House-Museum of A. F. Mozhaisky

Such a sea, air and space walk awaits you if you make a small trip to the village of Mozhaiskoe.

If you step over from the XIX century to the XX, or, more simply, go down from the second floor of the museum to the first, then you can learn a lot about the successors of the Mozhaisky case: designers, pilots, cosmonauts, for whom Vologda region is famous. You will be introduced to this golden fund on the sightseeing tour "The contribution of Vologda residents to the development of aviation and cosmonautics". If you want, excursions will be held for you "The creative legacy of the aircraft engineer S. V. Ilyushin" and "The feat of the pilot-cosmonaut P. I. Belyaev". In order to feel like an astronaut, you can try how the "space" hammer and scissors function... True, the feeling of weightlessness will be missed, but it does not matter. In the museum you can also find special food - what astronauts ate on their flights outside the Earth's atmosphere. But they won't let you try this food: it was made in the 70s of the last century! Although, judging by the cosmonauts' reviews, this food is much tastier than modern. Let's take their word for it. But to become a pilot for a while, you can just sit in a special chair and even capture this moment on a camera. Walking through the cozy halls of the museum, you will find a lot of interesting things. These are models of Sergei Ilyushin's planes and spaceships; the remains of military aircraft, both Russian and German, shot down on the territory of our region during the Great Patriotic War; personal belongings of cosmonaut Belyaev. On maps and photos – the history of Vologda aviation. In addition, photo expositions dedicated to the lives of Pavel Belyaev and Sergey Ilyushin are offered to your attention. Each of them became famous in their field. Pavel Ivanovich was the tenth Soviet cosmonaut; for the successful implementation of the flight, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. And S. V. Ilyushin headed the Experimental Design Bureau at the R. V. Menzhinsky Aircraft Factory, became the creator of more than 120 types of aircraft. In the paintings of Vologda artist Vladimir Petukhov, you will see the city of Koktebel, where Sergey Vladimirovich made his first flights.

If you step over from the XIX century to the XX, or, more simply, go down from the second floor of the museum to the first, then you can learn a lot about the successors of the Mozhaisky case: designers, pilots, cosmonauts, for whom Vologda region is famous. You will be introduced to this golden fund on the sightseeing tour "The contribution of Vologda residents to the development of aviation and cosmonautics". If you want, excursions will be held for you "The creative legacy of the aircraft engineer S. V. Ilyushin" and "The feat of the pilot-cosmonaut P. I. Belyaev". In order to feel like an astronaut, you can try how the "space" hammer and scissors function... True, the feeling of weightlessness will be missed, but it does not matter. In the museum you can also find special food - what astronauts ate on their flights outside the Earth's atmosphere. But they won't let you try this food: it was made in the 70s of the last century! Although, judging by the cosmonauts' reviews, this food is much tastier than modern. Let's take their word for it. But to become a pilot for a while, you can just sit in a special chair and even capture this moment on a camera.

Our wealth is people

If you step over from the XIX century to the XX, or, more simply, go down from the second floor of the museum to the first, then you can learn a lot about the successors of the Mozhaisky case: designers, pilots, cosmonauts, for whom Vologda region is famous. You will be introduced to this golden fund on the sightseeing tour "The contribution of Vologda residents to the development of aviation and cosmonautics". If you want, excursions will be held for you "The creative legacy of the aircraft engineer S. V. Ilyushin" and "The feat of the pilot-cosmonaut P. I. Belyaev".

In the next hall of the museum there are documents reflecting Mozhaisky's social activities, including his participation in the peasant reform. The fourth hall introduces us to the St. Petersburg period of Alexander Fedorovich's life, when our famous countryman was seriously carried away by the ideas of flying in the airspace. Here are two models of "air-flying projectiles", as they were called at that time, made exactly according to the drawings of the master. Here are all the documents for these inventions. So, for example, there is a privilege from the Department of Trade and Manufacture dated November 3, 1881, issued to Captain 1st rank Alexander Mozhaisky for an air-flying projectile. And the last hall is the world of the East and Mozhaisky's sea voyages. Foreign landscapes painted by Alexander Fedorovich himself, gifts brought from an expedition to Japan, where he went on the frigate "Diana" on duty. The navigators stayed on this trip for nine months, managed to survive the wreck, build a new ship "Hedu" and make friends with the Japanese. "Why did Alexander Fedorovich, who is engaged in aviation, suddenly become a navigator?" - you ask. It's simple: twelve generations of Mozhaisky studied in St. Petersburg in the Naval Cadet Corps, our hero was no exception and applied his knowledge in practice.

