Shchelkanka offers an unusual museum focus: At the Mistiki i Magii Museum, exhibits about magic and shamans are combined with a collection of African masks and figures from the Congo Basin. The visitor information also describes themed workshops and a 45-minute guided tour. Before planning your visit, check the schedule, admission conditions, and possible workshop dates.
The Mistiki i Magii Museum in Shchelkanka
The museum is located on the private grounds of the GRK «Lesnaya skazka». Its permanent exhibitions explore Africa as a continent of magic and sorcery, and shamans as a link between worlds. The collection includes African masks and figures from peoples of the Congo Basin. In this way, thematic perspectives sit alongside specifically identified collection items: the exhibitions address broad concepts, while the masks and figures have a specific geographic connection within the collection.
The workshop format described is for children and adults. Participants can make protective dolls and other themed souvenirs to take home. The guided tour is listed as lasting 45 minutes, intended for adults and children over six, and included in the admission price. The formats therefore differ in activity: the guided tour focuses on interpretation, while the workshop involves making an object yourself. Ask in advance about current workshop dates, the tour schedule, and admission conditions.
Culture in Yaroslavl Oblast
The wider travel destination of Yaroslavl Oblast also offers other historical highlights. In Pereslavl-Zalessky, the Transfiguration Cathedral dates to the 12th century. It is the oldest church in the city and the earliest surviving architectural monument of the Vladimir-Suzdal school. In Uglich, the surviving Kremlin ensemble includes buildings from the 15th to 19th centuries: the Princes’ Chambers, the Church of Tsarevich Dmitry, the former City Duma building with museum exhibitions, and the Transfiguration Cathedral with its bell tower. The cathedral is Uglich’s main active place of worship. Thus, the region offers different historical perspectives through a single 12th-century building and an ensemble of buildings from several centuries.
Museum buildings also bring together history and present-day museum use. In Rybinsk, the museum reserve is housed in the New Grain Exchange. The building was constructed in 1912 on the high bank of the Volga, based on a design by Moscow architect A. V. Ivanov. In Yaroslavl, the Metropolitan’s Chambers date to 1682; the building houses a department of Old Russian art, an exhibition, and exhibition halls. The exhibitions and permanent display feature more than 500 works of icon painting.
The museums of Yaroslavl Oblast also offer different perspectives on art and technology. At the Emalis Enamel Art Museum in Yaroslavl, visitors can learn about the history of the craft, see works by Russian and European artists, and make a pendant or a picture themselves. Ask there about current workshop arrangements. The Kukushka Locomotive Museum in Talitsy, in turn, includes carriages, locomotives, railway accessories, and automobiles dating from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. The visitor experience described also includes sitting in historic carriages and riding a hand-operated trolley through dense forest. Ask the museum about current arrangements.
Discover more destinations
For the broader travel overview: Pereslavskiy rayon.
