The Museum and Exhibition Complex "New Jerusalem"the largest cultural and educational center of the capital. It is located in the picturesque area of the Moscow Region on Istra and is adjacent to the most beautiful Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery. Today it is a real miracle of architectural and engineering thought, combining the aesthetics of the classical museum space and the latest interactive technologies.
По официальным документам музейно-выставочный the complex "New Jerusalem" was opened in the 20s of the last century. However, its history begins half a century earlier, with the organization in the refectory of the monastery of a small exposition in memory of the patriarch Nikon. The idea of its creation belonged to Archimandrite Leonid - a prominent church figure and scientist.
Modest exposure of things, books and paintingscanvases opened in 1874. It was the first church museum in the Russian Empire. In this form, it existed for 30 years. At the initiative of the new archimandrite, the original museum was expanded, the collection was replenished with new donations, the monastic library started working.
The coming power has contributed to the development ofmuseum. In 1919 the monastery was empty, and a year later the first museum was opened on its territory. It is from his discovery that the modern museum and exhibition complex "New Jerusalem" is leading its history. The collection of the museum could boast not only the variety of church monuments that once belonged to the monastery. Included in it was a vast collection of paintings, church utensils, decorative plastics, artifacts from archaeological excavations.
The period of the 1920s and 1930s for the museum on Istra was markedstormy events. The Museum and Exhibition Complex in New Jerusalem, then the State Museum of Art and History, gradually expanded, art funds confiscated from private possessions were brought to the funds. After the restoration of the monastery buildings in 1925, the first permanent exposition, according to the testimony of that time, enjoyed tremendous success with the public.
During the war, architecture and museum collectionhit hard. By the beginning of hostilities he did not have time to evacuate. In November 1941, the most valuable exhibits were urgently removed, the rest were hiding in caches here, on the territory of the museum complex.
The buildings of the monastery were heavily destroyed by Germantroops during the retreat. In the postwar years, restoration work began to be actively pursued. Within a decade the collections brought to Moscow and Alma-Ata were again met by Istra.
Museum and Exhibition Complex "New Jerusalem" inthe postwar period was literally restored from the ashes. In the following years, the ensemble was supplemented with an architectural and ethnographic exposition located around the main buildings.
In the 1990s, life around the museum began to boil again.By that time, this is the largest museum and exhibition complex. "New Jerusalem" has collected about 180 thousand exhibits under its roof, including collections of sacred and secular art. Designed for 300 thousand visitors a year, it is considered to be a unique scientific, tourist and exhibition center.
With the resumption of the work of the New Jerusalemthe monastery there was a question about the reorganization of the museum and a separate pavilion for him. In 2009, a corresponding decree was signed, and three years later the museum moved to a new building, the main value of which was 2 thousand square meters. meters of specially equipped storage facilities.
The project of the architectural ensemble was planned withscope. The total area of the main building is 28 thousand square meters. meters and includes exhibition halls, fund storage, restoration workshops, as well as an entertainment area. Two years ago, the museum center was completely open to visitors. From this point on, it bears the official name of the museum and exhibition complex of the Moscow region "New Jerusalem".
Architects and engineers working on the conceptThe new complex, based on the idea of uniting in one cultural space the ensemble of the New Jerusalem Monastery and the museum building. This is a difficult architectural and landscape task was brilliantly solved, and the project itself was awarded several prestigious awards.
In addition to the main building, in the museum complexObjects include: an exhibition building, a museum of wooden architecture, which is located under the open sky. The project also provides for an extensive landscape gardening area for walks, artistic and cultural events.
Construction of new objects on the territory of the museum complex continues and its final completion is scheduled for 2018.
"New Jerusalem" - a museum and exhibition complex,which today has no equal in terms of architectural solution, nor in the scale and fullness of collections. The permanent exhibition, divided into several thematic sections, occupies the ground floor.
The first hall is dedicated to Russian church art.16-19 centuries. Here is an interesting collection of icons and monuments of the church arts and crafts. Do not forget that it was the church art that was at the forefront of the formation of the museum collection, and today one of the largest collections of Russian sacred art is kept here.
The next room is dedicated to the secular art of the end.17th - early 20th centuries. Most of it is portrait painting. The first Parsons, images of contemporaries of the time of Peter the Great, a gallery of magnificent portraits of the Baroque and Rococo eras, paintings of the 19th century are presented here in a well thought out sequence.
Интересную выставочную концепцию связи времён represents the Hall with columns. Its exposition consists of monumental works made in various techniques, where modern art is closely intertwined with the Christian tradition and the heritage of antiquity.
Most of the exhibition venues are occupied by temporary exhibitions and projects dedicated to both contemporary art and classical monuments.
Photos showrooms show interestingapproach to the design of not only the windows, but also the museum space itself. Despite the fact that the museum is designed for a large flow of visitors, it is not crowded in the middle of the week. You can walk for a long time in the halls, enjoying the works of ancient and modern art.
