Vasilievsky Island is the largest one among other islands of St. Petersburg and the oldest one as well. The eastern part of the island was supposed to be the center of the new capital, according to Peter the Great's plans, which means it should have housed several essential buildings and Russia attractive places. However, Peter the Great vision didn't go as planned due to various reasons, and the eastern part of Vasilievsky Island never became the center of the city. Still, because of its history and is the oldest part of the city, it houses several major attractions of St. Petersburg on tour to Russia. One of the most popular attractions of St. Petersburg tour is museums, and Vasilievsky island has several museums that tourists would love to explore during their tour to Russia. However, by listing the museums inside the Vasilievsky Island, we're not encouraging tourists to spend all their time there, it's the opposite, we introduce the museums on this island so you as the tourist can decide which ones are more suit you to visit on your Russia tour because there are lots of major attractions in st. Petersburg that you need to visit before exploring the less significant places.
The Kunstkamera
Kunstkamera is one of the oldest Anthropology and Ethnography Museum in the world. Peter the Great himself founded the museum in St. Petersburg. When you visit this museum on your tour to Russia, you have the opportunity to learn about lots of things, including Kunstkamera's building, which is fascinating for some people, the first scientific collections of Kunstkamera, and many more. There's a section dedicated to Mikhail Lomonosov, one of the greatest Russian polymaths, who was a member of the Academy of Science. Currently, Kunstkamera is the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, in which tourists can learn about the culture, lifestyle, and art of various regions in the world, including Latins, North America, Africa, Indochina, India, Middle East, Japan, Korea, China, and many more places on their tour to Russia. Kunstkamera is a place of education and entertainment, which is why it's an excellent place for a family visit on tour to St. Petersburg.
The Zoological Museum
The Zoological Museum is another attraction on this island, which tourists can visit with their family for an educational trip as well as having fun during their trip to St. Petersburg. The Zoological Museum has a collection of over 17 million exhibits, but only 500 thousand of them are available for the public. You can find enormous skeletons of mammoths, whales, and dinosaur in this museum, which always fascinate both children and adults. There's also a unique collection of butterflies, birds, and other stuffed animals. If you're visiting Russia with your family, by adding this museum on your Russia tour's visit-list, you will guarantee a fantastic, fun, and educational trip for your children, in which you as an adult can also enjoy your visit.
The Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art
One of the best museums on Vasilievsky Island is the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, which in their saying, is the largest private museum in Russia. Erarta Museum mostly focuses on the Russian artists of the contemporary time and presents their artworks for the public. Their mission is to spread the Russian art and culture as much as they can, which is why they became one of the major attractions of Russia in the tour to St. Petersburg. However, only presenting the art is not enough for that mission, which is why they have also created art in the purest form. There are multiple sections in this museum called U-Space halls, in which you can experience a new way of conceptual art by some of the famous Russian and international artists. Those sections alone are enough for travel agencies to recommend this museum to their tourists on their tour to Russia. Still, besides that, you can also find multiple masterpieces by contemporary artists in this museum. We also recommend visiting this museum's restaurant and café because the art finds its way through them as well as the exhibition centers.
The Museum of Dolls
While lots of people would think that dolls are only for children, the Museum of Dolls in St. Petersburg is one of the most excellent museums on Vasilievsky Island for both children and adults. There you can find several interesting things, such as actor dolls from puppet shows, modern toys, and classic dolls. There you can also learn about Eastern Slavs' traditions, including the festivals, their clothes, traditional ceremonies, and their costumes. There are also several workshops inside the museum, in which you can learn to create a simple doll for yourself in less than five minutes. We at the Star Travel Group recommend this museum to our tourists on our tour to Russia program because it's one of the fun places that you can visit during your Russia tour.
The Icebreaker Krassin
The Icebreaker Krassin is one of the bizarre museums of St. Petersburg, in which you can see the ship's equipment and its history of service on your tour to St. Petersburg. Even though this ship was built in 1916, with recent restorations and repairing, it's still in working condition. This ship museum is the second one that has been added to St. Petersburg museums. Considering its history, with the second world war, its explorations in the north pole, and many more incidents, it's a miracle that it survived to this day, let alone that it's still in working condition. If you're interested in the history of this ship, especially its story about the north pole and its participation in the Italian explore team rescue mission, we recommend you visit it on your tour to Russia.
The C-189 Submarine Museum
The C-189 Submarine was in the service of the Soviet Union fleet or 35 years and decommissioned in the 1990s. While it eventually sank in harbor at Kronshtadt, some of the former submariners, local people in business, and people from Russian Fleet had decided to rescue this Submarine and turn it into a museum. While Ship Museum Cruiser Aurora and the Icebreaker Krassin had previously turned to museums, the C-189 Submarine was the third one in the collections of Russian floating museums. Since the Submarine has been fully restored at this point, you can visit the living quarters, such as dining hall, sleeping rooms, and bathrooms as well as the engine room, which would be the most exciting part of your tour in this Submarine since you can see the pieces of equipment that used to navigate the vehicle and how everything worked. Visiting this museum on your St. Petersburg tour will be one of the highlights of your trip if you like military museums and submarines.
Even though we've named multiple museums on the Vasilievsky Island, there are still more museums that you can visit on your travel to Russia, including the Academy of Art, the Menshikov Palace, and several small museums. You can learn about all the attractions on this island and St. Petersburg in general on our weblog as well as some useful tips about the things in Russia that can help you have a better journey in Russia.
