Peter I Museums

Peter I is one of the greatest Russian tsars. There are many Peter I Museums in Russia. In this review on the online travel guide Geomerid you can read about the museums of Peter I, which are located in various cities:

1. Peter I Museum in Izmailovo
2. Peter I's boat in Pereslavl-Zalessky
3. Peter I House in St. Petersburg
4. Summer Palace in St. Petersburg
5. Peter I's House in Kolomenskoye
6. Goto Ship Predestination
8. Peter the Great's Traveling Palace in Strelna
9. Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof
10. Monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg

Peter I Museum in Izmailovo

Within a walking distance from the Izmailovo Kremlin is a quiet island where you can see the tsar`s estate of Izmailovo. Ivan the Terrible gave these lands to Nikita Romanovich Zhakaryin-Yuryev, a brother of his first wife Anastasia Romanovna. He is considered the founder of the Romanov dynasty. 

The sons of Nikita Romanovich were already the Romanovs. The elder son Fyodor Nikitich became the Russian patriarch Filaret. The Izmailovo estate was inherited by the younger son Ivan Nikitich Romanov, nicknamed «Kasha», an uncle of Mikhail Romanov, who became the first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov in 1613.

The son of Alexei Mikhailovich, the future Tsar and Emperor Peter I, was very fond of the Izmailovo Estate. It was there that he conducted the manoeuvres of his «toy army» in the 80th of 17 century. The «toy army» was organized into the Preobrazhensky and the Semenovsky Companies (later Regiments) and became the beginnings of the Russian Imperial Guard. The fun battles of small boats were also held on the Serebryany pond. Thanks to this Izmailovo was called the «cradle of Russian fleet».

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Museum Peter I's boat in Pereslavl

The Botik of Peter the Great Museum Estate is one of the oldest museums outside the capital cities of Russia. It was created by I. M. Dolgorukov, the governor of Vladimir province, in 1803. Its main exhibit is the original boat of the «toy fleet» Peter the Great used to learn to sail on waters near Moscow.

At the beginning of the 18 century, in the reign of Peter I, Russia still had no outlets to the sea, which slowed down its development. And the Russian merchants had to trade only through the port of Arkhangelsk, which was unavailable for the most part of the year.

Understanding the imminence of a war with Sweden for the access to the Baltic Sea Peter I decided to create the so-called «funny flotilla» (training fleet) on Lake Pleshcheevo near Pereslavl-Zaleski in 1692. When the Northern War began in 1701, the sailors went to serve on the real warships based at Arkhangelsk port. The toy fleet consisting of more than a hundred big and boats was also preserved.

But, unfortunately, in 1783 the toy fleet was burnt during a big fire. Only the boat called «Fortune» survived as it was at a distance from the rest of the toy fleet. Today «Fortune» is over a three hundred years old, but the boat is in a very good condition. The monument in memory of Peter the Great was opened in 1852.

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Peter I House Museum in St. Petersburg

A small museum called Peter I House is on the Petrovskaya Naberezhnaya (Peter`s Embankment), not far from the Peter and Paul Fortress. It is a small wooden house within a larger brick building. It is the very first structure of St. Petersburg, which was built for three days for Peter the Great.

The construction of Peter I House was started on May 24 and finished on May 27 of 1703. After the house was finished a celebration in honor of the annexation of new lands and the foundation of a new city was organized. Eventually, St. Petersburg became the ceremonial capital of the Russian Empire, and May 27, 1703 is considered the date of its foundation. 

Originally, Peter I House was directly at the bridge to the Peter and Paul Fortress. It is from there that tsar supervised its construction. Later, in 1710, the Summer Palace was built on the left bank of the Neva. Peter the Great moved to the palace and the small house stood empty until 1731. 

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Summer Palace in St. Petersburg

The Summer Palace of Peter I is a modest two-story building in the Summer Garden. It does not look like true tsar palaces, as we see them in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, however, it has at least the same historical value, since the palace has remained intact since the time of Peter I. This is one of the oldest stone buildings in the city. Peter I began to build his own stone house in the Summer Garden only in 1708, and finished it in 1714. Peter himself drew the layout, and an architect Trezzini only put it into life.

The house had very thin walls and single-frame windows, so you could live in it only in summer. The layout of the floors is completely identical. Totally, there are 14 rooms in the house. Peter lived on the lower floor, and his wife Catherine occupied the upper floor. It is very interesting to see the interiors of that time in the Summer Palace of Peter the Great. Among the exhibits there are wooden items that were personally carved by Peter I. Of particular interest is the study of Peter I.

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Goto Ship Predestination

By the order of Peter the Great the construction of the Admiralty shipyard was started near the Voronezh fortress on the bank of the Voronezh River at the end of the 17th century. It is there at the Admiralty Square the formation of the Russian Navy began.

Peter I realized that it was necessary to fight with Sweden for the outlet to the Baltic Sea. But at the same time there remained the threat of a war with the Turkish Empire. He decided to strengthen the Azov Fleet with multi-gun ships to hold Turkey in check and prevent a war on two fronts. So, on October, 20 1696 the Boyar Duma took a decision about the state funded construction of the regular Russian Navy. Earlier, all such enterprises were usually funded by private companies.

The first St. Andrew`s flag was approved and made in Voronezh. Totally, in the period from 1696 through 1711 there were built 215 ships, which took part in the Azov campaigns, which resulted in the peace with Turkey and let Peter I begin a war with Sweden.

