Konoshsky District: Village History, Railway and Suspension Bridges

• Norinskaya: an exhibition about village life and the Brodsky House Museum.
• Konosha: a permanent exhibition about the Northern Railway and Konosha station.
• Suspension bridges over the Vel are located near the village group of Khmelniki.

In Norinskaya, the Konoshsky District Local History Museum’s literary and everyday-history exhibition, “The History of Norinskaya Village,” shows the furnishings of a traditional village house, old household items, and objects from village life in the 1950s and 1960s. Documents and photographs provide further insight into the lives of the rural population. Visits are possible during the warm season by prior arrangement.

The Brodsky House Museum opened in 2015 in the Pesterev family home in Norinskaya. In the memorial room of the summer house, the furnishings from 1964–1965 have been reconstructed based on friends’ memories; the winter house shows the homeowners’ room. The hayloft is also used as an exhibition space. The 2015 opening and the reconstructed furnishings from 1964–1965 mark different time periods: the museum’s history and the living conditions being portrayed. The museum invites visitors on an introductory tour; check possible visiting arrangements in advance.

In Konosha, the Konoshsky District Local History Museum presents the permanent exhibition “Railway—the Lifeline of Konoshsky District.” It includes documents and working railway exhibits about the history of the Northern Railway and Konosha station. While the exhibitions in Norinskaya focus on village life and house history, this exhibition turns its attention to the railway and station.

The suspension bridges over the Vel near the village group of Khmelniki are a landmark of Konoshsky District. Residents built them in the 1970s to connect villages on opposite banks of the river. Their history adds to the museums’ themes an infrastructure built to link the villages on either side of the river.

The dinosaur park in Konosha features sculptures of a Tyrannosaurus, a Coelophysis, and a pterosaur. Most of the figures are located in the recreation park. This adds a different accent to the historical museum themes: the depiction of prehistoric animals.

The cultural and historical ensemble of the Solovetsky Archipelago is part of the broader cultural heritage of Arkhangelsk Oblast. It includes a monastery-fortress dating from the 15th to the early 20th century, as well as sacred sites and dozens of settlements dating from the 6th to the 1st millennium BCE. The ensemble’s medieval road and irrigation systems are harmoniously integrated into the surrounding natural and cultural landscape.

The Malye Korely Museum is also located in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Its architectural and landscape exhibition includes more than 100 monuments of Arkhangelsk Oblast’s wooden architecture. The museum is included in the state register of especially valuable cultural heritage sites of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

Discover more destinations: Velsky District, Primorsky District, Mezensky District, Nyandomsky District, Kargopol District, the city of Novodvinsk and Zapolyarny District.

When can you visit the “The History of Norinskaya Village” exhibition?

Visits are possible during the warm season by prior arrangement.

Which time periods are represented at the Brodsky House Museum?

The museum opened in 2015. The memorial room features furnishings from 1964–1965, reconstructed based on friends’ memories.

What does the railway exhibition in Konosha include?

It includes documents and working railway exhibits about the history of the Northern Railway and Konosha station.

For the broader travel overview: Arkhangelsk Oblast.