Regional Studies Museum

Northern European Russia


The natural history section has clearly benefited from the untimely demise of numerous regional species of wildlife, such as the dramatically posed stuffed lynx, wolves, foxes and a tiny cub-under-glass mournfully watching his bear family from across the room. The history exhibition tells the story of the city from its very conception, while star of the rich prehistory exhibition is a 3500-year-old skeleton of a woman clasping at her modesty.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northern European Russia attractions

1. Kremlin

0.03 MILES

Vologda’s multidomed, attractive kremlin is the city’s historical centrepiece, a 17th-century fortified enclosure built as a church administrative centre…

2. Art Department

0.06 MILES

On the eastern side of the main kremlin courtyard, Muppet-style wooden dolls, lacquered wood items and embroidery briefly grab your attention before the…

3. Bell Tower

0.06 MILES

Climbing the 288 steps of St Sofia’s Cathedral's separate 78.5m-high, gold-topped bell tower offers breathtaking views down upon the cathedral’s grand…

4. St Sofia’s Cathedral

0.07 MILES

Powerful five-domed St Sofia’s Cathedral has a soaring interior smothered with beautiful 1680s frescoes. The astonishingly tall iconostasis is filled with…

5. Resurrection Cathedral

0.08 MILES

Just outside the kremlin enclosure, the amply domed 1776 Resurrection Cathedral adds photogenic foreground to kremlin views. It also houses an art gallery…

6. Lace Museum

0.11 MILES

The sparklingly modern Lace Museum, across the square from the kremlin, patches together some great examples of this archetypal Vologda craft, with…

7. World of Forgotten Things

0.18 MILES

One of several enchanting old wooden buildings at the eastern end of ul Leningradskaya, this little museum evokes the life of a 19th-century, 17-child…

8. St John Chrysostom Church

0.26 MILES

This attractive 17th-century church is one of Vologda's oldest constructions and contains some 200-year-old frescoes. Located on the river bank opposite…