Museum of Wooden Architecture "Malye Karely"
Arkhangelsk Oblast (area 589,913 sq km) was founded on September 23, 1937, as a result of the division of the northern regions of the former RSFSR. The administrative center, which gave the region its name, became the city of Arkhangelsk, founded in 1584 during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Located in the northern part of the East European Plain, the region is washed by three seas – the White, Barents, and Kara Seas. Due to this, the climate changes from temperate continental to subarctic, and on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago even to arctic. That is, summers are quite cool, and winters are cold and long. In the northeastern part of the region there are areas where permafrost reigns. Two capes – Cape Fligely and Cape Flissingsky – are the extreme (northern and eastern) points of Russia and Europe.
Today, Arkhangelsk Oblast is the largest oblast-province in Europe and the largest federal subject of Russia in its European part. It borders Karelia to the west, Vologda and Kirov Oblasts to the south, and the Komi Republic to the east.
The tourism industry of Arkhangelsk Oblast is extraordinarily diverse; here everyone can choose a route to their taste and physical fitness. Fans of active recreation will undoubtedly be interested in rafting and other types of water tourism on the Onega River, while lovers of history and architecture will find a fascinating journey through memorable places and an acquaintance with monuments of Russian wooden architecture. Fishing enthusiasts have at their disposal rivers rich in fish and thousands of large and small lakes.
In summer, tourist routes in Arkhangelsk Oblast are carried out mainly by bus (visiting museums, national parks) and on various types of watercraft, such as rafts, kayaks, and catamarans. Extreme tourism enthusiasts should visit the famous caves, and those wishing to enjoy the gifts of nature will be given the opportunity to 'hunt' for mushrooms and berries in the appropriate season.
In winter, guests will be offered a full range of entertainment typical of northern latitudes: sleigh rides and ski trips, snowmobile tours, and much, much more.
One cannot fail to note the well-established service. At any time of year, comfortable hotels are available to tourists. The traditional northern hospitality will be remembered for a long time by all guests who visit these places, regardless of age or gender.
It is very difficult to set priorities for excursion tours in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Here everyone decides for themselves. However, the most visited places by tourists are, undoubtedly, the Museum of Wooden Architecture 'Malye Karely' and the Solovetsky Islands.
Located not far from Arkhangelsk (25 km), the Malye Karely museum, despite its relatively small area of only 140 hectares, houses more than a hundred monuments from the 16th-19th centuries. It took about 30 years of painstaking work by historians, restorers, and volunteer enthusiasts to gather them together. Exhibits came to the museum from all the villages of the region. Peasant huts and bathhouses, barns and mills, wooden chapels and ancient churches – all restored to their original appearance. And it is not just the exterior. Inside, everything matches the interior of those years.
Only here visitors have the opportunity to see with their own eyes the unique collection of bells 'Northern Chimes' and all types of wooden stamps and mills that ever existed in Russia. The museum is not without reason included in all UNESCO catalogs, as well as in other lists of 'wonders of the world'.
The Solovetsky Museum-Reserve is known far beyond Russia, it includes more than 1,000 objects recognized as archaeological monuments of a bygone era. It is striking how organically the hydraulic structures – piers, docks and canals, as well as the fortress with churches, chapels and monastic cells – were integrated into the island's ecosystem.
It is impossible to describe all the sights of Arkhangelsk Oblast in one article. Therefore, you can come here many times and each time discover more and more new beauties and amazing places of this ancient land.
Material provided by the website of Arkhangelsk Oblast Arhnet.Info.
_