The main exposition of the Sergiev Posad City Museum is located in the Horse Yard. The rectangular building of the Stable Yard in the form of a square was built at the end of the 18th century. A complex reconstructed in the 19th century with two towers on the sides of the entrance has survived to this day. Two more expositions are located in the Sacristy of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and in the Museum of Local Lore.
The Trinity-Sergius Lavra for centuries had many motochions and several hundred horses in different horse yards. In 1764, Empress Catherine II signed a decree on the secularization (confiscation) of church lands. After that, the Lavra did not need the maintenance of numerous horse yards, and the abbot decided to build one large Horse Yard near the entrance to the monastery.
In the Sergiev Posad City Museum you can see several expositions. The exposition "The World of the Russian Village" is located in four halls of the main building of the Horse Yard. Here you can see not only the products of village artisans, but also elements of the roofs of houses and doors with carved facades. The interiors of village houses are of great interest.
The Sergiev Posad Museum has a large exposition dedicated to ethnography and customs. There is a collection dedicated to wedding ceremonies, as well as the tradition of collecting dowry before the wedding. There are many rustic costumes and hats in the museum. A separate exhibition is dedicated to the collection of dishes and spinning wheels.
In other halls of the museum there are expositions: Russian Russian Matryoshka Museum", "The Ancient Past of Sergiev Posad Region", "Russian Decorative and Applied Art", "Russian Matryoshka Museum". Considering the location near the walls of the Lavra, most of the Sergiev Posad City Museum is devoted to the history of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra from its foundation in the 14th century to the present day.
