“Winds of Change” on Simbirsk Mountain: how to learn history in an unusual way
Saturday walking tours of the Museum-Reserve “Rodina V.I. Lenin” have been held for over 10 years. From March to December, every week – subject to requests from those interested – museum employees go out onto the streets and tell curious people amazing stories about how Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk lived and lives. Today the program “City of the Seven Winds” will take place – one of the first in the “Step into History” series.
Once upon a time, the guides of the complex had only a few programs in their arsenal that involved walking along the streets and boulevards – as in any business, they started small. Today the Museum-Reserve “Motherland of V.I. Lenin” has developed 13 different excursion programs in the central part of the city.
The City of Seven Winds program was one of the first. The name accurately reflects both the content and form of the excursion: participants get to know Ulyanovsk by walking along the top of the Simbirsk mountain – along Venets. The guide at this time talks about the “winds of change”, about the impetuous thoughts and dreams of our outstanding fellow countrymen and the sights and monuments associated with them.
Starting literally at the origins – from the place chosen by Bogdan Khitrovo for the founding of the fortress, the educational walk will logically move to one of the most famous museums of Ulyanovsk, which is part of the Reserve – the Simbirsk Classical Gymnasium. Here, the interiors of classrooms, the assembly hall, the physics room, and the “overcoat room” have been recreated with the greatest possible authenticity. Participants of the excursion will learn about the history of the formation and development of secondary education in the Russian Empire, sit at a gymnasium desk, be able to look through textbooks on gymnasium course programs, and see the only sundial in Russia from the 1840s. trading house of Beauregard, and also boil water with one touch of the hand using a working physical device – Franklin’s boiler.
The building of the former Simbirsk classical gymnasium is a historical monument. The main building was built in 1790 according to the design of the architect I. Toscani. In 1883, a red brick extension was built, which currently houses the museum. Among the graduates of the gymnasium were V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin), I.Ya. Yakovlev, M.N. Bogdanov, S.A. Buturlin, D.D. Minaev, D.I. Sadovnikov, V.P. Filatov.
To participate in the excursion, a preliminary application is required by phone: +7 (8422) 32-45-23 or on the website ulzapovednik.ru. The exact schedule of walking tours and their topics can also be found on the official website of the museum complex.
This material is part of a series of publications dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Museum-Reserve “Motherland of V.I. Lenin”, which is celebrated in 2024.
Photos and historical information are presented by the Museum-Reserve “Motherland of V.I. Lenin” from its own funds.
Tatiana Lisitsyna
