New Jerusalem Museum and Exhibition Complex: overview

The Museum and Exhibition Complex "New Jerusalem" is the largest cultural and educational center of the capital. It is located in a picturesque area of the Moscow region on Istra and is adjacent to the most beautiful Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery. Today it is a real miracle of architectural and engineering thought, combining the aesthetics of the classical museum space and the latest interactive technologies.

The beginning of history

According to official documents, the museum and exhibition complex "New Jerusalem" was opened in the 1920s. However, its history begins half a century earlier, with the organization in the refectory of the monastery of a small exposition in memory of the patriarch Nikon. The idea of its creation belonged to Archimandrite Leonid - a prominent church figure and scientist.

A modest exposition of things, books and paintings was opened in 1874. It was the first church museum in the Russian Empire. In this form it lasted for 30 years. At the initiative of the new archimandrite, the original museum was expanded, the collection was replenished with new donations, and the monastery library was opened.

Peripetias of fate: the revolution

The coming power contributed to the development of the museum. In 1919 the monastery was empty, and a year later the first museum was opened on its territory. It is from his discovery that the modern museum and exhibition complex "New Jerusalem" leads its history. The collection of the museum could boast not only the variety of church monuments that once belonged to the monastery. It included a vast collection of paintings, church utensils, decorative plastics, artifacts from archaeological excavations.

The period of the 1920s and 1930s for the museum on Istra was marked by stormy events. The museum and exhibition complex in New Jerusalem, then the State Art and History Museum, gradually expanded, art funds confiscated from private possessions were brought to the funds. After the restoration of the monastery buildings in 1925, the first permanent exposition, according to the testimony of that time, enjoyed tremendous success with the public.

Reborn from the ashes

During the war, the architecture and collection of the museum were badly damaged. By the beginning of military operations, he had not been evacuated. In November 1941, the most valuable exhibits were rushed out urgently, the rest were hiding in caches here, on the territory of the museum complex.

The buildings of the monastery were heavily destroyed by the German troops during the retreat. In the post-war years, rehabilitation work was actively carried out. Already in a decade Istra again met the collections taken to Moscow and Alma-Ata.

The museum-exhibition complex "New Jerusalem" in the postwar period literally was restored from the ashes. In subsequent years, the ensemble was supplemented by an architectural and ethnographic exposition, located around the main buildings.

The new life of the old museum

In the 1990s, life around the museum again began to boil. By the time it is already the largest museum-exhibition complex. "New Jerusalem" gathered under its roof about 180,000 exhibits, including collections of sacred and secular art. Designed for 300,000 visitors a year, it is considered to be a unique scientific, tourist and exposition center.

With the resumption of the work of the New Jerusalem Monastery, the question arose about the reorganization of the museum and a separate pavilion for him. In 2009, an appropriate decree was signed, and three years later the museum moved to a new building, the main value of which was 2 thousand square meters. Meters of specially equipped storage facility.

New building

The architectural ensemble project was planned on a grand scale. The total area of the main building occupies 28 thousand square meters. Meters and includes exhibition halls, a storage facility, restoration workshops, as well as an entertainment zone. Two years ago the museum center was completely open to visitors. From that moment it has the official name of the museum and exhibition complex of the Moscow region "New Jerusalem".

Architects and engineers working on the concept of the new complex took as their basis the idea of uniting in the same cultural space the ensemble of the New Jerusalem Monastery and the museum building. This difficult architectural and landscape task was solved with brilliance, and the project itself was awarded several prestigious awards.

In addition to the main building, the complex of museum facilities includes: an exhibition building, a museum of wooden architecture, which is located in the open air. The project provides for an extensive garden and park area for walks, artistic and cultural events.

The construction of new facilities on the territory of the museum complex is continuing and its final completion is planned for 2018.

Exhibitions and collections

"New Jerusalem" is a museum-exhibition complex, which today has no equal either in terms of architectural decision, or in terms of scale and fullness of collections. The permanent exposition, divided into several thematic sections, occupies the ground floor.

The first hall is dedicated to the Russian church art of 16-19 centuries. Here is the most interesting collection of icons and monuments of church decorative and applied art. Do not forget that it was the church art that stood at the source of the collection of the museum, and today one of the largest collections of Russian sacral art is kept here.

The next room is dedicated to secular art of the late 17th - early 20th centuries. The greater part of it is occupied by portrait painting. The first parsons, images of contemporaries of Peter's time, a gallery of magnificent portraits of the Baroque and Rococo era, paintings of the 19th century are presented here in a well-thought-out sequence.

An interesting exhibition concept of the connection of times is represented by a Hall with columns. Its exposition consists of monumental works executed in various techniques, where contemporary art is closely intertwined with the Christian tradition and the heritage of antiquity.

Most of the exhibition grounds are occupied by temporary exhibitions and projects dedicated to both contemporary art and classical monuments.

Modern "New Jerusalem" is a museum and exhibition complex

Photos of exhibition halls demonstrate an interesting approach to the design of not only showcases, but also the museum space itself. Despite the fact that the museum is designed for a large flow of visitors, among the week there is a little crowded. You can walk around the halls for a long time, enjoying the works of ancient and modern art.