As you can guess from its title, this museum, spread over several buildings, includes history and art exhibitions. The architecture bit comes from the museum’s key block – the Pogankin Chambers (Поганкины палаты) – the fortress-like house and treasury of a 17th-century merchant. Art from local churches, many of which have closed, has been collected here. The museum offers a rare chance to thoroughly examine one particular style of iconography at close range.
The maze of galleries in the chambers holds 14th-to-18th-century pottery, weaving and weaponry, including the original 15th-century sword of one of Pskov’s princes. Equally impressive is the huge collection of silver artefacts, including beautifully crafted baroque-style bible covers. The largest, a 25kg beast, was originally housed at Pskov’s Trinity Cathedral.
The 2nd floor houses the war collection, with photos and artefacts from WWII and more recent conflicts. The picture gallery has works spanning the 18th to 20th centuries, including paintings by Nikitin, Tropinin and Zhukovsky, plus representations from the Russian avant-garde, including a couple of Petrov-Vodkins.
