Central Naval Museum (russian: Центральный военно-морской музей) is a naval museum in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. It is one of the first museums in Russia and one of the world’s largest naval museums, with a large collection of artefacts, models and paintings reflecting the development of Russian naval traditions and the history of the Russian Navy. The museum’s permanent display includes such relics as the ''Botik'' of Peter the Great,

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

’s marine throne, trophies captured in sea battles, and the personal belongings of prominent Russian and Soviet naval commanders. The collection includes paintings by

Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (russian: link=no, Иван Константинович Айвазовский; 29 July 18172 May 1900) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized ...

Alexey Bogolyubov Alexey Petrovich Bogolyubov (russian: Алексей Петрович Боголюбов; 16 March 1824 – 3 February 1896) was a Russian landscape painter. Biography Bogolyubov was born in the Pomeranie village of Novgorod Gubernia. His fa ...

Lev Lagorio Lev Feliksovich Lagorio (Russian: Лев Феликсович Лагорио; 9 December 1826, Feodosia - 17 November 1905, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian painter and watercolorist, known primarily for his seascapes and maritime scenes. He was ...

and other

marine artists Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, ship sculpture, navigational instruments, naval equipment and machinery from the 17th to 20th centuries and numerous models of ships. The main exposition consists of nineteen halls. There is a complex of six museum halls for exhibitions.

History

Imperial era

The museum originates from the St. Petersburg Model Chamber, used to store models and drawings related to

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

. The Model Chamber was first mentioned in records on 24 January 1709, the date now used as the birthday of the museum.

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

, who at the time was with his army in the Ukraine, sent instructions to

Alexander Kikin Alexander Vasilievich Kikin (Александр Васильевич Кикин; ca. 1670-1718) was a political mentor and advisor to Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia; accused of having arranged the flight abroad of the latter, Kikin was broke ...

, reading : “Take the Model Chamber out of my house and place it by the shipyard, wherever a proper place is available …”. The Model Chamber was located in the Main Admiralty, where ships of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

were built. The Model Chamber's collection became the basis for a "Maritime Museum", which was created in 1805. By the end of the nineteenth century the Maritime Museum had become a significant Russian cultural and scientific centre, known throughout the world.

Soviet era

In August 1939 the Central Naval Museum was relocated to the Stock Exchange building. It opened in its new location in February 1941, but its work was interrupted four months later by the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

and the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), an ...

The museum today

The museum supports business relationships and organizes joint exhibitions with dozens of Russian and foreign museums.

Gallery

File:CruiserKirov.JPG, Model of cruiser ''Kirov'' File:NaziColours.jpg, Flags of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, captured by the Soviet troops File:HovercraftModel.jpg, Hovercraft model File:Flag of the Tsar of Moscow 1693.jpg, 1693Flag of Tsar of Moscow
flag of Tsar of Russia, the oldest surviving Russian flag.

References

External links

Official site of the Museum
{{Authority control 1709 establishments in Russia Museums established in 1709 Maritime museums in Saint Petersburg Military and war museums in Saint Petersburg Russian Navy Soviet Navy Naval history of Russia