Bessonovsky District: Museums and Estates

The district’s cultural themes include the onion and its cultivation, village life traditions, archaeological finds and memories of historic events. The local history museum also preserves examples of local handicrafts. In Grabovo, the Ustinov estate represents the history of a country residence with a park; in Prokazna, there is a 19th-century estate complex belonging to the Arapov family. If you plan to visit the Onion Museum, it is advisable to check the current visiting arrangements in advance.

The Onion Museum is devoted to the district’s “golden onion.” It opened in 2013 to mark the village’s 350th anniversary and is considered Russia’s first museum whose entire exhibition is devoted to this onion. It is described as the district’s best-known vegetable and a source of pride for local agriculture.

The exhibition explores the subject from different angles: it covers the history of the district’s collective and state farms, as well as onion cultivation and onion breeders. It also looks at the onion’s uses in medicine and cooking, its place in folklore, and scientific topics and innovations in cultivation. The result is a perspective spanning agricultural everyday life and the cultural and practical significance of a single vegetable.

The local history museum of Bessonovsky District was founded on October 1, 2005. Its themes range from archaeological finds to historical materials about Yemelyan Pugachev’s uprising. The collection also includes a copy of a manifesto dated July 31, 1774, and written in Ukhtinka.

The collection also offers insight into various craft traditions. These include lacework made on traditional bobbin-lace pillows, as well as felt boots from Chemodanovka, which have been made for more than 300 years. Clay toys by master Vasily Kucher from Poleologovo add to these examples. Together, the objects showcase different materials and skills associated with places in the district.

The museum named after A. M. Kizhevatov in Kizhevatovo focuses on a different subject. One of its two rooms is devoted to the traditions and everyday life of villagers; the other covers World War II and Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov, a Hero of the Soviet Union. The layout presents village history and wartime side by side without conflating the two subjects.

In Grabovo, Alexander Mikhailovich Ustinov had the mansion of the Ustinov estate built in the second half of the 19th century. He surrounded it with a park whose elaborate design included a cascade of ponds descending in an amphitheatrical arrangement. The ensemble described here thus combines country-house architecture with a deliberately designed sequence across the terrain.

The Arapov family estate complex in Prokazna is also among the district’s historic buildings: it dates from the 19th century and is classified as a cultural heritage site of regional significance. The two estates represent different locations and estate histories within Bessonovsky District.

Other places in the wider destination of Penza Oblast complement these regional themes. The Nikolsky Museum of Glass and Crystal has existed since the late 18th century. The poet M. Yu. Lermontov spent half his life at “Tarkhany”; All-Russian Lermontov Days have been held there since 1971. These examples are part of Penza Oblast and are not features of Bessonovsky District.

Discover more destinations: Mokshansky District, Mokshansky District, Penzenskiy District and Penza.

What topics does the Onion Museum cover?

It covers onion cultivation and breeders, the history of collective and state farms, the onion’s uses in medicine and cooking, as well as folklore, science and innovations in cultivation.

What is included in the local history museum’s collection?

It includes, among other things, historical materials about the Pugachev uprising, a copy of a manifesto, lacework, felt boots from Chemodanovka and clay toys by Vasily Kucher.

What distinguishes the Ustinov estate in Grabovo?

The mansion, built in the 19th century, was surrounded by an elaborately landscaped park with a cascade of ponds descending in an amphitheatrical arrangement.

For the wider travel overview: Penza Oblast.