61. Naval Museum
The Naval Museum used to be located in a prominent building on Vasilyevsky island overlooking the Neva River, but moved five years ago to its present location at the western end of the city center (only a 15 minute walk away on the other side of the Neva). This is one of the larger museums in St. Petersburg, probably among the four or five largest (perhaps surpassed only by the Hermitage, State Russian Museum, and Erarta). Hundreds (thousands?) of model ships are on display, plus numerous paintings and artifacts. There were several special exhibits as well, which frankly were kind of hard to differentiate from the permanent exhibits as they did not seem to have a different focus.
Certain children (mostly boys, roughly ages 7-12) would absolutely love this place. But it's generally aimed at adults, presenting a comprehensive review of Russian and Soviet naval technology over the centuries. I was just as interested in the models of 18th century tall-masted sailboats as I was of early 20th century warships from the industrial age. I guess I've never contemplated or realized how many different kinds of boats have sailed the seas over the last 400 years. It was fun to learn about the range of ships used in the major conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries, and see battle flags and figureheads from different eras.
The exhibit on Sergei Gorshkov, the Admiral of the Fleet for the Soviet Union from 1956-1985, was fascinating. During his tenure - the majority of the Cold War - he directed the massive expansion of the Soviet navy. I have never seen such a collection of medals on any uniform, but then, I've never heard of a military leader from any country who held the top position for a full three decades.
This museum did not have any signs or labels in English, and no audio guide was available. I don't think either would have made much of an impact on my enjoyment, though. Just as with the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, it's easy to understand what you're looking at and enjoy the models for what they are without needing to read a bunch of explanatory text.
Certain children (mostly boys, roughly ages 7-12) would absolutely love this place. But it's generally aimed at adults, presenting a comprehensive review of Russian and Soviet naval technology over the centuries. I was just as interested in the models of 18th century tall-masted sailboats as I was of early 20th century warships from the industrial age. I guess I've never contemplated or realized how many different kinds of boats have sailed the seas over the last 400 years. It was fun to learn about the range of ships used in the major conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries, and see battle flags and figureheads from different eras.
The exhibit on Sergei Gorshkov, the Admiral of the Fleet for the Soviet Union from 1956-1985, was fascinating. During his tenure - the majority of the Cold War - he directed the massive expansion of the Soviet navy. I have never seen such a collection of medals on any uniform, but then, I've never heard of a military leader from any country who held the top position for a full three decades.
This museum did not have any signs or labels in English, and no audio guide was available. I don't think either would have made much of an impact on my enjoyment, though. Just as with the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, it's easy to understand what you're looking at and enjoy the models for what they are without needing to read a bunch of explanatory text.
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