Among the huge number of educational institutions in St. Petersburg there is a university that teaches mining. It's called the Mining Institute. And for many years now, the mining museum has been working with him, willingly opening its doors not only for students of the institute, but also for everyone who wants to see its exhibits. What kind of collection is gathered in the museum, what is its history and how to get into it, we will find out further.
History of the Mining Institute
Before talking about the Mining Museum of St. Petersburg, let's briefly, very quickly go over the milestones in the history of the institute of the same name, because both are interconnected.
On its official website it is indicated that this is the first technical educational institution in Russia (of course, the highest), which was founded thanks to the decree of Empress Catherine the Great in 1773. It was supposed to become the embodiment of the ideas of Peter the Great and Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, as well as to train engineering personnel in order to develop the mining business. SoThus, the history of the Mining University is more than two centuries old.
Of course, at first this institution was not a university, but a college. Its first graduation consisted of only 19 people, but by the end of the eighteenth century, more than a hundred students were gnawing at the granite of science in the mining school. In 1804, the mining school became the Mining Cadet Corps, and from 1834 - the Institute of Mining Engineers Corps. Then it was a higher educational institution of a closed type, partly similar to military cadet schools. This continued until the mid-sixties of the nineteenth century. In 1866, the aforementioned educational institution became known as the Mining Institute.
After the Revolution of 1917, the prefix Petrogradsky was added to the institute, and in 1924 it was replaced with Leningradsky. The Leningrad Mining Institute trained personnel for the geology of mining and metallurgy, being a polytechnic institute. In the post-war years, the workload at the Mining Institute increased, as did the number of students. There are more scientific papers, more research. By the beginning of this century, the graduation of engineers from the Mining University exceeded 40 thousand people. It was at the Mining Institute that many scientists, now known to the whole world, studied, academician Karpinsky - geologist-encyclopedist, Obruchev - geologist and writer, Efremov - paleontologist, science fiction writer, and so on.
History of the Mining Museum of St. Petersburg
The museum at the aforementioned institute began its work immediately, as soon as the institute, or rather the school, opened its doors infirst time. The museum's collection - then still small - became the very base on the basis of which the school got the opportunity to function and has continued to be so for more than two centuries. Nevertheless, remember how it all began…
Origins
And it all started with a tiny method room, in which a collection of minerals was organized so that students could study rocks from them. For several years, the methodical cabinet remained as such, but by 1791, through the efforts of many who were not indifferent, including the imperial family, it received the status of a museum. Since then, the number of exhibits in the museum has been steadily growing. And since 1996, it has been included in the list of especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of our country.
Design
The appearance of the Mining University Museum in St. Petersburg to this day is largely the same as it was almost two centuries ago. This is also the merit of the restorers, who were able to recreate the unpreserved details of the interior with virtually no changes. And it was created in the days of Alexander the First!
Restoration work in the Mining Museum was carried out several times, the last time - quite recently, in 2016, thanks to the initiative of the current head of the university. Repairs were made in the halls, both worn-out exhibits and old furniture were "revived". Today, everything is brand new again, moreover, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the exposition in the previously closed Cadet Hall.
More details about the halls and expositions of the museum will be described below,for now, let's just say a few words about how he survived the Great Patriotic War.
1941-1945
During the difficult years of the war and the long blockade of Leningrad, valuable exhibits of the museum could not remain in the besieged city. Although with great difficulty, however, it was possible to bring to the then Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) items from the collection, representing the greatest rarity and uniqueness. Also, especially expensive exhibits left Leningrad: diamonds, gold nuggets, platinum, and so on. Everything else was carefully tidied up and hidden in the cellars of the Mining Institute. It worked out. When the blockade was lifted, all exhibits returned home to the Mining Museum of the Mining Institute of St. Petersburg.
Halls of the museum
There are twenty-one rooms in the unique museum of St. Petersburg. How surprised those who thought that this museum was so small! Let's run through all the halls and see what's on display.
Hall 1 - exhibition hall
This hall of the Mining Museum presents to the attention of visitors exhibits donated to the institution by prominent people: various figures, famous collectors and even representatives of the imperial family. Truly unique exhibits are collected here, for example, products of the famous Faberge company or gold and platinum nuggets, rare agates and amethysts from Brazil or Ural stones, as well as a transparent Ural beryl crystal presented to the museum by Nicholas the First. There is something to see here, however, as in other halls of the mining museum.
Hall 2 "General mineralogy"
Hereminerals are located, an unsurpassed collection, which includes more than 50 thousand samples. These are exhibits collected from all over the world in order to demonstrate to students and not only what the science of mineralogy is. A collection of natural crystals, a quartz crystal weighing 500 kilograms from the Urals - this is not all the amazing samples that can be seen in this hall of the museum.
Hall 3 – Malachite
I immediately remember Pavel Bazhov's "Malachite Box". In the middle of the hall, visitors are greeted by a huge malachite block, which was granted to the mining museum by Catherine the Great herself. This is one of the most beautiful rooms in the whole museum, and it introduces the systematic collection of minerals.
