Museum of Patriotic War 1812, Military history museum in central Moscow, Russia.
The Museum of Patriotic War 1812 is a military history museum in Moscow housed in a red brick building on Revolution Square. The rooms display warfare items, weapons, uniforms, maps, and documents that document the time of the French invasion of 1812.
The museum opened on 4 September 2012 as a branch of the State Historical Museum, marking 200 years since the war with France. Its two-storey pavilion, designed by architect P. Andreev, was built in the service yard of the former Moscow City Duma; its columns rest on piles driven 12 m into the ground so the structure never touches the historic walls. Plans for such a museum date to the mid-19th century, and in 1912 nine halls at the Historical Museum already displayed weapons and Vereshchagin paintings.
The place portrays how Russians viewed this period as a moment of shared resistance, and visitors can see objects that belonged to ordinary people and soldiers. The exhibits tell stories of human experiences during this invasion, not just grand military events.
The museum occupies a two-storey pavilion in the courtyard behind the former Moscow City Duma building, with 1,800 m² of exhibition space. Its columns rest on piles driven 12 metres into the ground, so the structure never touches the historic walls. The entrance hall displays the mural of Alexander Nevsky by Henryk Siemiradzki, moved here from the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
The pavilion stands in the courtyard of the former Moscow City Duma, its columns set on piles driven 12 metres into the ground so the new structure touches neither the historic walls nor the buildings of Red Square. The entrance hall holds Heinrich Semiradsky's mural of Alexander Nevsky receiving the papal legate, moved here from the old Cathedral of Christ the Saviour after its destruction in the 1930s.
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