Irkutsk is a large Russian city in Siberia, founded in 1661. Today, about 620 thousand people live here.
For the country, this city has the most important industrial and transport significance. Here is the largest energy company in Russia, an aircraft factory and a heavy engineering plant; Irkutsk is also a transportation hub on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
However, there are not only factories, enterprises and railways. Irkutsk also has cultural and historical significance: the city center was included in the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
You can get acquainted with the rich history and culture of this city and the entire Siberian region as a whole in the museums of Irkutsk. The city has opened more than two dozen different museums and exhibitions that will be of interest to both permanent residents of Irkutsk and tourists.
Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
The first worth mentioning is the local history museum in Irkutsk - one of the oldest attractions in the city.
The date of foundation of this museum is December 1782. The initiator of the creation of such a cultural institution was Franz Nikolayevich Klichka - lieutenant general and local governor. The construction of this Irkutsk museum was carried out through voluntary donations from merchants and nobles.
In 1879, a major fire occurred in the city, as a result of which most of Irkutsk, including the museum building, burned down. About three dozen exhibits and books were lost. After the reconstruction, the institution was reopened to visit on October 6, 1883.
To date, the museum includes 7 departments (2 exhibition departments, a department of history, nature, a scientific-fund, children's museum center and a library) and 4 buildings located at ul. Karl Marx, 2, 11, 13, 21.
It contains a lot of noteworthy exhibits: ancient household items and national costumes of the peoples of the Siberian region, books, photographs of the period of the 19th and 20th centuries (the same fire that destroyed the first building of the museum is captured on several of them).
The opening hours of this museum in the city of Irkutsk are from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 18 hours. The entrance ticket costs 200 rubles, 50 rubles - for the opportunity to take photographs of exhibits.
Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after V.P. Sukacheva
This is the most popular art museum in Irkutsk, which contains more than 20 thousand different works of art - paintings, sculptures, icons and other exhibits.
The museum was founded in 1920 as a small art gallery, the first director of which was the painter and organizer of the Irkutsk Society of Artists Konstantin Pomerantsev. The first exhibits were paintings from the collection of philanthropist Vladimir Platonovich Sukachev.
In 1936, a full-fledged art museum in Irkutsk was formed from the art gallery. Currently, it includes 5 departments dedicated to Russian, Soviet, European, Eastern and specifically Siberian art.
One of the most valuable exhibits of the Sukachev Museum of Irkutsk is the painting “The Pauper. Girl-fisherman "Repin and" Dinner of tractor drivers "Plastov.
The museum owns 4 buildings at ul. Lenin, 5; st. Karl Marx, 23; st. December Events, 112; st. Sverdlov, 16. Hours - from Tuesday to Sunday (in the building on Sverdlov St. - from Tuesday to Saturday) from 10 to 18 hours.
There are several categories of admission tickets. A comprehensive ticket, which provides the right to visit all the buildings of the museum, costs 120 rubles (for preschoolers), 200 rubles (for schoolchildren, senior citizens, military personnel, persons with disabilities) or 400 rubles.
A regular ticket to one of the museum buildings costs 50, 70 or 150 rubles, respectively.
Museum of the History of Irkutsk Aviation Plant
Another museum of history in Irkutsk is dedicated to one of the most important enterprises of the city - the aircraft factory, built in 1934. At this plant, military and civil aviation aircraft are manufactured.
The museum is located directly on the territory of the enterprise and has the status of a protected object, so getting there is not so simple. To visit it, you must first arrange a tour by phone.
Despite such difficulties, this museum in Irkutsk really deserves attention. The exhibits displayed here will be of interest to both aviation enthusiasts and people who are not very passionate about this topic.
In the history museum of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, you can see parts of the aircraft manufactured here - engines, control panel and other components. Life-size copies of the aircraft themselves are installed on the square in front of the institution.
Irkutsk Regional Historical and Memorial Museum of the Decembrists
The Decembrist uprising on December 14, 1825, when a group of like-minded nobles tried to prevent the troops from taking the oath to the new Tsar Nicholas I, is an important event in Russian history. As you know, an attempt to make a palace coup failed, and the perpetrators of the uprising were exiled to Siberia.
The Decembrists Museum in Irkutsk is located in the historical center of the city and includes 2 buildings - the Volkonsky House Museum (10 Volkonsky Lane, opened in 1985) and the Trubetskoy House Museum (64 Dzerzhinsky St., opened in 1970).
It has collected many exhibits related to the stay of the Decembrists in Irkutsk: household items, personal items, musical instruments, coins, books. The most popular among visitors is the collection of bead embroideries created by the wives of Volkonsky and Trubetskoy.
In addition, visitors can see other exhibits as part of exhibitions at the Irkutsk Museum dedicated to the Decembrists. About current and planned exhibitions can be found on the official website of the institution.
The Volkonsky House Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 18 hours. The Trubetskoy House Museum can be visited from Wednesday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Museum in a landfill in Irkutsk
When all the historical and art museums of the city are studied, you can visit one of the most unusual museums in Irkutsk. The exhibits are exposed directly in the open air, and the place of the exposition is not the historical center of the city, where most museums are located, but a dump.
However, thanks to the director of the landfill Alexander Rastorguev, this place does not look like a landfill. His goal was to make the entrance gate unusually.
