The plant-museum of the history of mining equipment is a unique complex where the history of the development of the metallurgical industry has been preserved since the time of the famous Demidov family. On one site you can see what factories looked like at the dawn of their appearance, how they extracted energy to operate machines with the help of water, and what changes occurred with the advent of electricity.
Demidov Metallurgy
The plant-museum of the history of mining equipment in Nizhny Tagil is considered the hallmark of the city and one of the most unusual sights. There is no such industrial complex anywhere else in the world. Today the museum is part of the unique Gornozavodskoy Ural reserve.
Having moved to the Urals, the Demidovs actively took up the development of metallurgy, supplying the army with the necessary weapons. In 1715, cannons and cannonballs produced by Demidov began to be supplied to the Admir alty, and from the following year, buyers were found abroad. The first Tagil plant was builtAkinfiy Demidov in 1722, and in 1725 an enterprise was launched in Nizhny Tagil, it became the largest metallurgical plant in Russia.
Metal from the Demidov factories was valued as highly as Russian sable fur. Wishing to emphasize the quality of products, the owners put the brand "Old Sable" on the products of their factories. Throughout the XVIII century, the plant in Nizhny Tagil was included in the list of the largest enterprises in Europe. The industrial revolution forced the owners to upgrade their technological processes twice, the last one was carried out at the beginning of the 20th century.
In the 20th century
After nationalization, the plant received the name of Kuibyshev. During the Great Patriotic War, the plant produced products for the needs of the front. Since the middle of the 20th century, the enterprise has practically lost its industrial significance, and the plant was completely shut down in 1987. By this time, the territory of the enterprise was in the very center of the city, it was impossible to expand the territory, and industrial emissions violated all possible environmental standards.
The Demidov plant in Nizhny Tagil has been working properly for 262 years, which is a kind of record. All other enterprises founded around the same time ceased their activities after two or three decades. After the closure of the plant, it was planned to completely clean up the territory, demolishing the buildings, and handing over the equipment for recycling. Fortunately, the city authorities decided to transfer him to theReserve "Gornozavodskoy Ural".
Description
The plant-museum of the history of mining equipment in Nizhny Tagil was established in 1989. At the present stage, the industrial space is dedicated to the history of the development of metallurgy as an industry. The uniqueness of the collection lies in the fact that in one area you can trace the main periods of development of ferrous metallurgy enterprises, which have gone from using the energy of falling water to working on steam engines and switching to using electricity. In addition, the plant-museum is an example of a classic Ural enterprise.
More than 400 exhibits have been collected on the territory of the plant-museum of the history of mining equipment. There are six expositions and three permanent exhibitions. Of greatest interest, from the point of view of history, are expositions covering blast-furnace and open-hearth production, and the energy sector. An equally important section of the open-air museum is the company's hydraulic system, which consists of a pond, a dam with a dam, a lock and a water outlet - this system is still functioning.
The blast-furnace, open-hearth, rolling and forging shops have been preserved in good condition. Many buildings on the territory of the plant-museum of the history of mining equipment are more than 150 years old from the moment of construction and are considered monuments of industrial architecture. Today, the museum site presents equipment from different centuries, which gives a complete picture of the stages of modernization in the industry.
Tours
Officially you can get on an excursion to the plant-museum of the history of mining equipment in the warm season. In order for the tour to be informative, a preliminary order for visiting the exposition as part of a group of 10-15 people is required. Children under the age of 14 are allowed in the museum accompanied by an adult. During the tour, the specialist tells about the history of the Demidov family, as well as about each object and building of the complex. The cost of the tour is from 250 rubles for schoolchildren to 600 rubles for adults.
If a tourist is interested in general impressions, then local residents are advised to inspect some of the exposition objects from a pedestrian bridge, which is called "humped". It is laid over the territory of the museum complex, from which the tourist has a view of production facilities and workshops, mechanisms, machines, a railway line and much more.
Some of the objects are accessible for inspection from the side of the dam, from here the rolling and blast furnace shops are perfectly visible, the rolling stock is clearly visible, and the Dam Equipment stand can be touched and bypassed from all sides. The only and significant disadvantage of such an inspection will be the complete absence of the necessary information. Most of the exhibits are not provided with information materials, therefore, apart from aesthetic pleasure, there will be no benefit from such an excursion. In addition, a lot of interesting things are hidden behind the walls of premises and workshops, you can get there only accompanied by a guide.
Useful information
The former Demidov plant in Nizhny Tagil is located onaddress: Leni Avenue, building 1.
The opening hours of the plant-museum of the history of mining equipment depend on the period of the year. Since in winter the temperature here drops to -35 degrees Celsius, it is not possible to spend a lot of time on excursions. The exposition is available for tourists from May 1 to September 30 from 10:00 to 17:00 on all days of the week except Monday (day off). You can get to the place by tram (No. 1, 12, 15, 3 or 17), bus (No. 104, 3 or 8), as well as fixed-route taxis (No. 16, 43, 49, 32 or 26).
The Gornozavodskoy Ural reserve, in addition to the plant-museum, includes 9 more cultural objects and a depository. The museums of Nizhny Tagil are open to everyone, each of them has a rich thematic collection of rarities, informative excursions, educational programs for children and adults, and research activities.
