Old Vladimir Museum

The Old Vladimir exposition is located not far from the Golden Gate in the building of the former water tower. Built in 1912, the tower has long outlived its purpose. The exposition is a fascinating journey into the city at the turn of the 20th century. It shows the everyday life of the city in all its glory, recreating the atmosphere of the old Vladimir, a city of common people, public officers, and merchants. To really bring the flavour of the period to life, we've recreated the interiors of a room in the house of a wealthy citizen, a church shop, a police station, a tavern with a traditional samovar, painted trays, numerous corkscrews and decanters. Instead of explanatory texts, there are authentic extracts from books, newspapers and magazines from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are more than 800 objects on display. There are fascinating pieces of furniture, a telephone from the early 1900s, a pram, a film projector, a sewing machine, school materials, a dish – a gift from the Vladimir nobility to Nicholas II – photographs of views of the city and its citizens, commercial advertisements, documents on the activities of the City Duma and much more! The exposition is spread across three floors. The central display cases of the main halls form a kind of vertical connecting axis in the spatial solution of the exposition.