The Museum of History and Art is located in the historical town of Solvychegodsk. In the 16th — 17th centuries, this town was the capital of the business empire of the famous Stroganov merchants as well as a major industrial, commercial, and cultural center of the Russian North.
The Solvychegodsk Museum was established on May 1, 1919 and organized at the Annunciation Cathedral, the former family church of the Stroganovs. The treasures from the cathedral’s sacristy formed the basis of the museum collection. The museum was set up upon the decision of the Solvychegodsk Uyezd Sub-Department for Museums and Protection of Art and Antiquities. The head of the sub-department was Ilya Ivanovich Tomsky. He became the initiator, organizer, and the first director of the Solvychegodsk Museum.
Currently, the Solvychegodsk Museum-Reserve includes four unique branches: the Annunciation Cathedral Exhibition Complex, the House of the Khaminov Merchants Exhibition Complex, the Political Exile Museum, and the Workshop of Folk Crafts Ethnographic Complex.