The State Museum of the History of Religion (formerly the State Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism of the USSR Ministry of Culture, the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the Museum of the History of Religion of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR) is a museum in the Admiralteysky District of St. Petersburg. Since 2000, it has been located at the address: Pochtamtskaya st., 14/5, in 1932-2000 it was located in the building of the Kazan Cathedral (until it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church).
The Museum of the History of Religion is the only one in Russia and one of the few museums in the world whose expositions represent the history of the emergence and development of religion. The museum’s collection includes more than 180,000 exhibits, the oldest of which date back to the 6th millennium BC. e.
Today, the following sections of the permanent exhibition are open to the public at the State Museum of the History of Religion:
History of Russian Orthodoxy;
Catholicism;
Protestantism;
Religions of the East: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism;
Islam.
On April 26, 2012, the following sections were opened in the Museum after the re-exposition:
Archaic beliefs and rites;
Religions of the Ancient World: polytheism;
Religions of the Ancient World: Judaism and the Rise of Monotheism;
The emergence of Christianity.
In February 2011, a special children’s section of the permanent exhibition “The Beginning of Beginnings” was opened in the museum. This is a complex interactive exhibition space aimed at a children’s audience and complementing the permanent exhibition. The department is designed as a total installation – a special magical space that immerses the little visitor into the era of mythological consciousness.
Working hours: Mon 10:00–18:00; Tue 13:00–21:00; Thu-Sun 10:00–18:00
Address: Pochtamtskaya st., 14, St. Petersburg. The nearest metro is Spasskaya station.
Parking for people with disabilities, date of construction 1932, payment by card, toilet for people with disabilities, Wi-Fi, pre-registration, tickets 50–300 ₽, audio guide, reduced tickets.
