The museum "House of Merchant Stepan Vagin" is located in the city center on the Borisoglebsk side. It recreates the interiors of a merchant`s house of the 19th century. On the first floor, there was a shop, and on the second floor, there were living rooms.
The house of the merchant Vagin in Tuayev is preserved in its original form. Its layout and interiors have also remained unchanged. This makes it possible to feel the atmosphere of merchant life when Tutaev was a prosperous city.
Borisoglebsky fishermen delivered fish to the royal palace. On the Romanov side, there were many blacksmith shops, as well as workshops where one-pair ships were made. With the development of industry in Tutaev, a class of merchants was formed, who traded not only in the Volga cities, but also throughout Central Russia.
Two Romanov sheep live on the plot of the Merchant Vagin`s House. There are many legends about the appearance of this famous breed of sheep. One of them tells that they began to grow Tatars, who settled in Romanov Ivan the Terrible. According to another legend, the beauty of the Tutaev landscapes reminded Tsar Peter I of Switzerland, and he ordered the Swiss sheep to be brought here for breeding. However, a more realistic version is that the Romanov breed of sheep was raised directly in these places at the end of the 18th century.
