Museum of History and Culture of Orsha

Many events, many changes, many destinies absorbed Orsha's history! To save the memory about the past for contemporaries and future generations the Museum of history and culture of Orsha was created.

The decision of the Supreme Soviet of BSSR "About creation of the Museum of history and culture of Orsha" was issued in 1984. But the process of creating the museum had been protracted for a long time: nobody could answer the main question: where would the exposition be located? And only in 1987 this problem was solved. So, by the decision of the city council a building of the former civil defense headquarters was allocated for the museum. It is symbolic that the building is a part of the history of our city — a monument of civil engineering late XIX — early XX centuries. In the first half of the 20th century, the building housed a house and a small haberdashery. In 1949 another building was added, which housed the city's radio center. In 1987 an initiative group was created. It was headed at that time by the local lore specialist and history teacher Igor Ershov.

Orsha Museum of History and Culture, a branch of the Institution of Culture "Museum Complex of History and Culture of Orsha" was founded in March 1, 1989, and opened to the public in December 1992. The museum exhibition is a sequential review of the historical past with an emphasis on the key events in the region, ranging from the primitive communal system, ending with the second half of the 80s of 20th century, allowing lift the veil of time and look at the most interesting pages in the history of our small motherland.

Today the museum is preparing to receive visitors to the new exposition, which will please not only the richness of authentic items, but also a number of interactive complexes, where the visitor can become a spectator and a direct participant in the historical process.