The Goto Predestinatsia (literally The Providence of God), which was reconstructed by the historical drawings, was moored there in 2014. It was the first Russian ship of the line and the first fourth rate ship created in Russia without the help of foreign specialists.

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Peter I House Museum in Vologda

The Peter I House Museum in Vologda is the oldest museum in the city. It was founded by the city authorities on May 30, 1872, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Tsar Peter I. The Peter I Museum is a small stone one-story house that has been preserved since the 17th century on the banks of the Vologda River.

Until the end of the Northern War in 1721 Vologda remained an important trading city on the navigable river of the Severodvinsk trade Route. In those years, all trade with Europe was carried out through the seaport of Arkhangelsk. Peter I understood the importance of building the northern fleet, and also paid great attention to the development of trade, so he visited Vologda 5 times. When he came to Vologda, he always stayed at the house of the Dutch merchant Goytman. 

The first time Peter I visited Vologda in 1692, when he was inspected Kubenskoe Lake. He wanted to organize a training base for the northern military fleet, but the lake was not suitable for these purposes. In 1693, Peter I stopped in Vologda on his way to Arkhangelsk. In 1694, Peter I also visited Vologda in preparation for the Northern War and supervised the work on the production of ropes. 

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Peter I's House museum in Kolomenskoye

At the heart of the Kolomenskoye Park, among the century-old oaks, one can see a log hut, which is the most valuable exhibit of the Museum of Wooden Architecture. It is the house where Tsar Peter I lived during the construction of the New Dvina fortress.

In 1702, when the House of Peter I, was built, Russia actively fought with Sweden for the outlet to the Baltic Sea. Then Arkhangelsk was the only trading town connecting Russia and Europe, and it was quite possible that Sweden could land its troops there. For that reason it was decided to build a strong (by the standards of that time) fortress on the bank of the main navigable branch of the river Northern Dvina.

The attack of the Swedish squadron against Arkhangelsk took place already in 1703 but was successfully repelled thanks to the New Dvina fortress. The House museum of Peter I was originally built from the local timber on the small river island of St. Mark. However, it was built without taking into account the severe northern climate. There are big windows and high ceilings. It has three separate rooms: dining-room, bedroom and work-room. 

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Travelling Palace of Peter I in Strelna

The Travelling Palace of Peter I is located in Strelna, a suburb of St. Petersburg. Tsar Peter I ordered the construction of a Travel palace in the middle of the road between the city center and Kronstadt, where a fortress was being built to protect the city from the sea. Peter's Travel Palace has been preserved to this day in its original form and now it houses a museum.

The Travelling Palace of Peter I in Strelna was built in 1711-1712. After the death of Peter I, no tsar spent the night in this palace. This was no longer necessary, since huge stone palaces were erected nearby: the Grand Palace in Peterhof and the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna.

However, already in the 18th century, Peter 's Travel Palace actually became the Museum of Peter I. Considering that it is wooden, the palace has been restored many times. The Travelling Palace of Peter the Great miraculously survived during the WWII, despite the fierce fighting in these places.

Now it houses a museum where you can see the interiors that have been preserved since the time of Peter I. Among the exhibits there is a lifetime portrait of Peter I, painted by his servant Ivan Balakirev, an impression of the emperor's hand, a patchwork quilt sewn personally by Peter I's wife Catherine.

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Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof

The Monplaisir Palace was a favorite residence of Peter the Great. It has at least the same historical value as the Grand Peterhof Palace. The construction of both palaces was started almost about the same time in 1714. However the Monplaisir Palace was built under Peter I and he actively used it. As for the Grand Palace, it was finished much later.

The project of the Monplaisir Palace, including interior finishing, was based on the drawings and sketches of Peter the Great. Peter I also chose the place for the palace as well as designed the surrounding park, with fountains and flowerbeds. 

Peter I often visited the palace. There were held various conferences, meetings and receptions at the Monplaisir Palace. At the palace there were also housed the collections of pictures and China porcelain gathered by Peter I himself. The largest room, the Great Hall, is in the center of the palace. It is a very beautiful example of Peter’s Baroque. 

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Kunstkamera museum in St.Petersburg

Almost immediately after the foundation of Petersburg, in 1718, the tsar Peter the Great wanted to create a museum in the new capital. Thus, the Kunstkamera appeared, which became the first museum in Russia. Today it is called Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

But surely, the Kunstkamera became famous not for its ethnography expositions. Almost everyone when mentioning «Kunstkamera» begin to recall the items from the room of the «early natural-science collections of Peter I», which the tsar Peter I began to collect during his first travels to Europe with the Grand Embassy of 1697 when he saw the oversea «rooms of oddities and curiosities».

On his return Peter the Great gave an order to either buy in Europe or create collections of «fishes, insects and reptiles in bottles». And in early 1716 Peter the Great even spent 15 000 guldens to buy for the museum a collection of the specimen of various exotic animals, fishes, reptiles and insects showing the variety of the fauna of the Earth from a Dutch pharmacist and collector Albertus Seba.

Even more actively there was created the «collection of monsters and monstrosities». For the most part, these were preserved in alcohol infants with various physical anomalies. The base of the collection was laid down in 1717, when Peter the Great bought for 30 thousand guldens two thousand anatomical exhibits of the collection of the anatomist Frederick Ruysch, which was known all over Europe.

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