Museum-Preserve "Staraya Ladoga"

Leningrad Oblast
Volkhovsky Ave., 19, Staraya Ladoga, Leningrad Region
Phones: +7 911 272 27 50
Web site: www.ladogamuseum.com

The fund of the museum-reserve "Staraya Ladoga" consists of the following collections: "Painting, graphics and sculpture", "Archeology", "Iconography and Church utensils", "Rare book", "Photo documents", "Documents", "Frescoes and building materials", "Historical and household collection", "Numismatics".

In the Arrow Tower of the fortress, two archaeological expositions are open.

One of them- "Southern Ladoga region in the Neolithic era" - is located on the third floor (floor) The arrow tower. The finds presented in the showcases tell about the life of the Ladoga region in the era of the new Stone Age. The exposition is based on the collection of A. A. Inostrantsev, which he collected during the reconstruction of the Ladoga canals in 1878-1881. In addition to jewelry, fragments of ceramic vessels, tools made of bone, horn, flint and local rocks of stone, for the first time in the last 100 years, one of the skulls of a Neolithic man with a graphic reconstruction of the external appearance made by M. M. is on display. Gerasimov. The exhibition, designed in an academic style, is successfully diluted by the diorama "Neolithic Parking Lot", which includes (albeit not in full composition) mannequins of people made of papier-mache and plaster for the opening of the first exhibition in 1971, located in the Gate Tower. Thanks to the use of cartographic materials in the design, for example, such a complex topic as the transgression of Lake Ladoga becomes accessible to the visitor. In addition to the collection of A. A. Inostrantsev, the exhibition presents items originating from the excavations of N. K. Stetsenko and A. N. Kirpichnikov.
On the fourth battle of the Arrow Tower, the exhibition "Ladoga in the Viking Age"was prepared. Almost all the items on display come from the excavations of Ladoga by the Old Ladoga archaeological expedition, headed by A. N. Kirpichnikov for more than 40 years. The background to the topic of the Ladoga settlement is the story of the early medieval settlement of Lyubsha, located on the opposite bank of the Volkhov, about 3 km from Staraya Ladoga. The central part of the hall is occupied by a model of an Earthen Settlement with a stone fortress under construction at the turn of the IX – X centuries. The entire exhibition is divided into topics-sections related to the life of Ladoga during the Viking age: jewelry and costume details, crafts, religious performances, trade and shipping, military affairs, hunting, fishing, agriculture, home improvement, games and entertainment. Thanks to the specifics of the " wet " cultural layer, which has preserved objects made of organic materials for us, the visitor has the opportunity to get acquainted with unique exhibits. For example, with the only large fragment of a wooden playing board in Eastern Europe, found during the excavation of an Earthen Settlement in a layer dating from the border of the IX–X centuries, that is, the time of the reign of the chronicler Prince Oleg the Prophetic.
In total, the Arrow Tower presents more than 3,500 archaeological items, supplemented with cartographic and visual materials. One of the features of the show can be considered the rejection of magnifying glasses, which were replaced with enlarged illustrations of objects. This technique allows you to show objects as large as possible, without disturbing the overall composition with magnifying glasses and without overlapping neighboring exhibits. In addition, the new expositions are supplemented with interactive elements - multimedia games, quizzes, tasks and will be understandable and interesting to all categories of visitors.

The permanent exhibition "Military and political history of Ladoga of the IX-XVIII centuries" is opened in the Gate Tower of the fortress. The exposition occupies two floors of the tower. The exhibition is located in the Gate Tower of the stone Ladoga fortress of the XII-XVII centuries. The entrance to the exhibition space begins with a green tent-a powder magazine and an arsenal of the fortress garrison.
The central place of the exhibition is occupied by a large-scale model of the Ladoga fortress at the end of the XVI century, with five reconstructed towers and spinning wheels.
In addition, the exhibition of the Gate Tower complements the story of the Viking age: a large exhibition block is dedicated to the early Medieval Ladoga. The exhibition includes a map of the ancient trade routes of the central part of Eastern Europe at the end of the VIII-X centuries. Special attention is paid to the unique burial complexes of Ancient Russia: the Volkhov Hills and the Scandinavian burial mound in the Plakun tract. The section devoted to the culture of the mounds of the South-eastern Ladoga region is presented. Copies and archaeological finds of weapons, jewelry, beads, and household items are displayed.
Continuation of the exhibition on the third battle (floor) The gate tower opens with a map of medieval stone fortresses of Russia, showing the main armament of the Viking age vigilante (copies). The article presents a graphic reconstruction of the Ladoga stone fortress of 1114-1116 and a map of the Ladoga posad of the era of the developed Middle Ages, where monuments of stone monumental architecture of the XII century, as well as monasteries are marked.
A large and detailed section is devoted to the history of Ladoga in the Late Middle Ages and the Troubles.