Hall 4 "Orthosilicates"
The unusual name of this hall only means that it contains the most common minerals that make up more than 75 percent of the earth's crust. Here you can see samples of zircons and garnets, pyropes and many other representatives of the famous Ural mines.
Hall 5 - columned
The hall is named so, as you might guess, because of the large number of columns in it. Its appearance has remained the same as it was two hundred years ago.
There are systematic minerals in the hall - a continuation of the collection of carbonates, phosphates, Russian topazes and so on.
Hall 6 "Mineralogy of deposits"
In this hall of the Mining Museum of St. Petersburg, you can find exhibits from various deposits that have already become classic. There are collections from Slyudyanka, Murzinka, the Subpolar Urals and similar places significant for mining.
Hall 7 "Stone art"
A rich collection of products awaits visitors in hall number seven. Samples of lapis lazuli, rock crystal, agate, marble, amethyst, gypsum and many other stones will please the eye of everyone who comes there on an excursion. Also in the hall is a permanent exhibition of landscape stones, that is, stones whose appearance resembles landscapes.
Room 7a - Cadets
This brand new room has chairs and all the necessary equipment for various lectures and conferences. Science films are shown here, thematic exhibitions are shown regarding the evolution of the Earth, the structure of its interior, and so on. Also in this room is a collection of oil and oil products originally from Baku, previously it belonged to Alexander the Third.
Hall 8 "Mining equipment"
Here you can get acquainted with models of mining, mining and metallurgical equipment that was used in mining in different periods throughout these two centuries.
This collection began to be assembled so that students could better master the new technique. Samples were made both at Russian factories and came from abroad.
Hall 9 "Art casting"
In the hall you can see metal exhibits: cast iron, bronze sculpture, Zlatoust steel and other beautifulsamples are shown to everyone. The collection began in the eighteenth century, but the nineteenth century brought its most extensive replenishment.
Room number ten is the conference room. We will not dwell on it and will go straight to the next one.
Hall 11 "Quaternary geology"
The exposition of this hall tells about the history of the shortest period in geology - the Quaternary. This is the time when man appeared.
Hall 12 "Historical Geology"
The history of geology - that's what the exhibits of the twelfth hall tell about. Minerals, stones, fauna and flora, as well as stands and paintings give an idea of the periods of geology.
Other halls
We will tell you more briefly about the following halls. In the thirteenth, you can see collections of vertebrates of all classes, including the skeletons of ancient representatives of the fauna. The fourteenth hall is a room for the youngest visitors, which has multimedia equipment that allows you to conduct various special programs for children. The fifteenth hall of the Mining Museum demonstrates meteorites - iron, stone and iron-stone. And in the sixteenth, you can see exhibits that tell about the structure of the Earth and about its study (glaciers, karsts, tectonic plates, rivers and lakes - all this is here). Minerals of various types are located in the seventeenth hall, while hall number eighteen contains expositions that tell about the geology of St. Petersburg and the region. In particular, it is interesting in that it presents the stones from which the mostfamous sculptures of the city on the Neva, as well as metro stations. Hall nineteen is a hall, but there are also exhibits in it: large hand-made samples. As for the twentieth, last, hall, it is called "Petralogy" and contains samples of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks from various regions of our country and abroad.
Some inattentive readers could reproach us: it was said about twenty-one halls, but only twenty of them were named! However, the twenty-first was also named - this is Hall 7a, opened three years ago.
Next, we will tell you about the mode in which the St. Petersburg Mining Museum receives its visitors, as well as at what address it is located and how to get there.
Working hours
The working hours of the Mining Museum are as follows: from Monday to Thursday - from 9 am to 5 pm, on Friday the museum closes an hour earlier. These days, that is, on weekdays, group tours are held in the museum (that is, they lead organizational groups of students, schoolchildren, and so on). You must pre-register, it is advisable to submit an application at least a month before the expected date.
On Saturdays there are guided tours for individual visitors. Their start is at eleven in the morning and at one in the afternoon. However, you can’t just come - you need to call the mining museum in advance and sign up (you can call all week before the desired Saturday). Groups of 25 people are recruited - both times. Sunday is a day off.
All you needinformation can be clarified by calling the museum. They are listed on the official website of the Mining Institute in the section dedicated to the Mining Museum.
How to find
The address of the Mining Museum, surprisingly, coincides with the address of the university itself - Vasilyevsky Island, twenty-first line, house number two.
It is not difficult to get to the institute with the museum: you need to get off at the Vasileostrovskaya metro station and take either buses No. 1, 128 and 152 or minibuses No. 309 and 359. The entrance to the museum is located from the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment.
Reviews
Visitors of the Mining Museum at the Mining Institute of St. Petersburg note both the advantages and disadvantages of this museum. Among the advantages are the most interesting collections, the stunning beauty of the halls, amazing interiors, a large number of exhibits. They also speak positively about the work of guides, noting an interesting, lively, colorful story. But among the minuses is an entry to the museum and the inability to get into it just like that. People also complain about the ban on photographing the collections.
This is the information about the Mining Museum of St. Petersburg. And it's one of those must-see places in this glorious city!
