Barnaul City Tour with 2 museums visit EAB02

Overview

Barnaul is located in the South-Western part of Siberia, in the Altai Mountains area. City was founded in 1730 on the bank of the Ob River as settlement at copper and silver-smelting factory of Akinfiy Demidov, son of the Demidov dynasty founder, organizer of metallurgical industry in Russia, Peter the Great's favorite Nikita Demidov. Now Barnaul is large industrial, cultural and educational regional center, administrative center of the Altai Territory. During the full day tour offered you will visit the most interesting sights of Barnaul, know more about the history and architecture of the city and visit the best museums.

Itinerary

During 3.5-hour city tour you will visit the most interesting sights of Barnaul: Soviet Square, central square of the city formed in 1960s-1970s where Administration of the Altai Territory, Altai State University, main Post Office, the city’s main hotel — the hotel «Central» and Altai Regional Dramatic Theater are located; the main street of Barnaul city — Lenin Avenue with interesting ensemble of Stalin’s buildings (1930s-1950s) and with grandiose buildings of Polyukov Trade House (1913) and City Hall (1914); interesting monuments of the early XX c. wooden architecture: private gymnasium of Maria Budkevich, house of engineer Alexander Lesnevsky; mining Petropavlovskaya str. — the oldest street in the city formed in 1730s-1740s; Demidov Square («small Saint-Petersburg») covered with buildings in Classical style.

You will cross the new bridge over the Ob River which is considered the official city name card, it’s symbol. Building of the bridge was started in late 1980s but soon it was stopped because of financial difficulties. In 1992 president of new Russia and great populist Boris Yeltsin visited Barnaul and staying just at the Ob River bank signed an order to finance the building and in 5 years building of the bridge was finished. Visiting of the Altai State Museum of Local History. It is one of the oldest museums in Siberia founded in 1823 by Tomsk governor Pyotr Frolov and outstanding scientist, physician, naturalist, geographer, Altai explorer Friedrich-August von Gebler. Museum presents historical and ethnographic, archaeological, natural science collections. (more than 150 thousand exhibits).

The museum was visited by Alexander von Humboldt, Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Alfred Brehm, Nikolai Yadrintsev. Since 1913 accordingly to the emperor Nicholas II order museum was placed at the former building of the Altai Mining District chemical laboratory. Lunch. Visiting of the «World of the Time» Museum. This Museum is truly unique. It collects more than 10 000 exhibits of the different historical periods. Here tourists have a chance to get into the past, where they can see and touch mammoth tooth, old gramophone, different manuscripts, old medical instruments, glass and ceramic vessels, coins etc.