The small town of Myshkin literally made itself. Only a few thousand people live here, but the number of attractions per square meter is simply off scale. Most of them are small, private mouse-themed museums created specifically to attract tourists and develop the travel industry. There are also several noteworthy churches from the 17th-19th centuries.
It is fair to say that Myshkin did a great job - from an inconspicuous village, he turned into a popular tourist center, an obligatory stopping point for excursion motor ships following down the Volga towards Yaroslavl. The town is an excellent example of how you can achieve prosperity by your own efforts, taking as a basis some unique quality (in the case of Myshkin, this is its name).
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What to see and where to go in Myshkin?
The most interesting and beautiful places for walking. Photos and a short description.
"Myshkin's Chambers"
"Myshkin Chambers" (or the Mouse Palace) appeared in 2008 as part of the development of the tourist industry of the town. The complex was built in the form of an elegant mansion. A tour of its five halls takes about an hour: in the Throne Hall, guests are greeted by a royal couple of mice, in the Imperial Hall there are numerous gifts from visitors, in the Room of Crooked Mirrors you can laugh at your own image, there is also a refectory and a room dedicated to the symbol of Yaroslavl - the bear.
Mouse Museum
The world's only museum dedicated to mice. His collection is constantly being replenished thanks to exhibits delivered from different countries: USA, France, Japan, India. The exhibits themselves are figurines of small rodents depicting representatives of various professions, social strata and cartoon characters. The museum has a library with mouse-themed literature and a mini-zoo.
Museum of Technology "Myshkinsky Samokhod"
The museum exposition consists of old models of transport: cars and trucks, buses, agricultural and industrial equipment, motorcycles, ships. During the tour, you can see a demonstration of the work of mechanisms (some of them are in good working order). Every year, the museum hosts festivals of rare technology, usually timed to coincide with the City Day.
Museum of Small Peasant Architecture
An open-air historical and ethnographic complex, where you can see wooden buildings: houses, barns, baths, pavilions of merchant estates, workshops, windmills brought from various parts of the Yaroslavl region. All buildings are made of wood. After a walk through the museum, you get a complete impression of the conditions in which the peasants lived 100-200 years ago and what the representatives of this class did in everyday life.
Pilot Capital Museum
Once Myshkin became famous throughout the Yaroslavl province thanks to his skillful pilots, who knew the Volga best of all and explored its river expanses up and down. The exposition of the Museum of the Capital of Pilots (local history) tells about the history of this craft, as well as about local merchants and nobles, skilled artisans, talented artists who came from the peasant class.
Museum "Makhaev Dvor"
The Museum of Merchant Life, which presents a thematic exposition showing a retrospective of the daily life of the class of merchants - the locomotive of the economic development of the provinces of the Russian Empire in the 18th-19th centuries. In the "Makhaev Dvor" you can see the furnishings of a merchant's hut with a living room, study, dining room and servants' room, a typical trade shop, as well as the apartments of the janitor and the clerk.
Myshkin Art Gallery
The art gallery was founded in 1991. Most of the exhibition consists of the works of the painter G. A. Tatarinov, who was born in the Yaroslavl province. He painted classic Russian landscapes depicting the beauty of Russian nature. The largest hall of the museum is adapted for temporary exhibitions, where the work of graphic artists, sculptors, photographers and artisans working in the field of decorative and applied arts is brought.
Museum "Russian felt boots"
There are museums dedicated to the Russian craft of felting warm felt shoes in many cities of Russia. Myshkin also did not stand aside. Moreover, "Russian felt boots" are almost the first place where tourists who arrive on motor ships rush. In two halls of a small room, felt boots of all shapes and sizes are presented - from simple gray and practical to elegantly decorated with colored appliqués (there are even boots with heels).
Flax museum
The Flax Museum is another classic exposition, almost a must for every tourist town in Central Russia. In the Myshkin Linen Gallery, you can learn about the entire process of converting flax from seed into a finished product. The halls display samples of clothes, toys and home textiles made from this material. A fairly large area is set aside for an exhibition and sale, where you can buy your favorite things.
