Nizhegorodsky State Art Museum

Nizhny Novgorod


The former governor’s house inside the kremlin houses the Russian collection of the vast Nizhegorodsky State Art Museum. Exhibits range from 14th-century icons to 20th-century paintings by artists such as Nikolai Rerikh and Vasily Surikov.

The museum begins (on the left after you enter) with 14th-century icons. The entire collection is chronological, so you can see by room 6 how rudimentary landscape perspectives creep into 17th-century icons. After the icons comes the large collection of mostly oil-on-canvas paintings by Russian masters, culminating in Soviet art. The English descriptions are excellent.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nizhny Novgorod attractions

2. Pilot Valery Chkalov Monument

0.12 MILES

This stirring monument and photo-op overlooks the Volga near the kremlin. It honours the memory of Soviet test pilot Valery Chkalov, who made historic…

3. Dmitry Tower

0.16 MILES

Squat Dmitry Tower, topped in green, is the main entrance to the kremlin and is visible for the length of pedestrianised Bolshaya Pokrovskaya ul. The…

4. Kremlin

0.17 MILES

Built on remnants of an earlier settlement, Nizhny Novgorod’s magnificent kremlin dates to 1500–15 when Italian architect Pyotr Fryazin began work on its…

5. Monument to Heroes of WWII

0.18 MILES

On the river side of the kremlin is a large monument and eternal flame dedicated to the fallen soldiers of WWII.

6. Western European Art Collection

0.23 MILES

The Nizhegorodsky State Art Museum's collection of Western European art is exhibited a short walk from the kremlin along Verkhne-Volzhskaya nab, an…

7. Cathedral of the Archangel Michael

0.26 MILES

This small church within the kremlin walls is the oldest surviving building inside the complex. It dates from the middle of the 16th century and it was…

8. Rukavishnikov Mansion

0.36 MILES

This exhibition space is located inside a 19th-century mansion once belonging to the Rukavishnikov merchant family. You can wander through the rooms on…