Grodno. Historical and Archaeological Museum

The Grodno State Historical and Archaeological Museum was founded in 1920. The first exhibition took place in September 1921, and the grand opening of the museum's exposition took place on December 9, 1922 in four rooms of the Old town building. In 1924, the magistrate transferred the premises of the Old Castle in the historical center of Grodno to the museum. The first curator and director of the museum was an archaeologist, local historian and numismatist Jozef Yadkovsky.

The museum's collection includes one of the most significant collections of old printed and rare books in Belarus (over 23,000, including 3 incunabula and 26 paleotypes), rich archaeological, numismatic, documentary, ethnographic, art collections, as well as collections of weapons, glass products, porcelain, fabrics and icons.

The museum's modern exposition is located in three buildings: the royal palaces of the XVI and XVIII centuries, known as the Old and New Castles, and the "Bosniak" house of the XVIII century on Gorodnitsa. The exposition occupies more than 30 halls, where about 7 thousand exhibits are on display.

The main part of the museum's exposition is located in the palace of the Old Castle, built for King Stefan Batory by architect Santi Gucci from Florence on the site of the ancient Upper Castle. The departments of archeology, history and nature of the Grodno region are located here, as well as one of the museum's exhibition halls.

In 1991, the second Grodno royal palace, the New Castle, was included in the museum complex. The construction of this palace, designed by K.F. Pepelman, lasted from 1737 to 1742. It was built on a hill opposite the Old Castle. There are four permanent exhibitions in the New Castle: "The New Castle. Events and fate", "Salvaged valuables", "Weapons of the past centuries", "The wonderful world of nature" and "Antique interior". Here you can see weapons, decorative and applied art objects and exotic exhibits of the nature department.

Temporary exhibitions from the museum's own collections, as well as exhibitions from museums in Belarus and abroad, and private collections are held on the ground floor of the palace. The branch of the Gorodnitsa History Museum is located in a building erected in the second half of the 18th century. The museum's exposition is dedicated to the activities of the Grodno elder Anthony Tizengauz, who sought to turn Grodno into a developed industrial, scientific and cultural center.

The Grodno State Historical and Archaeological Museum annually hosts more than 40 temporary exhibitions. Currently, the museum has 201,887 items, of which 174,903 are in the main collection, and 26,984 are in the scientific and auxiliary collection.

The museum organizes scientific research conferences and publishes a collection of "Local History notes". The museum staff processes the collections and writes scientific and popular science articles, as well as publishes catalogs of some collections (old print editions, maps and plans, “Neman Glass", etc.). They participate in projects to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Grodno.

The museum's cultural events include the spectacular Day and Night at the Museum, puppet shows based on religious themes, the Batleika, the Museum through the Lens photo contest, the Voices of History regional lore competition, and museum classes and lectures. Grodno Historical and Archaeological Museum has received several awards, including the special prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus in the nomination “Museum Business” (2007) and awards of the regional competition “Cultural Institution of the Year” (2012).

The museum's exposition includes:

• “The oldest monuments of the Ponomon region of the 10th millennium BC - 12th century AD”, representing the earliest evidence of human activity in the Grodno region.
• “The history of Grodno region XII - the beginning. XX century.”, covering archaeological finds, weapons, numismatics, documents, photographs, household items, decorative and applied arts, paintings, musical instruments and ethnography.
• "Grodno region during the Great Patriotic War", which tells about the first defensive battles, the occupation regime, the partisan movement and Operation Bagration.
• “Grodno residents in the Afghan War", dedicated to the participation of Grodno residents in the Afghan war.
• “Nature of the Prineman Region", showing the development of life on Earth and the diversity of the flora and fauna of the Prineman region.
• The Lower Church is one of the monuments of the Grodno Architectural School of the 12th century.
• “Saved Valuables", where works of art and historical relics of the XVI - early XX century are presented. XX century.
• “Weapons of the past centuries”, demonstrating the armament of the XI- the beginning. XX centuries.
• The Amazing World of Nature, based on the private collection of Stanislav Zhivno.
• “Antique interior", representing a collection of furniture, decorative and applied arts, sculpture, painting and graphics of the XVII - early XX century. XX century .