Yelets – Lace Art, Craftsmanship and Museums

The Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades is dedicated to traditional techniques and Yelets lace. The art department of the Yelets Museum of Local Lore displays more than 300 works of art; house museums focus on Nikolai Zhukov and Tikhon Khrennikov.

The Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades showcases leatherworking, blacksmithing, pottery and felt-making, willow weaving, wood carving, weaving, embroidery and bast-shoe braiding. The Yelets piano accordion is another of its subjects. For centuries, Yelets was known for its lace and pottery traditions, leatherworking and blacksmithing, wood carving, weaving and the Yelets piano accordion.

The Yelets lace hall is particularly popular. There, you can see how lace patterns are created using bobbin lace techniques. At the lace museum in Yelets, lacemaker Larisa Petrovna Popova introduces visitors to the tools used and demonstrates her skill in the center of the hall.

The building of the Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades also tells part of the city’s history. Built from red brick before 1918, this Art Nouveau building was designed by the architect Vilfart. Its decorations include majolica tiles and a mural depicting a pelican above its nest, a symbol of motherhood and childhood. The building was constructed as a nursery and home for the children of women working at a tobacco factory. The museum opened there on 18 May 2007; the building was commissioned by Yelets merchant Alexander Nikolayevich Zausailov, the last owner of a tobacco factory.

The museum offers workshops in weaving, bobbin lace, embroidery, beadwork, fabric dolls and patchwork. Visitors can also learn about weaving, beadwork, patchwork, fabric dolls and pressed-flower art. Alongside viewing exhibits, the focus is therefore also on hands-on craft techniques.

Consultations, themed tours, lectures, discussions and quiz events round out the activities. If you would like to plan your visit around a workshop, ask the museum about its current offerings.

The art department of the Yelets Museum of Local Lore first opened to visitors on 4 December 1981. Its collection comprises more than 300 works: paintings, graphics, sculptures, ceramics, art glass and antique furniture. Its scope therefore extends beyond individual art forms to include both fine art and applied objects.

The N. N. Zhukov House Museum offers general and themed tours, films about the artist’s work and video exhibitions. At the T. N. Khrennikov House Museum, the focus is on items owned by the composer: manuscripts, piano reductions, scores, books bearing his autographs, photographs, paintings and audio recordings. General and themed tours are available there, too. The two museums thus have distinctly different focuses: one explores Zhukov’s artistic work, while the other presents Khrennikov’s personal belongings and musical career.

Discover more destinations: Donskoye, Krasnoye, Utkino, Lebedyan, Usman, Gryaznoye, Koptsevy Khutora, Lipetsk.

What can you see at the Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades?

Subjects include Yelets lace, leatherworking, pottery, blacksmithing, weaving and the Yelets piano accordion. In the Yelets lace hall, you can watch lace patterns being made using bobbin lace techniques.

What workshops are offered in Yelets?

The Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades offers workshops in weaving, bobbin lace, embroidery, beadwork, fabric dolls and patchwork. Ask the museum directly about its current offerings.

What are the house museums about?

The N. N. Zhukov House Museum offers tours, films and video exhibitions about the artist’s work. The T. N. Khrennikov House Museum focuses on items owned by the composer, as well as general and themed tours.

For the broader travel overview: Lipetsk Oblast.