In the next hall of the museum there are documents reflecting Mozhaisky's social activities, including his participation in the peasant reform. The fourth hall introduces us to the St. Petersburg period of Alexander Fedorovich's life, when our famous countryman was seriously carried away by the ideas of flying in the airspace. Here are two models of "air-flying projectiles", as they were called at that time, made exactly according to the drawings of the master. Here are all the documents for these inventions. So, for example, there is a privilege from the Department of Trade and Manufacture dated November 3, 1881, issued to Captain 1st rank Alexander Mozhaisky for an air-flying projectile.

Going into the living room, you will see furniture that belonged to Mozhaisk, but was sold at auction in early 1918. The new owners knew where these things came from, and took care of them, and then transferred them to the museum. Here is the piano on which Lyubochka played Mendelssohn, and her dress in which she walked through these halls. And photos and documents will tell about the wedding and family life of the Mozhaiskys. The silhouette drawings of Elizabeth Boehm, Lyubov Dmitrievna's cousin, decorating the walls create an atmosphere of home comfort and warmth.

In Mozhaisky's office there is exactly the kind of environment that Alexander Fedorovich missed in his distant voyages: a desk and a table with drawings of aeronautical devices. Photos of Mozhaisky's grandchildren - Dima and Lyubochka. The fate of the latter, by the way, is also connected with aviation. Her husband worked as an engineer at the Ilyushin plant. During the Great Patriotic War, the plant was evacuated beyond the Urals, and she, a young journalist, had to change her profession and work at the machine. In 1944, many factory workers died during the epidemic. This fate was shared by Mozhaisky's granddaughter and her husband. They were buried in a mass grave…

Going into the living room, you will see furniture that belonged to Mozhaisk, but was sold at auction in early 1918. The new owners knew where these things came from, and took care of them, and then transferred them to the museum. Here is the piano on which Lyubochka played Mendelssohn, and her dress in which she walked through these halls. And photos and documents will tell about the wedding and family life of the Mozhaiskys. The silhouette drawings of Elizabeth Boehm, Lyubov Dmitrievna's cousin, decorating the walls create an atmosphere of home comfort and warmth.

He was useful to his Fatherland

In the distant 60s of the XIX century, in his cozy office, bent over the drawings, the candidate of the world mediator of the Gryazovets district, Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky, did not even think that in the future this house would turn into a museum dedicated to him. Then he was passionate about the ideas of aeronautics and sought to benefit his Fatherland. Now the spirit of those times is hovering in this house. This is all due to the fact that the items you will see here are authentic. The exhibition "The life and work of Alexander Mozhaisky, an aircraft engineer of the Vologda province", located in five halls – and this is the entire second floor - gives an idea of our famous countryman and the time in which he was destined to live.

The fate of the house is not at all noble: there was an office, a club, and a warehouse, and in 1957 the house turned into a communal apartment. This fate awaited the majority of noble estates. 50 families have settled in this house. One can only wonder how they all settled here... In 1973, when the tenants moved out, it was decided to restore the house. Of course, it turned out to be incredibly difficult to restore everything that had been lost for more than fifty years, but the restorers did everything possible, and on November 4, 1986, a museum opened in the house. Initially, it was dedicated only to the life of the Mozhaisk family. And then the exposition expanded and was called "The contribution of Vologda citizens to the development of aviation and cosmonautics". Although the locals habitually call the house-museum the museum of seafarers, because the life of Alexander Mozhaisky is associated with the conquest of not only the air, but also the sea.

The fate of the house is not at all noble: there was an office, a club, and a warehouse, and in 1957 the house turned into a communal apartment. This fate awaited the majority of noble estates. 50 families have settled in this house. One can only wonder how they all settled here... In 1973, when the tenants moved out, it was decided to restore the house. Of course, it turned out to be incredibly difficult to restore everything that had been lost for more than fifty years, but the restorers did everything possible, and on November 4, 1986, a museum opened in the house. Initially, it was dedicated only to the life of the Mozhaisk family.

