of war, the rudeness of the harsh trench everyday life, the tenderness of a soldier's heart, faith in Victory. The war has torn thousands of families apart. All hope was in the post office, which helped to find loved ones - in the rear and at the front. Thousands of letters and postcards went to the front every day. There were no less letters from the front - to different cities, towns and villages, to where relatives were left. Many letters from the fighters are written in artless language, mainly about what worried them. Only now it is difficult to read these lines - a lump gets stuck in the throat, and tears well up in my eyes.

The leading theme of the exposition was the theme of the tragic confrontation.

Of particular interest to visitors are weapons of the war years, models of domestic equipment and samples of weapons of the opposing sides, items of Wehrmacht soldiers, the interiors of a partisan dugout and an underground safe house.

The front exposition introduces materials about the life of Staraya Russa before the war, during the years of occupation and after liberation, tells about the further path of the formations of the disbanded North-Western Front at the final stages of the war. The museum exhibits will tell that the Victory Banner was hoisted over the defeated Reichstag by the soldiers of the 150th Infantry Division, which was formed near Staraya Russa in September 1943 and it was from here that it passed its battle path to Berlin with a length of 2,640 kilometers. The chief of staff of this world-famous division was a native of Staraya Russa, a Rushanin in several generations N.K. Dyachkov.

The Memorial Hall of the Northwestern Front Museum displays a unique exhibit - a church bell, cast by the famous craftsman Albert Benning in Lubeck in 1672. The bell was presented to the town of Staraya Russa by Emperor Peter I. The pre-war fate of the bell was not known to the inhabitants of the town. In 1942, the old bell was discovered on the destroyed bell tower of the church of St. Mina by the commander of the German sapper battalion and on December 3 of this year it was brought to Lubeck to be handed over to the city. Initially, the bell was in the hospital of the Holy Spirit, and later was exhibited in the museum church of St. Catharine.

On February 18, 2001 Germany handed over a unique bell to Staraya Russa. On this day, guests from Lubeck and residents of Staraya Russa heard the voice of the only surviving from all the bells of the famous European foundry worker Benning. It is known that all the works of this master are characterized by magnificent, full and noble sound and aesthetic design. The museum exhibit eloquently testifies to this: the bell sounds great, in the upper part it has a cut-out decoration in the form of lace, and under it there is an inscription in Latin about the author, date and place of manufacture. The bell is 60 centimeters high, 56 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 110 kilograms.

The observation deck at the museum, opened on May 8, 2004, became a kind of continuation of the exposition. It shows military equipment from the period of the Great Patriotic War6 two 76-mm divisional guns of the 1942 model and a light tank T-26.

Traditionally, the Museum of the North-Western Front celebrates the Day of Liberation of Staraya Russa (February 18), Defender of the Fatherland Day (February 23) and Victory Day (May 9) with solemn events.

The theme of the Great Patriotic War affects many museums, but in Staraya Russa in the Novgorod region there is a museum of the North-Western Front - the first museum of its kind in Russia, telling about the history and actions of one front.

1. The museum is located in a small inconspicuous building. It seems that it disguised itself)
Previously, expositions were presented at the local cathedral, but now it has been handed over to believers

2. Around everything temporarily dug up. The T-26 tank looks like it is in the trenches. He was found in the Lovat River near the village of Korovitchino

3. The peculiarity of this museum is the presentation of the war theme from a general humanistic point of view.

4. Basically, it talks about bright military events associated with the surroundings and Staraya Russa. This is the encirclement of the Demyansk group of German troops - "Demyansk pot", battles of local importance and battles in the area of ​​the "Ramushevsky corridor", about the occupation of Staraya Russa (lasted from August 9, 1941 to February 18, 1944) and the liberation of the city

5. The museum presents materials showing the war from both sides of the front. Here you can see all kinds of documents, maps, diagrams, extracts from archives, weapons, awards, photographs, personal belongings that belonged to both the Red Army and German soldiers, as well as the Spaniards and Finns who fought in the Nazi army.

Museum documents also tell about the work of the Soviet tribunals and detachments, about the mistakes of the Red Army command, about traitors and special cases in the life of soldiers. In addition, you can learn about the partisans and leaders of the old Russian underground

6. Staraya Russa was located near the front line and was almost completely destroyed. Soviet troops repeatedly tried to capture the city by February 23, 1942, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, they did not succeed in 1943 either: the operations to liberate Staraya Russa in March and August 1943 failed.

On February 18, 1944, Staraya Russa was liberated by the troops of the 1st Shock Army of the 2nd Baltic Front during the Old Russian-Novorzhevsk offensive operation. By the time of liberation, not a single inhabitant remained in the destroyed city.

7. Before the war, about 40,000 people lived here. Apartment of that time

8. About 1500 exhibits are on display, 840 of which are genuine. Particularly eye-catching is this 3-meter mammoth tusk.

9. It would seem that what does the tusk have to do with it? And here's the thing.
It was found in 1969 in the gulf of the East Siberian Sea in Yakutia and presented to the Novgorod region in memory of the fellow countrymen who died during the offensive operation "Polar Star" on Ilmen (February 1943)

10. The tusk weighs about 70 kg. On it are carved moments of the Yakut epic and episodes of the battles on Ilmen. The lines are excerpts from the poem of the Yakut poet Sergei Vasiliev "Sacred Ilmen"

11. By the way, the exhibits came to the Museum both from local sources and from German veterans and their descendants. This staff, made of old Russian birch, is a gift from Germany

13. Another exhibit that I remember well was this 60-centimeter and 110-kilogram bell. It was cast by the famous craftsman Albert Benning in German Lübeck back in the 17th century and donated to Staraya Russa by Peter I.
In December 1942, it was taken to Germany as a war trophy, but 59 years later, in 2001, it was returned back from Lubeck.
We will see the church, the bell tower of which he decorated, while walking along Staraya Russa

We visited Staraya Russa as part of the "Opening the Silver Necklace" project

Organizers of the project "Opening the Silver Necklace": Community of St. Petersburg bloggers
With the support of ANO "Silver Necklace of Russia"

General partner: Sberbank
Innovative partner: