News

START OF NAVIGATION IN ST. PETERSBURG

17 April 2024

The long-awaited event for residents and guests of the city - the beginning of navigation in St. Petersburg! This year navigation will start on the 27th of April. It means that from the 27th of April it will be possible to enjoy excursions along the rivers and canals of the city again.

WHERE TO FEEL THE TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN LIFESTYLE?

22 March 2024

MIR Travel Company will tell you where and how to get there! The excursion is called the Golden Ring of Russia and passes through several Old Russian cities. The route itself was developed in 1967 with the inclusion of 8 cities: Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov the Great, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal and Vladimir. 

KUNSTKAMERA, OLDEST RUSSIAN MUSEUM

20 April 2024

The St. Petersburg Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography - The Kunstkamera – celebrated its 306th anniversary on 06th December. It is one of the largest and oldest ethnographic museums in the world, the collection funds of which number over 1.2 million items. The year of foundation of the Kunstkamera is considered to be 1714, and the order to create the museum was issued by Peter the Great himself, the founder of St. Petersburg. The admission to the first museum in Russia used to be free, but people were reluctant to visit it. Then Peter the Great issued a decree – to pour a glass of vodka or a cup of coffee for everyone at the entrance – and the idea worked great!

Lots of mysteries and legends have always been associated with this museum. One of the most famous is about the ghost of the servant of Peter the Great - Nicolas Bourgeois, his height was 226 cm, he was a real giant. Therefore, after his death, his skeleton, by order of the Emperor, became an exhibit of the museum. But the skull was destroyed by the fire in 1747 and was replaced. And since then, they say that the spirit of Bourgeois wanders around the halls of Kunstkamera at night looking for his head.

Nowadays, due to the pandemic, the focus has been on online and virtual projects. One of the most significant is the "Planet of the Kunstkamera": 65 thousand exhibits of the museum were digitized and are now available for study on the official web-site. Another successful project was "The Kunstkamera Speaks and Shows": videotours and lectures were watched by thousands of people from all over the country. But guests and employees are unanimous in the opinion that no virtual technology can replace a real visit to the historical halls.

MIR Travel Company highly recommends this museum, full of examples of natural wonders and living history.