A wooden, two-storey house stands in the shade of trees. Once it had a completely different look, but time has changed a lot in it. The history of this house is connected with the name of the famous aircraft engineer Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky. He lived and worked here from 1861 to 1868. At that time, the village was called differently - Kotelnikovo. The local estate went to Mozhaisky as a dowry for his wife Lyubov Dmitrievna, the daughter of the court adviser D. I. Kuzmin. The future spouses met on January 6, 1860 at a party at the Kuzmins'. Alexander was 35 years old, Lyuba was 18. During the year, the young people communicated and corresponded. Lyubochka was pretty and educated, many people wooed her, even one of her teachers, the composer Rubinstein; but she made her choice in favor of Alexander Mozhaisky. On November 5, 1861, the young couple were married in Vologda, in the Church of St. Catherine, from where they immediately left for Kotelnikovo. The village in which the young were to live was acquired in 1854 by Lyubov Dmitrievna's mother, Elizabeth Nikolaevna. A grove grew up opposite, near the house there was a people's wing, an orchard, a barn, cellars, a stable, a cattle yard. The house had a hall, a living room, a corner room, a bedroom, an office of the owner, a maid's room, an entrance hall, rooms for children... Now, of course, everything is different here... but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Happy years passed here for Mozhaisk, which the head of the family will often remember later. After the death of his wife in 1868, Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky left the estate. His mother–in-law and two sons, Nikolai and Alexander, remain here. Later, after getting married, one of the sons – Alexander Alexandrovich - becomes the sovereign owner of the house. At this time, the second floor is being built, since the family was numerous: Alexander with his wife and six children. During the difficult period of the revolution of 1917 for the nobles and the Civil War that followed, Alexander Alexandrovich signed documents in which he refused to own the estate in favor of the people. So he keeps the house - even if not for himself, but for posterity – and he and his family leave for Moscow.

A wooden, two-storey house stands in the shade of trees. Once it had a completely different look, but time has changed a lot in it. The history of this house is connected with the name of the famous aircraft engineer Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky. He lived and worked here from 1861 to 1868. At that time, the village was called differently - Kotelnikovo. The local estate went to Mozhaisky as a dowry for his wife Lyubov Dmitrievna, the daughter of the court adviser D. I. Kuzmin. The future spouses met on January 6, 1860 at a party at the Kuzmins'. Alexander was 35 years old, Lyuba was 18. During the year, the young people communicated and corresponded. Lyubochka was pretty and educated, many people wooed her, even one of her teachers, the composer Rubinstein; but she made her choice in favor of Alexander Mozhaisky. On November 5, 1861, the young couple were married in Vologda, in the Church of St. Catherine, from where they immediately left for Kotelnikovo. The village in which the young were to live was acquired in 1854 by Lyubov Dmitrievna's mother, Elizabeth Nikolaevna. A grove grew up opposite, near the house there was a people's wing, an orchard, a barn, cellars, a stable, a cattle yard. The house had a hall, a living room, a corner room, a bedroom, an office of the owner, a maid's room, an entrance hall, rooms for children... Now, of course, everything is different here... but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Happy years passed here for Mozhaisk, which the head of the family will often remember later.

A wooden, two-storey house stands in the shade of trees. Once it had a completely different look, but time has changed a lot in it. The history of this house is connected with the name of the famous aircraft engineer Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky. He lived and worked here from 1861 to 1868. At that time, the village was called differently - Kotelnikovo. The local estate went to Mozhaisky as a dowry for his wife Lyubov Dmitrievna, the daughter of the court adviser D. I. Kuzmin. The future spouses met on January 6, 1860 at a party at the Kuzmins'. Alexander was 35 years old, Lyuba was 18. During the year, the young people communicated and corresponded. Lyubochka was pretty and educated, many people wooed her, even one of her teachers, the composer Rubinstein; but she made her choice in favor of Alexander Mozhaisky. On November 5, 1861, the young couple were married in Vologda, in the Church of St. Catherine, from where they immediately left for Kotelnikovo.

A house with windows to the park

A wooden, two-storey house stands in the shade of trees. Once it had a completely different look, but time has changed a lot in it. The history of this house is connected with the name of the famous aircraft engineer Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky. He lived and worked here from 1861 to 1868. At that time, the village was called differently - Kotelnikovo. The local estate went to Mozhaisky as a dowry for his wife Lyubov Dmitrievna, the daughter of the court adviser D. I. Kuzmin.