In the interior of the church of Dmitry Solunsky, on the territory of the fortress, there is an exhibition " Churches of Saints George and Dmitry Solunsky. History, murals»
The first part of the exhibition, presented with images and photographic materials of different times, is devoted to the history of the temples on the territory of the Ladoga fortress. Among the exhibits of this section, a large wrought-iron lock with a key to the church of St. Dmitry of Solunsky attracts attention.
The main part of the exhibition is a fresco painting of the Church of St. George. Here are samples of building materials, photographs of preserved interior frescoes and fragments of wall paintings collected during the work of the Old Ladoga archaeological expedition of the IIMK RAS. The exhibition also partly presents the accumulated experience of working with destroyed wall paintings, the program of which is unknown to us. The audience is offered options for possible reconstructions, scientifically justified in the monograph of the author of the exhibition Boris Grigoryevich Vasiliev " Wall painting of the Church of St. George of the XII century in Staraya Ladoga. The experience of virtual reconstruction", as well as in numerous scientific articles on the topic.

The exhibition "Frescoes of the Church of St. George of the XII century" is a rare opportunity to see a wall painting of the XII century in the interior of the Church of St. George. The exhibition is available from May 1 to October 1 under acceptable weather conditions.

Staraya (Old) Ladoga is the most ancient settlement of the north-west part of Russia. Staraya Ladoga (just Ladoga till 1704) was founded in the middle of the 8th century on the left bank of the Volkhov river - an important part of the Early Medieval trade routs . It was a reach and large trade, crafts, and military centre of the Viking age. Over the centuries, the ancient settlement has lived through many misfortunes but managed to save its precious historical monuments. You will see the viking burial mounds, the fragments of ancient fortresses of the 9th, 12th and 16th centuries, stone churches with amazing fresco paintings of the 12th century. Breathtaking views of the ancient settlement and the great deep Volkhov river are completed with reach archaeological exhibitions. Over 3 500 artefacts of the 11 000 BC - 1100 AD will show you the real History! Excursions in English are available.

The idea of creating a museum in Staraya Ladoga arose at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, after another surge of interest in national history, associated with the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Russia, and then the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.

However, interest in the antiquities of Staraya Ladoga arose at the beginning of the XVIII century. Then some archaeological excavations were carried out. These studies were soon forgotten, but the romantic ruins of the Old Ladoga Fortress at the end of the XVIII century attracted the attention of the artistic and later scientific community. In the middle of the XIX century, monuments of ancient Russian church architecture were discovered in Ladoga with a unique fresco painting. In the second half of this century, the prehistoric antiquities in the area of Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega were studied by Professor A. A. of St. Petersburg University. Foreigners. In the 80s of the XIX century, the expedition of N. E. Brandenburg worked in the Old Ladoga Fortress, on the surrounding medieval funerary monuments and on the foundations of old Russian churches. The result of the research was the monograph "Staraya Ladoga" published in 1896. During the work of 1909 – 1913, N. I. Repnikov discovered a unique archaeological cultural layer on the Earthen Settlement. The study of Ladoga antiquities has been carried out throughout the past century and continues to this day.

All these works had a serious public response. Already at the beginning of the XX century, the need to create an institution for the registration, description and protection of monuments in Staraya Ladoga was recognized. Eminent citizens of Novoladozhsky uyezd took measures for the revival of Ladoga churches and the organization of a number of cultural and educational institutions. The events of the First World War and the revolution of 1917 did not allow these plans to be implemented.

Under the Soviet regime, the supervision of the complex of architectural monuments of Staraya Ladoga was entrusted to the Management of the Novgorod State Museums, the Leningrad State University, the Department of Architecture of the Leningrad Executive Committee, and only in 1966 it was decided to create a network of museums in the cities of the Leningrad region, which included Staraya Ladoga. The first full-fledged exhibition of the Old Ladoga Museum opened in the Gate Tower of the fortress on July 15, 1971. From this date, its new history began. Thirteen years later, in 1984, the museum in Staraya Ladoga received the status of a historical, architectural and archaeological museum-reserve, which includes more than 130 objects of cultural heritage: monuments of archeology, architecture, history, and monumental painting.

The museum is located in one of the oldest cities in the country - in Staraya Ladoga, which in 2020 turned 1167 years old! The oldest building discovered by archaeologists was dated to 753. An ancient trading town, the port city has been preserved within its medieval borders. You can wander through the quiet streets along the river, which saw the Rurik; admire the expanse of gray from Volkhov Nicholas monastery, which was founded by Alexander Nevsky; to get into the fortress and pechura to peep out the porthole, presenting himself Ladoga Archer in the time of Troubles; to reach the natural boundary of the Hill and see Oleg's grave-who knows, maybe Ladoga really became the last resting place of the famous warrior.