Myshkinsky District: Uchma and Katskari Culture

• The Uchma Museum explores the history of Uchma and rural life.
• The Katskari Museum in Martynovo focuses, among other things, on the Katskari language, crafts, and songs.
• Its summer and winter programs cover different themes.
• Visits to the Uchma Museum are seasonal and require advance arrangements.

At the Uchma Museum, the first building and the chapel cover the history of Uchma. The exhibition in the second barn is devoted to the village and the lives of people in the countryside. Local history and rural everyday life are thus the focus of different exhibition areas.

Audio stories complement these themes. You can hear from residents of Uchma, former collective farm workers, and fishermen from Uchma. These groups of speakers bring different personal perspectives to the museum. Alongside the buildings and exhibitions, oral history is therefore also part of the insight into Uchma that visitors can experience.

Museum visits are seasonal and available by prior arrangement. Visitors to the Uchma Museum can also use a boat for an independent outing.

The Ethnographic Museum of the Katskari in Martynovo explores the Katskari language, everyday life, traditions, crafts, character, and songs. The summer program offers insights into an ethnographic dwelling, an arban, a threshing floor, and the traditional way of life of the Katskari. The program also includes a visit to unheated rooms and the Katskari farmstead, as well as a meal prepared in a Russian oven.

The winter program introduces guests to the Katskari “Svyatochnye” traditions and winter village customs. Comparing the seasons, the summer program focuses on exploring buildings, the farmyard, and rural ways of life, while the winter program centers on traditions and winter customs. Before traveling to attend seasonal programs, check the latest dates and booking details.

Other places in the wider destination of Yaroslavl Oblast offer additional historical points of comparison. In Pereslavl-Zalessky, the Transfiguration Cathedral dates back to the 12th century. It is the city’s oldest church and the earliest surviving architectural monument of the Vladimir-Suzdal school.

In Rybinsk, the museum-reserve is housed in the New Grain Exchange building. The building was constructed in 1912 on the high bank of the Volga, to a design by Moscow architect A. V. Ivanov. The surviving Uglich Kremlin is an ensemble dating from the 15th to the 19th century. It includes the Princes’ Chambers, the Church of Tsarevich Dmitry, the former City Duma building with museum exhibitions, and the Transfiguration Cathedral with its bell tower, Uglich’s most important active place of worship.

Explore Eremeytsevo on this district page, too. Discover more destinations: Rostov, Tutaevsky District, Leninsky District, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Gavrilov-Yamsky District, Pereslavsky District, Breytovsky District.

What topics does the Uchma Museum cover?

The first building and the chapel cover the history of Uchma; the second barn is devoted to the village and rural life. The audio stories are told by residents of Uchma, former collective farm workers, and fishermen from Uchma.

How do the Katskari programs differ by season?

The summer program offers insights into an ethnographic dwelling, an arban, a threshing floor, and the traditional way of life of the Katskari. The winter program introduces guests to Svyatochnye traditions and winter village customs.

What should you check before visiting?

Visits to the Uchma Museum are seasonal and available by prior arrangement. For the Katskari Museum’s seasonal programs, check the latest dates and booking details.

For the wider travel overview: Yaroslavl Oblast.