Now it is a whole exhibition installation. In the museum at a dump in Irkutsk, you can see sculptures of medieval guards collected from washing machines and metal debris; a collection of cars of various time periods; huge wooden sailboat and other interesting exhibits.
The museum is popular not only among residents. Having seen a photo of the Irkutsk museum on sites and blogs, tourists come here from other cities and even countries.
Irkutsk Planetarium and the Noosphere Museum
You can observe the starry sky, see other planets, galaxies and nebulae in the local planetarium located at ul. Sedova, 30.
Near the planetarium is also the Noosphere Museum. It will be interesting to those who want to learn more about space. Plasma panels hang on the walls of the museum, on which, in the form of colorful and vibrant animation, demonstrates how planet Earth has changed over time.
For those who want to see distant stars not only on the screen, an observatory is available in the Noosphere. Also, in collaboration with the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the SB RAS, weekly excursions to the Baikal Astrophysical Observatory are conducted.
The cost of a ticket to the planetarium varies from 200 to 500 rubles, depending on the day and time of the session. Tickets to the museum and observatory cost 200 rubles.
Fire Museum
The Fire Museum of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region is located in the city center in the building of the fire station at ul. Timiryazev, 33.
Here you can learn more about the history of firefighting in the region - how the equipment and equipment of firefighters changed. In the list of exhibits are special costumes worn by fighters with fire; their helmets, waist axes, breathing apparatus, hand stairs and other items required for a firefighter. Photos and reduced models of fire engines are also presented.
The depot itself is an important historical site. Once the Third Police Fire Station was located here, then the Independent Militarized Fire Station No. 2.
As in the case of the Irkutsk Museum of the History of the Aviation Plant, before visiting, you must first arrange a visit to the depot by phone.
Irkutsk Museum of Illusions and Optics "Fantast"
In June 2018, a new museum was opened in the city dedicated to optical illusions. “Fantast” is located at 36A / 1 Marshal Zhukov Ave.
The exhibits presented at the Museum of Illusions in Irkutsk demonstrate how imperfect the human perception of reality is. Using various tricks and the right angle, you can make a person see some things differently from what they really are.
“Fantast” provides an opportunity for visitors not only to see these illusions, but also to become part of them. For example, take a picture against the backdrop of a 3D picture or plunge into a completely different world, wearing a virtual reality helmet.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 18 hours. The entrance ticket costs 300 rubles for an adult and 200 rubles for a child. Photographing exhibits is free.
Museum of entertaining science "Experiment"
“Experimentarium” is a museum, mainly oriented for children, but there are exhibits that will appeal to adults. The purpose of the museum is to show young visitors how interesting and fascinating science can be in practice.
You can not only look at each of the exhibits presented here, but also touch them, which will especially please children.
In addition to the usual excursions, the Experimentarium Museum also hosts various scientific shows explaining the basics of chemistry and physics, master classes in which children can use science to create, for example, their own mini-volcano, a battery-powered magnet, or a lizun.
Museum Addresses - ul. Lermontov, 29 (Akademgorodok) and st. July 3, 21A (130 quarter). The cost of participating in a master class or science show, visiting the planetarium is 250 rubles.
Museum of Urban Life
The Museum of Urban Life is one of the branches of the Museum of the History of Irkutsk named after A.M. Sibiryakova, who began his work on April 17, 2009.
This museum is located at ul. December events, 77. At the end of the 19th century, the building was the estate of the local bourgeois Elizabeth Shipitsyna. In the XX century, the Polkanovs family became its owners.
The purpose of this museum is to allow local residents to learn more about the history of the city in the cultural sphere, and the life of the Irkutsk inhabitants of the 17th-20th centuries.
Visitors have access to 7 exhibition areas. For example, one of them talks about tea culture in the city. Among the exhibits are samples of tea packaging, samovars, sets, photographs of merchants and shops where you could buy this drink.
Museum of Medicinal Herbs and Minerals
The Museum of Medicinal Herbs and Minerals demonstrates the means and technologies of maintaining health with the help of natural ingredients, without the use of medicines.
Here you can find the complete collections of medicinal herbs growing in Russia, medicinal muds, mineral waters, and essential oils.
The museum is divided into several areas dedicated to ancient medicine, Tibetan, Chinese and others.
Address - st. Kultukskaya, 45. The entrance ticket costs 150 rubles.
State Mineralogical Museum named after A.V. Sidorova
This museum, located at ul. Lermontov, 83, was created on the basis of IRNITU.
The collection of minerals, rocks and minerals collected here (in total - about 35 thousand copies) is unique. The most valuable exhibits are a jade boulder weighing 1.5 tons, a charoite vase, "A hill of Ural gems."
The museum offers thematic tours - “Artificially grown crystals”, “Stones-talismans”, “Minerals and ecology” and others.
Picture Gallery Dias
An art gallery opened in the city in 2009 on the street. Sedova, 40, although the formation of a collection of paintings began much earlier. Currently, the art fund of the gallery has about 2 thousand paintings.
Dias holds exhibitions not only in Irkutsk, but also in other cities of Russia and even abroad; organizes plein airs, workshops, seminars; provides an opportunity to buy some paintings or rent them.