Regional Museum of local lore of Mykolaiv
The Regional Museum of local lore of Mykolaiv is one of the oldest museums in Ukraine. The official date of its opening is 15 (28) of December in 1913.
Museum history
The true museum’s history begins in 1803 when in Mykolaiv at Depot cards there was created the Cabinet rarity. At the root of the office-museum was Admiral de Traverse. For more than 40-year history of its existence, the museum assembled a valuable collection. According to eyewitnesses, who visited museum in the early 19th century, in museum, accept the ancient archaeological sites, were minerals, shells, stuffed animals, ethnographic exhibits. There also were maps, plans of cities, buildings and models of ships. The assembly was traditional at that time - when natural artifacts were located near the ancient. In 30 years of 19th century objects from the museum office were transferred to Odessa, Kherson and Kerch, and only a small part of the exhibits remained in Mykolaiv in the Black Sea mouth mate.
In February 1912 to the council of Mykolaiv approached the descendants of Emmanuel Frantsova Petrovich who died in 1909 and who was the owner of the unique natural science collections. According to his will, this collection was presented to the city, but it had to fulfill several requirements - namely, to provide adequate space and preserve its integrity. The duma of Mykolaiv established a special commission, composed of Duma’s speakers, well-known public figures. S.I. Gaiduchenko was selected as the Chairman. On Sunday, December 15, 1913 at noon in the presence of Mayor M. Leontovich, the representatives of the city’s Duma and numerous guests took place the opening ceremony of the museum. Its first director was S. I. Gaiduchenko.
The formation of the museum’s collection continued: the funds received new items of archeology, interesting documentary sources, photographs, weapons, objects of ethnography and numismatics. The natural collection also filled up. The city’s government allocated funds for the purchase of antiquities. In the financial book for the years 1913-1916, which is stored in the archives of the museum, there are bills and receipts with the list of purchased items. S. I. Gaiduchenko together with the museum’s articulator A. D. Petraschuk in 1916 - 1917 traveled to the estate of Grand Duke Mykola Mykolajovych to the Katerynoslav province and brought the Cossack over grave cross, "stone women", archeology items, stuffed birds and animals.
In June 1918 the 58th Infantry Regiment of Prague was decided to be a part of the museum Despite the energetic events of the Revolution and the Civil War the museum continued to develop. In 1920 because of the initiative of local government was organized the work of Olbian expedition, so with the help of this the archaeological museum collection was enriched in 1634 items. From that time the museum itself became known as the historical and archaeological, and Natural collection became a separate museum.
After the death of S. I. Gaiduchenko, F. T. Kaminsky became the director of it (May, 1923) - archaeologist, expert on the history of the land, popularizer of the ancient monuments.
Feodosij Tymofijovych Kaminsky cooperated with the famous archaeologist, director of the Olbian expedition, B. V. Farmakovskyi. From 1925 was taking part in the expedition and was involved in the creation of archaeological preserve "Olbia". All materials from excavations were sent to the museum’s collection. F. T. Kaminsky made an important contribution in conservation and other historical monuments of our region.
Museum needed a new space for the exposition, and F. T. Kaminsky started to look for the new facilities. In March 1929 took place the ceremonial opening of the new exposition of the museumwhaich was in the building of the former guardhouse on the Soviet Square. But after six months the museum's director, tireless researcher F. T. Kaminsky, was accused as a member of the Union for the Freedom of Ukraine process, and he had been in Stalin's camps for 25 years. The terrible repressions didn’t omit the other museum’s staff. The prominent local historian and scholar M. D. Lahuta was also arrested.
The museum’s exhibition in 30-s has become very politicized, which reduced the level of perception.
In 1936, in connection with the reconstruction of Soviet Square, the destruction of the Admiralty cathedral and the building of guardhouse, the museum moved into the building of the cathedral and adjacent to it house on the Dekabristy Street, 32. In the early 40's in the museum opened new departments: the primitive social order, Olbia, feudalism, the history of the city Mykolaiv, and the history of weapons, which exhibited the Turkish guns XVII, gun of the period of the Russo-Turkish wars of the 18th century. During the Great Patriotic War museum continued to work and the underground anti-fascist organization were operated there.
After the iberation of Mykolaiv the museum’s workers spent the new exposition and restored exhibits. The museum was needed to the citizens who survived a terrible war and have not lost interest in history and nature of native land. In November 1950 there was a unification of historical and natural history museums into the Regional Museum of local lore of Mykolaiv, which he is now. For the natural collections have been created so-called "school room" where the items from the famous collection of E. P. Frantsova were displayed: minerals, corals, stuffed animals, birds, fish and even a few anomalies. The exhibition called "school room" because it exhibits served as didactic material for the study of botany, zoology, geography, chemistry, mineralogy. But in 1968 at the location of the "school room" was built a house and its residents moved into the premises of the museum’s storerooms.
In the museum of 60th-90th years of 20th century is typical activation of the collecting scientific works. One by one the collecting expedition conducted in districts and in other cities of the USSR. New museum were opened in companies and at schools, in towns or villages of Mykolaiv. Natural History Museum staff provided them with a methodological and practical assistance. The regional museum happened to become more developed due to the enlargement of its departments. In 1972 was opened the Ochakiv Military and History Museum by Suvorov, the central place of the exhibition was a diorama "Storm of the fortress Ochakiv." In 1975, on the eve of celebrating the 30th anniversary of Victory in the house on the Lyagina Street,5, where the Hero of the Soviet Union lived during the occupation, the museum opened its doors to "underground-partisan movement in the Mykolaiv region during World War II, 1941 -1944 years".
In 1978 there was a remarkable event for the city of shipbuilders - opened the only Museum of Shipbuilding and fleet opened in the Soviet Union. His exposition was developed in the halls of the house of the commander of the Black Sea fleet and ports and was on the Admiral Street, 4. For the creating of this unique museum its creative team has been named as laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine by T. G. Shevchenko. In the middle of 1980s branches of the museum were Pervomaysk Historical Museum and the museum "Partisan sparks." From 1973 to 1985 Vira Pavlivna Cherniavs’ka headed the museum. During her leadership the museum has acquired a certain prestige not only in the Mykolaiv region, but also abroad. Were open new departments, conducted new exposition, expanded staff scientists.
Museum today
Today the Regional Museum of local lore is an impressive museum association. Total fixed asset counts more than 180 thousands of items. First of all it is a unique collection of natural, archaeological objects, started from the late Paleolithic period, and the Cossack era, a collection of ancient books, objects of worship, ethnography, numismatics, weapons, etc.
Significant contribution to the museum business in Mykolaiv was made by Liudmyla Dmytriivna Hlopyns’ka, an honored worker of the culture of Ukraine, a laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize. All her creative life she dedicated to the museum - was a research fellow, a head of the Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet and a Director of the Regional Museum of local lore of Mykolaiv. During her leadership the complex of Staroflotski barracks were brought to the museum. They were built by the architect K. Ackroyd in the middle of the 19th century. Here it is being planned to open a museum town with various museums, art galleries, antique and secondhand shops, sites for ethnographic festivals and historical reconstructions.
References
1. Kryuchkov, YS "The history of Nikolaev from the base to the present day" - Nikolaev: MP "Opportunities Cimmeria", 1996. - 299 p.
2. Vadaturskyy Alex "My favorite city Nikolaev" - Nikolaev: MP "NIBULON", 2002. - 189 p.
3. Scherban Y. "Old Nikolaev: toponymic dictionary - a guide" - Nikolaev. Univ Irina Gudym, 2008. - 128 p., Ill.