Bolshaya Berestovitsa. The Squirrel Museum.

In the small regional center of Bolshaya Berestovitsa there is an unusual museum dedicated to the Squirrel. And the museum will primarily not be about animals, or rather, mainly not about flora and fauna.

The town of Bolshaya Berestovitsa has been known since the beginning of the 16th century. In 1754, King Augustus III of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania gave the town the emblem and the Magdeburg law. On the emblem there was an image of a squirrel, and above it a noble crown. According to these historical data, the modern coat of arms of the city was developed and in 2006 the symbol of the city was officially approved: "A red squirrel under a golden crown". And thanks to such an unusual coat of arms, the regional museum of local lore arose.

The museum dates back to 2012, when the decision was made to create a museum and the collection of exhibits began. And the exposition itself opened in 2014. The museum area is 268 square meters. There are 4 permanent exhibition halls.

The tour begins at the museum about the history of the squirrel, its role in heraldry. Archaeological finds are presented. It tells about the gentry estates of the region and outstanding countrymen. Born in Bolshaya Berestovitsa, Osip Mikhailovich Kovalevsky (1801-1878) was a Belarusian and Polish historian, philologist and orientalist. For participating in secret societies, Filomatov and Filaretov were arrested and exiled to Kazan, where he studied Oriental languages at the university. He traveled in China and Mongolia. After returning to Kazan, he worked at the university, published a short grammar of the Mongolian book language and other books. He was appointed a professor at Kazan University, and then elected an academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He became rector of Kazan University.