Museum of Living Crafts "Myshgorod"
The museum was created on the initiative of local artisans, who organized several workshops-expositions of various profiles. In "Myshgorod" you can not only look at finished products and the process of craftsmen's work, but also take part in a master class. Visitors are invited to try themselves in the role of a potter, blacksmith, glassblower, as well as in the art of weaving from a vine, making toys and candles.
Peter Smirnov Museum
The museum is dedicated to the personality of the peasant P. Smirnov, who was born in Myshkin. Thanks to his talents and personal qualities, he became a successful entrepreneur and millionaire. He created one of the most famous and popular brands of vodka "Smirnovskaya" (more modern brand - "Smirnoff"). The exposition consists of several hundred items, including bottles with a strong drink. After the tour, those who wish can start tasting.
Museum-gallery of dolls of Olga Pavlycheva
A visit to the private museum of Olga Pavlova, a Myshkin craftswoman, is a real holiday for girls. Each lovingly made exhibit of the collection has vivid individual features, it has its own character and lives its own life. Most of the dolls are made of papier-mâché, there are also specimens intended for children's play (made from more durable materials).
"Miller's House"
Once on the territory of the museum there was a real mill - the largest in the city. It was closed in the middle of the 20th century as unnecessary, all mechanisms are still in working order. During the excursion in the museum, you can learn about the flour production process, the work of the miller and the arrangement of mechanisms. Also, for visitors, interactive programs and tea drinking with delicious pastries are provided.
Assumption Cathedral
The town's cathedral, built at the beginning of the 19th century by the architect I. Manfrini. Funds for the construction were donated by the townspeople (mainly representatives of the merchant class). The building is made in a classic style. It is crowned with five domes - a large central one and four side ones, located on decorative towers. The entrance is designed in the form of a Greek portico, there is a bell tower on the right, and a semicircular apse on the left.
Nicholas cathedral
The oldest temple of Myshkin, built in 1769. It was built at the expense of the St. Petersburg mayor - merchant A.P. Berezin.The merchant decided to donate for the construction of the cathedral after he bought the ancestral icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, laid in the tavern by his poor father. In 1830, the building was rebuilt, adding a portico with columns and changing the shape of the dome, later the bell tower was rebuilt, but it has not survived to this day.
Sorrow Church
The church was built in the second half of the 19th century in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" according to the old tradition with donations from merchants. The architectural style of the building can be defined as neo-Renaissance; in its appearance it strongly resembles St. Petersburg temples. In Soviet times, the building housed an archive and workshops, thanks to which it has been relatively well preserved.
Ascension Church in Okhotino
The temple is located in the village of Okhotino, Myshkinsky region. It was built at the end of the 18th century with money from the merchant A. Berezin, who also financed the construction of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Myshkin. The building is a five-domed structure with a classic belfry. It is based on a rectangular quadrangle, on which towers with poppies are fortified. The entrance to the territory of the church is decorated with decorative gates.
Victory Memorial
The memorial complex was built in 2005 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Victory. In the center of the composition there is a bronze figure of a soldier, in front of which an eternal flame is burning. Behind him there is a wall with slabs, where the names and portraits of city residents who died during the Great Patriotic War are placed. An alley leads from the square to the bank of the Volga. There is the chapel of St. George the Victorious, built in 2008.
Eco ranch
A farm in the village of Povodnevo, where ponies, goats, sheep, cows and African ostriches live. Guests of the ranch take pictures with the animals, feed them specially prepared food (you cannot offer your own treats to the animals) and pet them. Children can ride small horses. After the tour, in the gift shop you can buy products made of ostrich leather and feathers, as well as various eco-products: eggs, milk, smoked fish and much more.
City embankment and Volga river
Myshkin embankment was finally completed in 2014. Tourist ships moor to it, and a ferry goes from here to the left bank of the Volga. Usually, tourists arriving in the city of Myshkin by the river are greeted with a theatrical mini-performance. Museum staff, dressed in costumes of mice, sing songs, dance and demonstrate their hospitality in every possible way.
