The Museum of Russian Heritage was founded in the early 20th century and reopened its doors on October 6, 2022.
The museum was created on the personal initiative of Princess Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva. In her book “Impressions of My Life” she wrote, “Finally I could give myself up entirely to my passion — collecting Russian antiquities… Being passionately in love with Russian nature, I have always been a purely Russian person in my soul. Everything about my country touched and moved me deeply.“
The museum building was erected in 1905 according to the project of the artist and architect Sergey Vasilyevich Malyutin. A ceramic panel with the name of the museum — “Russian Heritage” — is mounted above the entrance.
The museum’s exhibition
includes objects of decorative and applied art of the West and East, products
of Russian folk crafts from various regions of Russia, as well as artifacts of
folk art and everyday life of the Smolensk Governorate.
