The ancient city of Bolgar and Sviyazhsk Island: Past and Present

An Exhibition Hall "Manege" of Museum "Kazan Kremlin" invites to the exhibition "The ancient city of Bolgar and Sviyazhsk Island: Past and Present." Just as the Kazan Kremlin adjoins to the Kul Sharif mosque and the Annunciation Cathedral, the two shrines - the Muslim Bolgarians and Orthodox Svijazhsk - located on opposite banks, are the most valuable cultural heritage of global significance. The exhibition presents unique archaeological finds, as well as the works of art, on the development of the history and culture of Bolgaria and Sviyazhsk.

In 2010 the Republic of Tatarstan launched a unique integrated project "The ancient city of Bolgar and Sviyazhsk island." Over the past years, with broad popular support, the Bolgarian museum-reserve large-scale events have been implemented  for the restoration and conservation work on the monuments of Bolgarian architecture  of  13-18 centuries,  new museum objects were built, archaeological investigation kept going. Archaeological excavations, whichwere  led   by scientists from Kazan, Moscow, Kostroma, Crimea, studied about 60 000 square meters The museum-reserve received tens of thousands of finds. Ancient Bolgaria became one of the symbols of Tatarstan.

The exhibition presents objects of the XIV century, found in the territory of the settlement in 2010 - 2012: earrings, ring, pendants, bracelets, ingots, pins, korannitsy.

Island Sviyazhsk - a unique historical, architectural and natural landscape, located 30 kilometers from Kazan in the waters of three rivers - the Volga, Sviyaga and Schuka.  Svijazhsk  was  founded by Ivan the Terrible in 1551, has retained numerous monuments of ancient architecture. Construction   of Sviyazhsk was unprecedented in the world an example of a one-time foundation  of the  walled city and its settlement: it was erected  for  four weeks by a few tens of thousands of previously harvested logs.

The activities of the National Fund of the Renaissance  of monuments of history and culture of the Republic of Tatarstan has allowed for a short period to restore the unique cultural heritage   of  Sviyazhsk. Among them are historic buildings, which will house the exposition and exhibition halls of the museum.

In 2009,  the State Historical and Architectural Museum "The Island of Sviyazhsk was  created." The exhibition features objects from the archaeological collection of the museum, found during excavations  in 2009-2014 years: tiles, ceramics, coins, wood and leather.

The art collection includes works by artists whose lives and creative activity for several decades was associated with Sviyazhsk.

Implementation of a comprehensive project, together with the state showed a great interest and participation by our people enables confidently say that the ancient Bolgarians and the island of Sviyazhsk   are being revived.

Press Service

RT Ministry of Culture, according to the press service of the

 Kazan Kremlin