Baranovichy museum of local history
The museum in Baranovichy was established in October 1929 on the initiative of L. Tusrky as a facility of povet (district) subordination. In 1940, it was used as the basis of Baranovichy regional museum of visual art which was set up there. During the nazi occupation, the museum collections were plundered . In 1946, the museum was revivied as Baranovichy regional museum of history and local lore occupying the building of a museum in the town of Slonim. In 1953, the museum was relocated to Baranovichy, the region’s central city. In 1954, due to the liquidation of Baranovichy region as an administrative unit, the museum was renamed ‘Baranovichy museum of local history’.
The museum’s exposition is housed in 7 rooms and includes 3 sections: “The Nature of Baranovichy Land”, “The History of Baranovichy Land”, and the exposition section “Baranovichy, the Town We Live In”.
The first section acqaints visitors to the museum with a landscape diversity of Baranovichy district, its flora and fauna. On display are also some paleontological finds. A great number of exhibits are devoted to the region’s ecology and human environmental protection activity.
The second, history section, covers the period from the 3,000 B.C., when the primitive man started to settle our land. There are pieces dealing with the history of the land when it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of Rzeczpospolita and of the Russian Empire. There is a detailed exposition telling the history of the town's origin, the events of WWI, the 20-year-long period of the town under the sway of Poland. The Great Patriotic War caused heavy damage to the town. The sad events of the occupation period are also reflected in the exposition.
The third section is devoted to the development of the town, a large industrial centre of Belarus, which covers the period from the mid-1980s until now.
The museum’s collections number over 59 000 units of storage.
Among the 35 museum collections, the most interesting are: a collection of picture postcards of Baranovichy (early 20th c. and the 1920s -1930s); a collection of towels (late 19th c.- first half of the 20th c. made in Baranovichy and Lyakhavichy districts); a collection of coins (16th-20th c.c., including 4 treasure troves; and underground publications of the nazi occupation period.
The museum offers excursions to different groups of visitors as well as museum-based educational classes.
There is an exhibition hall which arranges exhibitions of painting, drawing, decorative and applied arts from the collections of museums and individuals in Belarus and abroad; it also holds evenings of classical music.
Geographic coordinates: N 53° 08'03,68" E 26° 00' 52,91"
Foto: From the archive of the Museum Baranovichi
