The Vitebsk Regional History Museum (russian: Витебский областной краеведческий музей) is a museum in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

History

Its history begins in the 19th Century, when in 1868 the city opened its first museum in through the Governmental Statistics Committee. In 1918 the Vitebsk Governmental Museum was created through the donations of the private collection of A. Brodovskiy. In 1924 the Vitebsk Department Belgos museum opened, aggregating the previous collections of the Church Archeology Museum, the Vitebsk Archival Commission's Museum, the History Museum of Vitebsk Statistics Committee, and the private collections of V. Fedorovich and A. Brodovski. Also in 1924, it moved to its current location in the city hall, whose 18th century architecture is a symbol of Vitebsk.

Exhibits

The museum contains over 200000 items, among them exhibits such as:

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

s of the 18th century; books of the 17th and 18th centuries; weapons from the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

; a collection of local embroidery from the 18th and 19th centuries; as well as many materials from the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Also of interest the collections of

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

, of ancient weapons, and masonic items. In the art section there are works

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

Isaac Levitan Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape". Life and work Youth Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kibarty ...

Ivan Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ши́шкин; 25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898) was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement. Biography Shishkin was born to a Russian me ...

, Ivan Khrutski, Makovski,

Yehuda Pen Yehuda Pen, also known as Yuri Pen ( yi, יודל פּען – ''Yudl Pen''; 5 June 1854 – 1 March 1937), was a Russian and Soviet Jewish painter and art teacher. He was a major figure of the Jewish Renaissance in Russian and Belarusian art at ...

as well as modern Vitebsk artists. Aside from the main museum in the city hall, the museum also includes artistic and literary affiliates, as well as museums of private collections, Ilya Repin's Zdravnevo Manor museum, and an exposition in the former

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

prison dedicated to Vitebsk's patriots.

Literary museum

The literary museum includes exhibitions of ancient illustrations and books, as well as letters, photographs, portraits, and possessions of various authors. Also exhibited are local legends, as well as known writers whose lives and creativity were connected with Vitebsk.

Vitebsk patriots museum

The Vitebsk patriots museum is located in the cellars of the former Nazi Sicherheitsdienst prison, which was in operation between 1941 and 1944. The photographic documentary and materials tell of Vitebsk in the period of occupation, and the patriots tortured there (such as

Vera Khoruzhaya Vera Kharuzhaya ( be, Вера Харужая, russian: Ве́ра Заха́ровна Хору́жая, pl, Wiera Charuża, 27 September 1903 – November 1942) was a Belarusian Communist writer, school teacher and activist from the Soviet Uni ...

The museum of private collections

This museum includes private collections such as Belarusian coins, Russian medals, Soviet memorial medals, as well as awards of various countries.

"Zdravnevo" Manor museum

"Zdravnevo" Manor museum exhibits the life and art of

who, between 1892 and 1902, conducted summer seasons in the country manor "Zdravnevo". Inside the manor are reproductions of paintings by the artist, as well as letters, documents, and a few original specimens belonging to his family.

Artistic museum

The Artistic museum displays a unique and diversified collection consisting of more 7000 exhibits. Included are collections of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s, sketches, and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s of popular and decorative art. The pride of museum are works of Yehuda Pen, the first teacher of

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

References

* Shishanov V.A. ''Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art: a history of creation and a collection''. 1918-1941. - Minsk: Medisont, 2007. - 144 p.

* 90 год Віцебскаму абласному краязнаўчаму музею: матэрыялы навук канф., Віцебск, 30-31 кастр. 2008 г. / рэдкал.: Г.У. Савіцкі � інш. – Мінск: Медысонт, 2009.

External links

* http://ratusha.by — Official site * This article was translated from the Russian Wikipedia's corresponding article {{authority control Museums in Vitebsk History museums in Belarus Art museums and galleries in Belarus Literary museums in Belarus