There is such an amazing place, visiting which, again you begin to believe in a fairy tale. Nothing special seems to be happening. You just know where the magic lives. Children also like this place, because their favorite characters live here. For a child to come here means to be a living participant in an amazing story, which will then be seen in colored dreams for a long time to come. What is this magical place and how hard is it to find the way to it? It's just a puppet museum. And finding it in St. Petersburg is easy.
History Pages
The kindest and most hospitable museum in St. Petersburg opened in 1998. Then its exhibits were taken from several collections of citizens who are not indifferent to dolls. The exposition expanded over time: ancient dolls found during excavations were delivered to the museum, city craftsmen and art students presented their works. To date, the Puppet Museum in St. Petersburg has collected more than 40,000 exhibits under its roof.
Which dolls live in the museum?
Inhabitants of this amazing museumreally different. There are old and modern dolls, play and interior dolls, traditional and the most unusual ones. That is why you can come here with your family and with adult friends - it will be interesting in any company.
By the way, there is one mysterious room in this museum, where only adults are allowed. This is the hall of frivolous dolls. Agree, this is already interesting: not every puppet museum can boast of such a “zest”.
More about the exposition
The museum has eight themed rooms. The exhibits in them are exhibited for a reason, their arrangement is not haphazard. They are grouped to participate in theatrical scenes that show the viewer fragments of history, real life or fairy tales.
The acquaintance with the exhibition begins with a hall in which dolls in national costumes show how the holidays were held in Russia, what folk traditions and rituals were. Here you can see how they celebrated Christmas, how they told fortunes at Christmas time and how they met the night on Ivan Kupala. In addition, whole doll families live here, large and friendly.
In the fairy tale hall, guests will meet with the heroes of Russian and foreign fairy tales, both folk and author's. The exposition is organized in such a way that the dolls are arranged as if in a spiral. Thus, the viewer is immersed in the fairy tale deeper and deeper.
The Forest Kingdom Hall is a place where animals and mystical inhabitants of fairy tales and legends gathered. The play of light and shadow creates corners of the sunbirch grove and dark impassable thicket. Good and not so good heroes coexist here. All of them are from different stories, but, nevertheless, they get along well together, so the hall looks very harmonious.
"Gone Russia" is an exposition of ritual dolls. They are made of straw and cloth, dressed in traditional folk costumes. They show how our ancestors lived. In the center of this exhibition is the symbolic Tree of Life as a symbol of everything pure and holy that people believed in, as well as the infinity of being.
“Pride and Glory of the Fatherland” is an exhibition that was temporary at first, but a few years ago the Puppet Museum in St. Petersburg opened it as a permanent one. Hero dolls and steadfast tin soldiers are presented here, portrait dolls of real heroes of historical battles.
The theater hall has sheltered dolls that have ever really participated in performances or were made by masters in a certain stylistic framework. Here are life-size puppets and puppets, shadow theater "actors" and finger soft toys that a small puppet museum in a kindergarten in any provincial town can so often keep as exhibits.
The hall of the interior doll demonstrates salon characters. These are theatrical puppets, and heroes of classical literature or fine arts. They are made of papier-mâché and textiles.
The Petersburg Perspective Gallery tells about the history of the glorious city on the Neva. Porcelain Romanovs, literary characters and heroes of our time live here: Evgeni Plushenko, NikolaiValuev and a simple intelligent grandmother.
And, of course, it is impossible not to mention the heroes who praise love and worship Eros. These are frivolous dolls from the exhibition hall of the same name. Probably, this is still one of the reasons why the St. Petersburg Museum is a museum of unique dolls. But, of course, its unusualness is not only in this.
Children's programs at the museum
This museum is primarily a children's museum of dolls. The abundance of programs for children in it is amazing.
First of all, you can celebrate your birthday here. Little guests get acquainted with dolls and even learn how to make them with their own hands. A meeting with a real hero of a fairy tale and a festive tea party are also offered. And the birthday man is also en titled to a souvenir as a gift from the museum.
Secondly, museum staff often conduct field trips. They come to visit schoolchildren, inmates of boarding schools and orphanages and talk about the museum, exhibitions and the history of dolls. Visiting workshops are also held, where kids are taught to make dolls with their own hands. In addition, the visiting program assumes that the audience will be able to see the mini-museum. Of course, not all dolls are represented in it, but such an exhibition is still very interesting.
And, thirdly, the museum hosts game quests for groups of young visitors.
Other holidays are also celebrated here: family events, contests and themed games, etc.
What else does the museum of unique dolls offer
On the second floor of the museumthere are real craft workshops. In one of them, colorful dolls in national costumes are born, in the other - secular characters. And you can take a look at the creation process if you come on a tour.
Excursions here are held both individual and group, in Russian and English, general and thematic. In addition, the puppet museum offers a unique program - a guided tour in verse. There is an opportunity here to download a simple application to your smartphone and listen to an audio guide tour.
The Museum conducts preferential excursions for children from large families.
About benefits
And there are really a lot of them here. Museum employees and pensioners who previously worked in them, journalists, writers and cultural figures, disabled people of the third group can enter the puppet museum with discount tickets.
In addition, free visits are practiced here for children under three years old, disabled children, orphans, large families (including both their parents), students of fine arts, war veterans and blockade survivors.
Monday is a free day at the museum. Schoolchildren, students and pensioners can come to the exhibition for free.
Agree, such an abundance of discounts is impressive. Not every museum cares so much about its visitors.
Pricing policy
A ticket for one adult in the museum costs 300 rubles, for schoolchildren, students and pensioners half as much - 150 rubles. Ticket for children from 3 years old(preschoolers) costs 100 rubles.
Preferential admission also takes place at a ticket price of 100 rubles.
How to get to the museum
The exposition of the most beautiful dolls can be seen at the address: Kamskaya street, house 8. You can get there by taxi from the Vasileostrovskaya metro station. Museum opening hours: from 10 am to 6 pm, seven days a week.
And finally
No matter how far from childhood, fairy tales and magic you feel, this museum can interest you, and its visit will not leave you indifferent. Even if you just go in, admire the doll faces, look at the outfits and take a look at the situations in which these little heroes live day after day, you will no longer be able to treat the dolls with indifference. You will be imbued with a special atmosphere of magic and, perhaps, as in childhood, believe that dolls come to life at night.
Leave a small note in your diary "visit the St. Petersburg Doll Museum", find a day in your work schedule and boldly go to a meeting with a fairy tale.
